Haute 100

Jennifer Aniston
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film

What Makes Her Haute: Six years after Friends’ series finale, Jennifer Aniston is still one of the hottest and Hautest actors in Hollywood, earning $27 million last year, according to Forbes. In 2005, Aniston became the first-ever GQ Woman of the Year. She has appeared on People’s annual list of “The Most Beautiful” every year since 1995.

Dan Bane
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Supermarkets
Company: Trader Joe’s

What Makes Him Haute: He is the chairman and CEO of Trader Joe’s, the alternative grocery store that despite its low-price mentality, managed to earn about $8 billion in sales last year. Bane started with the company in 1998 as the president of Trader Joe’s West and was promoted to CEO in 2001. He made the very smart decision to bring in Charles Shaw wine to the supermarket, which Trader Joe’s sells more than 13 million cases of each year.

Michael & Laura Beaudry
Category: Power Couples
Industries: Jewelry
Company: Michael Beaudry Jewelry

What Makes Them Haute: Mention the name Beaudry to any jewelry expert and the reaction will always be one of awe and praise. What started off as the design of a single diamond ring has flourished into the Michael Beaudry jewelry empire. Laura recently debuted her own jewelry collection, which features the same elegance and intricacy as her husband’s.

Steve Bing
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: Shangri-La Entertainment

What Makes Him Haute: He’s a successful writer, director, producer, and financier. But where the real estate development heir really makes his mark is as one of the nation’s top donors to Democratic and progressive causes. His reported $49.5 million donation on behalf of Prop 87, the oil tax initiative, is believed to be a national record for individual spending on a ballot measure.

Ruth & Jake Bloom
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Arts and Law
Company: Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman and Goodman, LLP

What Makes Them Haute: He’s one of the most influential lawyers in the entertainment industry; she runs the Ruth Bloom Gallery in Santa Monica. Together, they have one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country.

Scott Boras
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Sports
Company: Boras Corporation

What Makes Him Haute: He’s a former major league baseball player and is currently the owner and president of the Boras Corporation, a sports agency based in Newport Beach. His company represents about 175 MLB players, and Boras himself is credited with some of most famous record-setting contracts of all time, including Barry Bonds, Bernie Williams, and Alex Rodriguez.

Tom Brady & Gisele Bündchen
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Sports/Modeling

What Makes Them Haute: He’s been the star NFL quarterback of the New England Patriots since 2000 and has set the record for the most touchdown passes in a regular season (among many other feats). He recently signed a four-year $72 million contract with the Patriots, which makes him the highest-earning player in the league. She’s been ranked Forbes’ top-paid model in the world for the past three years, making more than $25 million last year alone and is currently the 16th richest woman in Hollywood. The Victoria’s Secret alum has recently starred in campaigns for brands like Versace, True Religion, Dolce & Gabanna, and Roberto Cavalli. The beautiful couple is currently building a 22,000-square-foot, $20 million mansion in Brentwood.

Donald Bren
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Irvine Company

What Makes Him Haute: An American real estate mogul and chairman of the Irvine Company, Bren is the master builder/designer behind Orange County, where he developed half of Newport Beach. In March 2009, Bren made The Sunday Time’s “Green Rich List” for donating $20 million to UCSB’s School of Environmental Science. The conservationist has donated 50,000 acres of land to the O.C. to be used for parks, recreation, greenways, and preserves.

Eli & Edythe Broad
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Development/ Manufacturing
Company: Kaufman & Broad

What Makes Them Haute: Broad made his fortune with his real estate company, Kaufman & Broad, and then found financial company SunAmerica where he served as CEO. He is actively involved in revitalizing L.A.’s downtown area and is an avid supporter of enriching the city’s cultural life. The Broads created a family foundation in the 1960s as a way to support their charitable interests and causes. The Broad Foundations, which include The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and The Broad Art Foundation, have assets of $2.5 billion.

Kobe Bryant
Category: Athletes
Industry: Basketball
Company: L.A. Lakers

What Makes Him Haute: The All-World shooting guard for the Lakers will go down in history as one of the greatest players ever in the NBA. After earning back-to-back NBA Finals MVP, the now five-time NBA champ is looking to grab another title and MVP this season.

Ronald Burkle
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Investing
Company: Yucaipa Companies

What Makes Him Haute: He started his fortune by buying and selling supermarket chains and soon after created his private equity firm, Yucaipa, which invests in retail, manufacturing, and distribution. The company recently invested in the retail brand, American Apparel. The business billionaire is currently stuck in a heated dispute with Barnes & Noble, as he tries to increase his share from 19 percent to 37 percent.

