A profile of Micky Arison – Miami Heat owner

Miami Heat owner Micky Arison is one of the richest Jews in the world and has been consistently finding a place in the list of the top 250 richest people in the world.

For more than a quarter of a century (1979-2013), he was the chairman of Carnival Corporation  - the world’s largest cruise operator. Arison developed Carnival into a global cruise company and one of the largest vacation companies in the world. The portfolio of leading cruise brands includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line in North America; P&O Cruises, Cunard Line and Ocean Village in the United Kingdom; AIDA in Germany; Costa Cruises in southern Europe; Iberocruceros in Spain; and P&O Cruises in Australia.

According to Forbes, Micky Arison is worth 6.3 billion dollars. In 2009, he earned $7,201,110, which included a base salary of $880,000, a cash bonus of $2,206,116, stocks granted of $3,618,481, and other compensation totaling $496,513.

Micky Arison

But Arison is known around the world as the owner of the NBA team Miami Heat.

His father Ted brought the Miami Heat franchise to Southern Florida, but it was Micky who took control in 1995 and made the Heat one of NBA’s top organisations. He brought to the Heat the same standard of excellence that propelled Carnival Corporation into a global vacation leader.

One of Arison’s first moves was to re-shape the Miami Heat constitution and he brought in Pat Riley, one of NBA’s coaching legends, as the Heat’s President. Together, Arison and Riley have built an organization that is considered one of the NBA’s elite franchises.

At present Micky Arison is the Managing General Partner of the Heat while his son Nick Arison serves as the Chief Exectutive Officer. The President of Miami Heat is Pat Riley while the head coach is Erik Spoelstra.

Miami Heat has won the NBA championships in 2006, 2012 and 2013 with Arison and Riley at the helm. Miami has also made the Playoffs in 15 of the last 18 seasons, winning 10 division titles, four Eastern Conference championships and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals six times.