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.