Dr. Jerry Buss & Jeanie Buss
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Sports
Company: L.A. Lakers

What Makes Him Haute: Under his ownership, the Lakers have won 10 NBA titles, made it to the finals 15 times, and won almost 70 percent of their games, making Buss the most successful owner amongst any professional sports league and the Lakers the most valuable franchise in the NBA. In 2010, Buss was finally inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. His daughter, Jeanie, is the executive vice president of business operations for the Lakers and girlfriend of Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson.

James Cameron
Category: Originators
Industry: Film

What Makes Him Haute: The director’s name is synonymous with big blockbuster hits with films like Titanic, which raked in some $1.8 billion worldwide and took home 11 Oscars, including “Best Picture”. Cameron proved once again he can do no wrong with what became the Avatar phenomenon; the movie grossed $2.7 billion worldwide. Without adjusting inflation, these two films are the two highest-grossing films of all time.

Rick Caruso
Category: Originators
Industry: Real Estate Development
Company: Caruso Affiliated

What Makes Him Haute: As L.A. Business Journal’s “Developer of the Year,” and a past president of the Police Commission, Caruso is one the most influential members of the Los Angeles community. The developer of The Grove, the Americana at Brand, and other retail-entertainment projects has transformed neighborhoods and changed the shopping landscape.

Alan Casden
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Casden Properties LLC

What Makes Him Haute: One of the wealthiest men in the world, this self-made accountant-turned-developer billionaire is a builder of inner-city, high-density real estate. He is a loyal backer of Jewish and Israeli causes. Casden has two mixed-use projects in the works in West Hollywood and West L.A.

Michael and Eva Chow
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Cuisine
Company: Mr. Chow Restaurant

What Makes Them Haute: He’s the brain behind the trendy Mr. Chow restaurants; she’s by his side lending her creativity to conceive the design of each location. The authentic Chinese cuisine was first introduced in London in 1968, and since then, the famed restaurateur has opened four U.S. locations (Beverly Hills, two in New York City, and Miami), with plans on opening his sixth location in Las Vegas soon.

George Clooney
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film
Company: Smokehouse Productions

What Makes Him Haute: Everything. He’s been Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor for as long as we can remember, but the superstar is known not only for his dashing good looks and acting abilities, but also for his social and liberal political activism, which rewarded him the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Clooney’s latest movie, The American, has just recently topped the box office.

Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film
Company: Cruise/Wagner Productions

What Makes Them Haute: He is a prolific actor, one of the world’s most powerful celebrities, and an accomplished producer who has greenlight authority at United Artists. She has appeared in The Ice Storm, Batman Begins, Mad Money, and her latest film, The Romantics. She was also the face of the Spring 2009 ad campaign for Miu Miu. Together, they bring in $33.5 million, according to Forbes.

Jeffrey Deitch
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Art
Company: Museum of Contemporary Art

What Makes Him Haute: The Harvard MBA graduate and ex-vice president of Citibank is a central figure in the art world, dealing in modern and contemporary art and serving as an art advisor to private and institutional art collectors. The former New York gallerist and owner of Deitch Projects jumped coast to become MOCA’s new director this year, making him the first art dealer to run a major American museum.

Leonardo DiCaprio
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film

What Makes Him Haute: When it comes to films, this talented actor sure knows how to pick them, or rather, they pick him. DiCaprio went from America’s heartthrob to America’s smartest and most versatile actor, starring in Shutter Island and Inception this year—two movies we still can’t stop talking about.

Robert Addison Day
Category: Philanthropists
Industry: Investment Banking
Company: William M. Keck Foundation/Trust Company of the West

What Makes Him Haute: The billionaire grandson of Superior Oil Co. founder William M. Keck oversees the $1.3 billion non-profit W.M. Keck Foundation, which focuses on science and engineering research, medical research, undergraduate education, and Southern California.

Robert Downey, Jr
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film

What Makes Him Haute: He’s known as Hollywood’s comeback kid, stemming from several major career comebacks. In particular, he made a comeback in 2008 with an Oscar-nominated performance in Tropic Thunder and playing Tony Stark in Iron Man, which he reprised in Iron Man 2 earlier this year. He reportedly ranked in around $33 million in 2010 with upcoming flicks like the Sherlock Holmes sequel and Due Date.

Philippe Dauman
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: Viacom

What Makes Him Haute: Though he’s been with the media conglomerate company since 1987, serving as CEO during the past four years has given him the opportunity to call the big shots.

Ari Emanuel
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Talent
Company: William Morris Endeavor Entertainment

What Makes Him Haute: As the founder of Endeavor and now co-chief executive of WME, this super agent now represents some of the top names in the entertainment industry and is said to be the agent who Entourage’s Ari Gold originates from. Clients of his include Vin Diesel, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, and Martin Scorsese.

