Haute 100: New York City

The most influential people in the world’s most powerful city

Martin Scorsese
CATEGORY: Thinkers
COMPANY: World Cinema Foundation
INDUSTRY: Film
What Makes Him HAUTE: Critics and film scholars have called him the best living American director, with several of his movies occupying spots on the AFI’s list of greatest movies of all time. His film Shutter Island was a box office success back in February, earning more than $42 million in its opening weekend.  He is also Executive Producer for HBO’s newest hit drama, “Boardwalk Empire,” which has already been green-lit for a second season. And he shows no signs of slowing down; with several films in the making including the highly anticipated, Sinatra, which will (quite obviously) be a story about the legendary entertainer, Frank Sinatra.

Jonathan Segal
CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs
COMPANY: The ONE Group
INDUSTRY: Hospitality
What Makes Him HAUTE: He’s CEO of The ONE Group, the hospitality management company that is responsible for some of NYC’s hottest restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels including STK, The Collective, and Tenjune. Segal continues to expand his empire in Manhattan with the opening of Gansevoort Park Avenue and its newly opened Ristorante Asellina.

Carlos Slim
CATEGORY: Billionaires
COMPANY: Telmex, America Movil and Grupo Carso
INDUSTRY: Telecommunications
What Makes Him HAUTE: He’s chairman and CEO of Telmex, a telecommunications enterprise based in Mexico City, which operates 90 percent of telephone lines in Mexico. Its sister company, America Movil, is the largest mobile phone company in Latin America. In addition, Slim owns Grupo Carso, one of Mexico’s major business conglomerates. As far as New York goes, Slim has invested in several properties in the past few years; he is also the biggest shareholder of Saks Inc. as well as a 7-percent stake in the New York Times. In March, Slim was ranked the single wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, the first non-American to lead the rankings since 1984; his estimated net worth is approximately $53.5 billion.

George Soros
CATEGORY: Philanthropists
COMPANY: Soros Fund Management, LLC
INDUSTRY: Finance
What Makes Him HAUTE: Soros Fund Management was one of the few hedge fund firms that saw the financial crisis as a buying opportunity. Aside from being chairman of the company Soros has also written ten best-selling books, is a strong political activist, and is one of the city’s most notable philanthropists. Earlier this year, he donated $1 million to support Prop 19, which would have legalized marijuana in California. Moreover, in September, he pledged $100 million to Human Rights Watch and $50 million to the Robin Hood Foundation.

Rob and Jerry Speyer
CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs
COMPANY: Tishman Speyer
INDUSTRY: Real Estate
What Makes Them HAUTE: Jerry Speyer is co-founder, chairman, and co-CEO of Tishman Speyer, the prominent real estate firm that owns such properties as the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center. But his list of positions in New York doesn’t end there. Among them, he serves on the Executive Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, is vice chairman of the NY Presbyterian Hospital, chairman of MoMA, and chairman of his alma mater Columbia University. His son, Rob, has been co-CEO of Tishman Speyer since 2008, and serves as President of the firm. He has since helped the company open the city’s first office building that is LEED Gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Hal Steinbrenner
CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs
COMPANY: New York Yankees
INDUSTRY: Sports
What Makes Him HAUTE: As the son of the recently deceased George Steinbrenner, who was the longest Yankees owner in history, Hal has some big shoes to fill. He and his brother Hank now jointly own the team. Hal recently helped secure Derek Jeter’s return to the Yankees after negotiating a $51 million, 3-year contract.

Leonard Stern
CATEGORY: Billionaires
COMPANY: Hartz Group
INDUSTRY: Real Estate
What Makes Him HAUTE: Hartz Mountain Industries is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the U.S. The firm boasts more than 38 million square feet of commercial, residential, and retail property in the New York City metro area, including the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels. NYU’s Stern School of Business is named after him, thanks to his $30 million donation to his alma mater.

Amar’e Stoudemire
CATEGORY: Athletes
COMPANY: New York Knicks
INDUSTRY: Basketball
What Makes Him HAUTE: After eight seasons playing for the Phoenix Suns, the newly free agent signed with the Knicks in July 2010 with a contract that is estimated to grant him more than $100 million over the next five years. So far with the Knicks, Stoudemire averages 26 points per game. On Dec. 15, he set a franchise record with his ninth straight 30-point game.

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.
CATEGORY: Thinkers
COMPANY: New York Times
INDUSTRY: Media
What Makes Him HAUTE: The chairman and publisher of the New York Times has been running the paper’s daily operations since 1992. Under his tenure, Sulzberger has helped the Times become a national newspaper, and has won 39 Pulitzer Prizes.

David Tepper
CATEGORY: Billionaires
COMPANY: Appaloosa Management
INDUSTRY: Finance
What Makes Him HAUTE: This hedge fund manager specializes in buying stocks from companies that are either bankrupt or distressed and then profiting off of their recoveries. His investments include Bank of America, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Microsoft, and thus far he has had monumental success. The philanthropist recently donated a large sum of money to his namesake, the Tepper School of Business, at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University.

The Tisch Family
CATEGORY: Billionaires
COMPANY: Loews Corporation, New York Giants
INDUSTRY: Various
What Makes Them HAUTE: Arguably one of the most influential families in New York, there’s almost no part of the city that the family hasn’t touched. This includes Loews Corporation (of which Loews Hotels is a part of), Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Tisch Hospital at the NYU Medical Center, and the New York Giants. They are also strongly involved with numerous charities and philanthropy projects.