
Jorge Perez was born in 1950 in
Argentina. He is the chairman and majority owner of The Related Group of
Florida - one of the largest real estate developers in the United States, which specializes in the construction of high-rise condos.
Biography and Career :
After his birth his family moved in
Colombia where they started a pharmaceutical business. When he grew up he wasn't very pleased about parents' business and about South America and decided to go in USA.
He established his home in Miami, Florida in 1968. He attended the University of Michigan and he completed his
master's degree in urban planning.
After he finished his studies he returned in Miami and started to work. His ascension started in 1979 when he founded with developer Steven Ross The Related Group of Florida. The company initially focused on refurbishing houses built during the Art Deco period of the 1920s and '30s.
The Related Group of Florida became in ten years one of the best construction companies.
In 2003 Perez and Philippe Starck began the construction of Icon Brickell, a two-leveled high-rise condo located in Miami Beach which has four interior motifs : Classic, Culture, Nature and Minimal.
Other great buildings developed by Jorge Perez are: One Miami in downtown Miami, the Ocean III in Sunny Isles, the Slade in Palm Beach, and the Boca Grande in Boca Raton and Sheraton Biscayne Bay.
The last big project developed by Perez is Las Ramblas in
Las Vegas which is a combination of luxury condos, a five-star hotel, restaurants, night clubs, and an upscale casino.
In this project is also involved the great actor
George Clooney.
Trivia :
- He lived in Colombia before moving to Miami in 1968.
- He is known as the "
Donald Trump of the Tropics".
- He owns 50 condo towers in various stages of completion in South Florida, Fort Myers and Las Vegas.
- His company, the Related Group of Florida, had $2.1 billion in revenue in 2004.
Quotes :
- "I'm really not a people person. It takes a huge effort for me to become open in public and I'm fairly shy."
- "I never saw myself as a businessman; it was more about my desire to do things on my own and to create."
Jorge Perez Image : miamidadearts.org
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