Kevin Feige
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: Marvel Studios

What Makes Him Haute: He began working on Marvel movies in 1998 as an associate producer on X-Men. From co-producer to executive producer to president of Marvel Studios, Feige is behind Spider Man 1, 2, 3, Iron Man 1 and 2, and The Incredible Hulk. Marvel movies and licensed properties have generated $7.3 billion at the box office. Up and coming Marvel comic projects include Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and The Avengers.

Alan Fuerstman
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Montage Hotels

What Makes Him Haute: He is founder and CEO of Montage Hotels, a budding five-star resort company with landmark locations in Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills. Montage Deer Valley, a luxury ski resort in Utah, is scheduled to open in December 2010. Fuerstman recently won the award for “One to Watch” by Virtuoso’s “Best of the Best” Hotel Awards, which honor the world’s most prestigious hotel and hospitality professionals.

David Geffen
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Entertainment
Company: DreamWorks SKG

What Makes Him Haute: Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer, and philanthropist. He first founded Asylum Records in 1970 (Eagles) followed by Geffen Records (Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses). He then moved on to start entertainment boutique DreamWorks with partners Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, eventually selling it to Viacom for $1.5 billion. His personal $175 million profits are said to have gone to charity.

Frank Gehry
Category: Originators
Industry: Architecture
Company: Gehry Partners, LLP

What Makes Him Haute: Gehry is perhaps most famous for his design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, but Angelenos know him for the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which opened in 2003 and was quickly recognized as perhaps his greatest work, not only for the originality of its design, but for its functionality. The acoustics of the hall were widely praised, and it became one of the great performance venues in the world. It’s a symbol of downtown Los Angeles as a center of culture. In the works is the $3 billion Grand Avenue complex.

Alec Gores
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Private Equity
Company: Gores Group

What Makes Him Haute: Gores is the founder, chairman, and CEO of The Gores Group, an extremely lucrative private-based equity firm that specializes in acquiring multi-million dollar businesses. Their most recent acquisition was Alliance Entertainment in early September, which is the largest wholesale distributor of CDs, DVDs, and video games in the U.S.

Betty Graham
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Coldwell Banker

What Makes Her Haute: Since 2005, she’s been president and COO of the Greater Los Angeles branch of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the country’s longest running real estate company. She currently oversees more than 50 sales offices and 3,800 sales associates in Southern California, but she stays true to her roots by keeping her company intimate and agents happy.

William H. Gross
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Finance
Company: PIMCO

What Makes Him Haute: He’s a chief investment officer and legendary bond investor. The co-founder of PIMCO is one of the financial geniuses of our time and has authored several books.

Bert Fields & Barbara Guggenheim
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Law/Art
Company: Greenberg Glusker Guggenheim, Asher Associates

What Makes Them Haute: Hollywood’s favorite legal guy has represented a plethora of A-list celebrities, such as John Travolta, Dennis Hoffman, and Tom Cruise. His wife, Guggenheim, is a celebrated art consultant at Guggenheim, Asher Associates.

Hugh Hefner
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Publishing
Company: Playboy

What Makes Him Haute: This 84-year-old spearheaded America’s sexual revolution and built the Playboy empire from the ground up, and is still going strong. Need we say more?

David Heil
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Fashion
Company: David August, Inc.

What Makes Him Haute: His custom suits are the reasons some of Hollywood’s Hautest men make the “Best Dressed” list, including celebrities like Will Smith, Jerry Buss, and Robert Downey, Jr. And his unique numbering system makes even the fashion clueless seem, well, fashionable.

Rich & Kathy Hilton
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Hilton & Hyland

What Makes Them Haute: He is currently chairman of the widely successful real estate firm in Beverly Hills, which he founded with partner Jeff Hyland. She is the socialite and actress who provides the beautiful face to the Hilton brand name, along with daughters Paris and Nicky Hilton.

Alan F. Horn
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: Warner Bros.

What Makes Him Haute: The president and COO of Warner Bros. focuses on the oversight of all of the studio’s theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Warner Premiere, and Warner Home Video. He’s reaped in the financial awards of big movie franchises, such as Harry Potter and Batman and T.V. shows like Two and a Half Men and the The Big Bang Theory. Horn also oversees New Line Cinema, which was moved into Warner Bros. in early 2008. Horn, a founding board member of the Environmental Media Association, and his wife, Cindy, are also well-known philanthropists and environmentalists.

Ron Howard
Category: Originators
Industry: Film/Television
Company: Imagine Entertainment

What Makes Him Haute: The Happy Days retiree has directed numerous films, including Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code, and Angels and Demons. Howard is the co-chairman of Imagine Entertainment, which has produced outstanding projects, such as Friday Night Lights, 8 Mile, and Inside Deep Throat, and the television series 24 and Arrested Development. Howard’s latest project is a comedy entitled The Dilemma featuring Vince Vaughn.

