Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Thomas Barrack has had a busy year acquiring properties; Presently, the mastermind behind Colony Capital is ardently tapping into the entertainment sector.
Thomas Barrack
Category: Billionaires
Company: Colony Capital
Industry: Private Investment
What Made Him Haute: In 1991 he founded private international real estate investment firm Colony Capital. Today the firm manages more than $25 billion.
What Makes Him Haute Now: When Thomas Barrack isn’t surfing waves with his children, this all-around athlete is riding a real estate wave adding to his firm’s $30 million in assets. Barrack refutes experts who say the entertainment industry is dying with a notion that many entertainment assets are undervalued. And who would know better than the Angelino who drove his firm into place as one of the top 10 private-equity real estate companies in the world by acquiring unlikely assets? Taking a noted departure in investment strategy, Colony Capital is part of a group in the latest bid to buy Miramax from Walt Disney Co. If successful, Barrack would be moving Colony Capital to the next level. Already commanding Neverland Valley Ranch and a string of casinos, cinemas, sports teams, and stadiums, Colony Capital would also own the rights to box-office hits such as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Life is Beautiful, Dogma, and Kill Bill.
