Haute 100 Miami Update: Stephen Ross

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. On our Haute 100 Miami list is Stephen Ross, real estate tycoon and owner of the Miami Dolphins.

Stephen Ross

Category: Billionaires

Company: Related, Miami Dolphins

Industry: Real Estate, Football

What Made Him Haute: Ross’ Related Cos. has been a force in the industry since its inception, with trophy developments like West Palm’s CityPlace, New York’s Time Warner Center, and Los Angeles’ The Century developments under its belt, and major projects like the huge renovation of Penn Station and Aspen Snowmass base village in the works. In 2008, he purchased 50 percent ownership of the Miami Dolphins and the stadium for $550 million, and followed that up in 2009 by becoming 95 percent owner. He immediately made waves that turned the then-named Land Shark Stadium into the host destination for “the best party in South Florida on Sundays,” as he said during an interview for a cover feature in Haute Living. He felt that the ownership base should reflect “the face of South Florida,” so he brought on celebrity minority owners, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Marc Anthony, Venus and Serena Williams, Fergie, and others. He partnered with Jimmy Buffett to create the ultimate “Dol-Phan” experience, which resulted in national media attention that caught attention of a new sponsor for the now-named Sun Life Stadium, despite the state of the economy. He then hosted the 2010 Super Bowl during his first season as owner.

What Makes Him Haute Now: Ross made sports headlines last month when he spoke at Miami Beach High School. The Dolphins owner donated $82,000 to his alma mater to renovate its football field, which will be named the Ross Field in his honor. But that wasn’t what stirred up the media’s attention. During his speech, Ross made a bold prediction that the Dolphins will go to the Super Bowl this season. Sadly, the team has yet to do so in the past 27 years. (Last season the team went 7-9).

Despite some criticism, the Dolphins do have some potential this year. They’ve signed on Brandon Marshall, one of the league’s best receivers, in addition to Karlos Dansby, the team’s new star linebacker. Along with lead blocker Lousaka Polite and Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2008 draft, the team does boast some true talent. But is this enough to make Ross’ prediction come true? Only time will tell. Training camp for the Miami Dolphins started over the weekend, leaving plenty of time for the team to prepare for the upcoming season.