Jeffrey Hyland
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Hilton & Hyland

What Makes Him Haute: He is currently president of Hilton & Hyland, the distinguished real estate firm in Beverly Hills that he founded with partner Rick Hilton. He has personally handled several billions of dollars worth of transactions in Los Angeles, including Candy Spelling’s $150 million estate. He is also co-author of the book, The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills, which discusses the history of some of the most historic homes in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, and Bel Air.

Robert Iger
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Media
Company: The Walt Disney Company

What Makes Him Haute: CEO Iger efficiently runs and balances the matrix of Disney’s divisions. The careful development of ESPN, its animation studios, and an alliance with Apple’s Steve Jobs in both animation and digital content delivery should serve the Mouse well, even if the downturn continues. Currently, Igor is focusing his attention on remaking the Company’s ABC television network.

Phil Jackson
Category: Athletes
Industry: Basketball
Company: L.A. Lakers

What Makes Him Haute: With 11 NBA titles as a coach (six with the Chicago Bulls, and five with the Lakers), Jackson is considered one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. He will have a chance at a fourth three-peat championship when he returns for his 11th season with the Lakers and his 20th in his career.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson
Category: Athletes
Industry: Basketball
Company: Magic Johnson Enterprises

What Makes Him Haute: The retired athlete was one of the NBA’s finest players and the tallest point guard in league history at 6-foot, 9-inches. He now is a commentator for ESPN and strongly participates in HIV education. Magic Johnson Enterprises is a non-profit that represents and serves ethnically diverse communities, while Magic Johnson Foundation develops programs that support the educational, health, and social needs of the underprivileged.

Eva Longoria & Tony Parker
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Entertainment/Basketball

What MakesThem Haute: She’s best known as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives and recently received an award from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for her philanthropy and work within the Latino community. He is San Antonio’s point guard and has helped the Spurs win three NBA championships. The good-looking pair has appeared on the London Fog fall and spring campaigns.

Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Film
Company: Television

What Makes Them Haute: Brangelina is easily one of Hollywood’s most photographed, glamorous, and powerful couples. According to Forbes, in 2009 they raked in $55 million split about evenly between them. In total, the two have about $300 million in assets.

Nick Jones
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Soho House

What Makes Him Haute: He’s the founder and CEO of the exclusive Soho House, which opened its newest location in West Hollywood earlier this year. And although the savvy business executive says he fell into the club scene by accident, it’s no accident that he’s continued to have success in every market that he touches; up next, Miami Beach.

Quincy Jones
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Music
Company: Qwest Records

What Makes Him Haute: This big-shot record producer has earned 79 Grammy nominations and 27 wins, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is also responsible for producing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album. This summer, Jones released “Soul Bossa Nostra,” his first album in nearly 15 years, with various popular artists paying tribute to classic Jones’ music.

George Joseph
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Insurance
Company: Mercury General

What Makes Him Haute: The self-made billionaire developed Mercury General insurance company for individuals having difficulty obtaining auto insurance; the company went public in 1985. Mercury General backed the June ballot initiative that would allow insurers to offer discounts to Californians who switch providers. Joseph stepped down as chief executive in 2006 at age 86.

The Kardashians
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Television
Company: DASH Store

What Makes Them Haute: Entrepreneurs, television personalities, models, and socialites, the Kardashians are a celebrity self-branding success story. The fifth season premiere of E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians boasted record ratings for the network, averaging nearly 4.7 million total viewers. And recently, the Kardashian clan plus Bruce Jenner received the honorable key to the city from Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad.

Jeffrey Katzenberg
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Television
Company: DreamWorks Animation SKG

What Makes Him Haute: The CEO of DreamWorks Animation has been said to have “the hand of God” when it comes to his knack for animation. Prior to DreamWorks, he served as studio chairman for The Walt Disney Company. He’s responsible for producing some of the highest grossing animated films of all time, including all Shrek films, Bee Movie, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, and How to Train Your Dragon.

Ryan Kavanaugh
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: Relativity Media

What Makes Him Haute: He’s the founder and CEO of Relativity Media, and a relative newcomer in the entertainment industry (he started the Company: in 2004). The company is known for financing and distributing some of the most popular projects in Hollywood and most recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with Netflix that will allow subscribers exclusive access to the company’s films only months after their DVD release dates.

Kirk Kerkorian
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Real Estate
Company: MGM

What Makes Him Haute: With only a high school diploma, Kerkorian is arguably one of the greatest business visionaries in the world. After serving as a fighter pilot in WWII he went on to buy and sell hotels, an airline, and sold and bought MGM studios three times. MGM Mirage owns more than half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip today, and last December, the 92-year-old invested in the $8.5 billion CityCenter in Las Vegas, a hub for shops, restaurants, residences, hotels, and spas.

Arnold and Anne Kopelson
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Film
Company: Kopelson Entertainment

What Makes Them Haute: The husband-and-wife business team boasts producing credits that read like a “Best Of Twentieth Century” films list. The Kopelsons are responsible for such historical films like Platoon, The Fugitive, and Outbreak, with a dozen or so other projects currently in the works.

Brad Korzen & Kelly Wearstler
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Development/ Design
Company: Kor Group/ KWIC

What Makes Them Haute: He’s the founder of Kor Realty Group and has of resorts, hotels, and commercial investment properties, including Viceroy Palm Springs and Viceroy Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills’ Avalon Hotel and Maison 140. His wife Kelly is a famed interior designer and appeared as a judge on Bravo’s Top Design. She is behind the award-winning interiors of her husband’s hotels, infusing the properties with her signature classic minimalist lines and old Hollywood glamour. She also has a line at Bergdorf Goodman, and for Groundworks at Lee Jofa and The Rug Company.

John Lasseter
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: Walt Disney

What Makes Him Haute: The Academy Award-winning animator and chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney animation studios directs and produces. He is also the principal creative advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering where he works with a team developing ideas for Disney theme park attractions.

Tim Leiweke
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: AEG

What Makes Him Haute: Hailed as one of the most influential men in sports, the CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group was responsible for bringing David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the $2.5 billion L.A. Live entertainment complex to the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

Harvey Levin
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: TMZ

What Makes Him Haute: He’s the creator and managing editor of TMZ.com, one of the most famous celebrity news and gossip sites on the Internet and one of the most-cited entertainment news sources. Levin also produces and hosts the popular show, TMZ on TV, which features paparazzi videos from the day’s footage. Despite the website’s often disregard for celebrity privacy, Levin’s managed to create a reputable name for himself in the world of media.

Richard Lovett
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: Creative Artists Agency

What Makes Him Haute: As president of CAA, Lovett is responsible for adding a sports division to the company as well as earning it a reputation as one of the best (if not the best) talent agencies. Lovett himself represents some of Hollywood’s top earning talents including Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Steven Spielberg. It is reported that he recently signed 2010’s most bankable star, Shia LaBeouf.

Lee Maen
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Restaurant
Company: Innovative Dining Group

What Makes Him Haute: He’s the founding partner of Innovative Dining Group, the restaurant group responsible for Katana, Sushi Roku, and Boa Steakhouse. The ever-expanding company just recently opened the newest Hollywood hotspot, Delphine, a French brasserie, and The Living Room and Station Hollywood bars at the new W Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.

Nobu Matsuhisa
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Matsuhisa and Nobu Restaurants

What Makes Him Haute: The celebrity chef and restaurateur is known for his Japanese fusion cuisine that is the genius behind the Nobu, Matsuhisa, and Ubon restaurants, which can be found around the globe.

Gary Michelson
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Medicine
Company: Found Animals

What Makes Him Haute: Michelson found his fortune by licensing tools that are often integral to the completion of complicated back surgery. He then enforced his patents in two legal cases, one of which resulted in $1.35 billion settlement. He now uses his fortune for charities and is working on a solution for the large number of unwanted pets in the U.S., focusing on the Los Angeles area.

Michael Milken
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Finance/Philanthropy
Company: Milken Family Foundation /Milken Institute / Melanoma Research Alliance

What Makes Him Haute: Responsible for creating the market for junk bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, this financier spent a brief stint in prison for finance-related charges, and since his release has donated more than $1 billion to medical research. He currently has a net worth of $2 billion.

Leslie Moonves
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: CBS Corporation

What Makes Him Haute: As president and CEO of CBS, Moonves is in charge of overseeing all divisions of the company including CBS network, CBS Studios, Showtime, the CW, CBS Radio, CBS Home Entertainment, and more. Under Moonves’ leadership, CBS has continued to be the No. 1 network in the U.S. and launched several prime time hit shows like The Big Bang Theory. For 2009, he was awarded a total compensation package from CBS for $43.2 million, which is double of what he received in 2008.

Arte Moreno
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Sports
Company: Anaheim Angels

What Makes Him Haute: When he purchased the Angels in 2003 from the Walt Disney Company (for a whopping $180 million), Moreno was the first Hispanic ever to own a major league team in the U.S. He’s signed star players like Vladimir Guerrero and taken the team to win American League West Division Championships in ’04, ’05, ’07, ‘08, and ’09. He’s increased the value of the Angels to at least twice of what he originally paid.

Doug Morris
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Music
Company: Universal Music Group

What Makes Him Haute: The chairman and CEO of Universal is responsible for guiding the overall global activities of the world’s largest music company. He’s worked with some of the most popular and influential artists of the past four decades, including Bette Midler, Led Zeppelin, Mariah Carey, and The Rolling Stones. Morris serves on the board of directors of The Robin Hood Foundation and The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and is also a director of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Peter Morton
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Hard Rock Cafe

What Makes Him Haute: He’s the co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and sold the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel to New York-based Morgans Hotel Group for $770 million. His father is the founder of Morton’s, The Steakhouse, and his son, Harry, is behind the interestingly named Pink Taco chain.

Rick Mueller
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Entertainment
Company: Live Nation

What Makes Him Haute: He is the president of Live Nation California, the largest producer of live concerts in the world, overseeing the company’s entire booking and marketing team in California. In SoCal, Live Nation owns and/or operates the Hollywood Palladium, House of Blues on Sunset, Wiltern Theatre, the Gibson Amphitheater, the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, and Hyundai Pavilion in San Bernardino.

David Murdock
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Investment/Real Estate
Company: Dole Food Company, Inc./Castle & Cook

What Makes Him Haute: This high school dropout made a tidy fortune in the real estate industry. Then he bought portions of Dole Food Company, Inc. and Castle & Cook. The two combined companies result in one of the largest privately held entities in the U.S., with 63,000 employees in more than 90 countries. Its portfolio includes development and ownership of real estate, leasing of transportation equipment, manufacture of brick and building materials, oil and gas holdings, aviation services, and ownership of public warehouses. In Hawaii the company also owns a significant portion of the 90,000-acre island of Lana’i and two award-winning Four Seasons Hotels.

Sam Nazarian
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Real Estate
Company: SBE Entertainment Group

What Makes Him Haute: In 2006 he was the youngest executive to be named one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful People in Southern California,” and his empire has only continued to grow. From nightclubs (Area, MI-6 and Hyde Lounge), hotels, and casinos to real estate, finance, and films, Nazarian has mastered them all. His latest venture is bringing his SLS hotel brand to South Beach.

Bill Nelson
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Entertainment
Company: HBO

What Makes Him Haute: In 2007, he was named chairman and CEO for Home Box Office (HBO), the world’s largest premium TV channel and where he’s worked with since 1984. Under Nelson’s leadership, HBO has grown into an international brand, releasing hit shows like True Blood, Hung, and the miniseries, The Pacific.

Jack Nicholson
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film
Company: CBS Corporation

What Makes Him Haute: Whether you know him as astronaut Garrett Breedlove, Randle Patrick McMurphy, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, The Joker, or OCD Melvin Udall, Nicholson is a Hollywood icon. The legendary actor has been working in Hollywood for more than forty years and has created an impressive resume of films and awards. His next film, How Do You Know, co-starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson, is scheduled for release this December.

Offer Nissenbaum
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Peninsula Hotels

What Makes Him Haute: As a longtime power player in the hospitality industry, Nissenbaum is currently managing director of the prestigious Peninsula Beverly Hills. He was also nominated as a candidate for Hotelier of the Year by Virtuoso’s “Best of the Best” Hotel Awards, which honor the world’s most prestigious hotels and hospitality professionals.

A. Jerrold Perenchio
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Television/ Communications
Company: Univisión Communications

What Makes Him Haute: This talent-agent-turned-network-mogul is a self-made billionaire. The UCLA grad’s first big break was when he sold the TV and film company he founded with Norman Lear, Embassy Communications, to Coca-Cola for $485 million in 1985. He then made a quick turnaround profit of $140 million from buying and selling Lowes movie theaters. Currently, he is best known for his reign over the Hispanic broadcasting market, thanks to his purchase of Univision Communications Inc., the nation’s largest Spanish-language TV network. In the first week of September, Univisión beat ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox as the No. 1 network for the first time ever. Perenchio lives a private life in Malibu (where he is one of the city’s largest private land owners), and is known for his generous donations to charity and politicians.

Tommy Perse
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Fashion
Company: Maxfield

What Makes Him Haute: His son is famed fashion designer James Perse, but Tommy Perse is also a trendsetter in his own right. He’s the owner of one of L.A.’s top high-end fashion destinations, Maxfield, with a location on Melrose and another one in Malibu. Perse himself handpicks the items that include men’s and women’s apparel, shoes, bags, and jewelry from designers like Chanel, Lanvin, and Alexander McQueen.

Neil Portnow
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Music
Company: The Recording Academy

What Makes Him Haute: He is the president and CEO of The Recording Academy and is responsible for overseeing the Grammy Awards and the Grammy Foundation. As CEO, Portnow has been active in the fight against illegal music downloading and piracy.

Anthony Pritzker
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Private Investment
Company: The Pritzker Group

What Makes Him Haute: Pritzker is one of three children of billionaire Donald Pritzker, the founder of the Hyatt hotel chain. He’s also the managing partner and co-founder of The Pritzker Group, a family-run company that partners with management teams and provides them investment and operating expertise specifically during buyouts and acquisitions of various companies. According to Forbes, he’s worth more than $1.4 billion.

Wolfgang Puck
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Wolfgang Puck

What Makes Him Haute: This Austrian-born restaurateur and celebrity chef has built a culinary empire that includes fine dining establishments, franchise restaurants, catering, cookbooks, and other culinary products. His flagship restaurant, Spago, is still the go-to establishment for Hollywood’s elite. In April, he opened the highly anticipated WP24 by Wolfgang Puck at the new Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Brett Ratner
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film and Television
Company: HSI Productions

What Makes Him Haute: The billion-dollar director is behind a slew of action packed blockbusters, including X-Men, The Last Stand, Red Dragon, and the Rush Hour trilogy. He is also the producer of Fox’s hit Prison Break. His Beverly Hills home is the stomping grounds for the area’s A-listers, many of whom have sat for pictures in his black and white photo booth. The shots, which include everyone from Michael Jackson to Chelsea Clinton, were published in Hilhaven Lodge: The Photo Booth Pictures.

Sumner Redstone
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Media
Company: National Amusements Inc.

What Makes Him Haute: The 87-year-old Redstone is still one of the most powerful media moguls in the industry. His National Amusements, Inc., is the parent company of Viacom and CBS Corporation; Redstone serves as executive chairman of both.

Shonda Rhimes
Category: Originators
Industry: Television
Company: Shondaland

What Makes Her Haute: She is the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the successful Grey’s Anatomy and its spin-off, Private Practice.  Her newest series, Off the Map, also a medical drama, is scheduled to premiere on ABC in 2011.

Edward Roski Jr.
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Majestic Realty Co.

What Makes Him Haute: He owns more than 73 million square feet of commercial property from Los Angeles to Atlanta, as well as minor parts of the L.A. Lakers and hockey’s L.A. Kings. The noted risk taker, who will attack anything from Mount Everest to the Titanic wreckage, is also an avid philanthropist. He donated $23 million to alma mater USC in 2006 to fund a fine arts school. He serves on the board for a number of local organizations, museums, and science centers.

Haim Saban
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Entertainment
Company: Fox Family Worldwide/Saban Entertainment

What Makes Him Haute: He’s founder and part owner of Fox Family Worldwide and Saban Entertainment. His namesake company is best known for bringing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to the United States. Through the various arms of his companies, he’s managed to have a net worth of more than $3.3 billion. He recently announced that his Saban Capital Group and its affiliate Saban Brands would soon acquire Paul Frank industries, the company famous for the infamous Julius the Monkey cartoons.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Politics
Company: State of California

What Makes Him Haute: The famed body builder-turned-actor-turned-38th governor of California has been an influential leader for California for the past seven years. He recently played a significant part in launching a campaign against Proposition 66, which would amend California’s Three Strikes Law.

Ryan Seacrest
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Television/Radio
Company: Ryan Seacrest Productions

What Makes Him Haute: Juggling multiple gigs, Seacrest may be the busiest man in Hollywood. He hosts and/or produces the syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest, the American Top 40 radio show, E! News, and American Idol. At his own production company, he’s delivered reality T.V. hits like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Jamie’s American Food Revolution.

Fred Segal
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Fashion
Company: Fred Segal

What Makes Him Haute: He founded the trendy Fred Segal boutique in 1960 when he opened the world’s first jeans-only boutique. The concept that garnered him success soon expanded into full-fledged fashion haven Fred Segal Santa Monica. The beach location is so massive that they expanded to two buildings across the street from one another, both jam-packed with the latest trends while waiting on celebrity clientele.

Henry Segerstrom
Category: Originators
Industry: Real Estate
Company: C.J. Segerstrom & Sons

What Makes Him Haute: A managing partner of South Coast Plaza, and owner of C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, one of the largest real estate empires in California, Henry was integral to the expansion of the Orange County Performing Arts Center (which included the $200 million Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall) and the surrounding “arts park” complex.

John Simonian
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Watches
Company: Westime

What Makes Him Haute: He is owner and CEO of the highly successful luxury watch boutique Westime, which currently has two locations in West L.A. and on Rodeo Drive, and is opening a second store on Sunset Boulevard. Simonian’s signature boutique is a watch collector’s dream, featuring brands like Dior, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, and the recently added Tiffany & Co. Watch Collection.

Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Film/Television

What Makes Them Haute: The “Fresh Prince” is scheduled to start filming Men in Black III within the next few weeks, while Mrs. Smith continues to star in the TV series, Hawthorne, for which she won the 2010 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.” Together, the husband-and-wife team has founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity dedicated to inner-city children and their families.

Stacey Snider
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: DreamWorks SKG

What Makes Her Haute: Ranked as one of the 50 most important women in business, Snider went from running Universal Studios to becoming co-chairman of DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg. The company ended its two-year partnership with Paramount in 2008 and signed a $1.2 billion deal to produce films with India’s Reliance.

Steven Soderbergh
Category: Originator
Industry: Film

What Makes Him Haute: This producer, cinematographer, and Academy Award-winning director is best known for the thought-provoking Traffic, Erin Brockovich, The Informant!, Che, and the Ocean’s 11 franchise.

Steven Spielberg
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Film
Company: DreamWorks

What Makes Him Haute: Arguably the world’s most famous filmmaker, Spielberg currently has more than 30 projects underway, including Indiana Jones 5, War Horse, and an untitled Martin Luther King Jr. project.

Sylvester Stallone & Jennifer Flavin-Stallone
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Film/Cosmetics
Company: Seriesse International

What Makes Them Haute: He is forever Rocky and Rambo, but his recent film The Expendables, which Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in, was the biggest opening weekend of his career. Mrs. Stallone is the co-owner of $1 billion skincare and wellness company, Seriesse International.

Frank Symons
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Sotheby’s International Realty

What Makes Him Haute: He currently serves as executive vice president and COO of Sotheby’s International Realty western region and has helped established more than 25 offices throughout California, including greater Los Angeles area, Santa Barbara, Carmel/Monterey, Ventura, and San Francisco.

Quentin Tarantino
Category: Originators
Industry: Film

What Makes Him Haute: The unconventional director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, and actor, known for his over-the-top, outlandish usage of violence, is often declared one of Hollywood’s best and most creative minds. The originator of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and the Kill Bill series received multiple Academy Award nominations for Inglorious Bastards, his highest-grossing movie to date.

Arn and Nancy Tellem
Category: Power Couples
Industry: Television
Company: SFX Sports Group/CBS

What Makes Them Haute: He’s a legendary sports agent; she’s the former president/now senior advisor of the CBS Paramount Television Network Entertainment Group and ranked one of the 50 most influential women in business. She was responsible for spearheading the company’s efforts to expand its content into new media and across all emerging platforms, including the development and production of original content for CBS.com, the CBS Audience Network, and wireless.

Steve Tisch
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Film
Company: Escape Artists

What Makes Him Haute: The award-winning film and television producer (Forrest Gump, American History X, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Snatch) is also chairman of the New York Giants. In March, he was elected to the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

John Tu
Category: Billionaires
Industry: Technology
Company: Kingston Technology

What Makes Him Haute: This self-made billionaire co-founded Kingston with David Sun, which is currently the largest computer memory firm. When they sold an 80 percent stake in Kingston Technology in 1996 for $1.5 billion, they spent $100 million of it on lavish bonuses for their employees, with the average bonus exceeding $100,000.

Thomas Tull
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Film
Company: Legendary Pictures

What Makes Him Haute: He founded Legendary Pictures, the strategic production company that unites private equity investors with film producers. It was this genius that led to a seven-year, 40-picture contract with Warner Bros. in 2005. As president and CEO, Tull has overseen dozens of successful projects, including recent blockbusters The Hangover, Where the Wild Things Are, and Inception.

Ronald Tutor
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Real Estate
Company: Tutor Perini Corporation

What Makes Him Haute: He is a construction magnate and CEO of the Tutor Perini Corporation. In July, Walt Disney Co. sold Miramax Films to Tutor’s Filmyard Holding investor group for $660 Million.

Katsuya Uechi
Category: Entrepreneurs
Industry: Hospitality
Company: Katsuya

What Makes Him Haute: He’s only one of four Master Sushi Chefs in all of Los Angeles and has helped with the success of several establishments, including four Katsuya by Starck and four Katsu-Ya Sushi restaurants.

Antonio Villaraigosa
Category: Thinkers
Industry: Politics
Company: The City of Los Angeles

What Makes Him Haute: The first Hispanic mayor in LA’s 133-year history has revitalized the city with infrastructure projects, the wooing of tech companies, actively supporting small business, ensuring growth of the area’s unique creative capital, and an emphasis on education. His latest venture is a gang-reduction program for the city.

Mark Wahlberg
Category: Entertainers
Industry: Film/Television

What Makes Him Haute: Long gone are the days of Marky Mark. Today, he is co-executive producer for the HBO television series Entourage, which is in its seventh season, and the buzzed about Boardwalk Empire, a TV series set in Atlantic City during Prohibition. The Other Guys, which launched in early August, is Walhberg’s first comedy, not counting his stint with Andy Sandberg on Saturday Night Live this past season.