Every year, the
rich and famous
flock to its prestigious evenings.
After his summer “white party”, Michael Rubin once again welcomed the American elite during an event organized before the Super Bowl, on Saturday February 10, at the Marquee Dayclub in Las Vegas.
Among the personalities present: Kim Kardashian and her alleged boyfriend Odell Beckham Jr., her sisters Khloé Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, Paul Rudd and even Tom Brady.
An evening during which Michael Rubin happily posed with the Kardashian sisters and hugged the quarterback.
But who is this mysterious billionaire, whose parties have already brought together Beyoncé, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and even Kylian Mbappé?
To discover
Podcast
> Gwyneth Paltrow: the strange guru from the Upper East Side
The keys to supporting women in their working lives
Download the Le Figaro Cuisine app for tasty and authentic recipes
Business in the skin
If Michael Rubin has such a generous budget to organize sumptuous parties, it is because his fortune amounts to 11.5 billion dollars (10.6 billion euros), according to
Forbes
.
It must be said that the CEO of Fanatics, an online sports merchandising store, has business in his skin.
Born on July 21, 1972, the 51-year-old billionaire did not grow up in a family of entrepreneurs.
The little boy, whose father is a veterinarian and whose mother is a psychiatrist, grew up in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.
But at the age of 12, he created Mike's Ski & Sport, a store where you could adjust your skis, which he installed in his parents' basement.
Read alsoIn photos, the crazy ultra VIP white evening in the Hamptons
Two years later, he used the 2,500 dollars (2,300 euros) received for his bar mitzvah, as well as a lease signed by his father, to open a real ski store.
But his business acumen is not yet sharp.
To the point that at the age of 16, Michael Rubin had already contracted a debt of 120,000 dollars (111,000 euros).
The young man is, nevertheless, a fine negotiator.
He manages to make arrangements with his creditors, and convinces his father to lend him 37,000 dollars (34,000 euros).
The latter accepts, on one condition: that he enrolls at university.
The teenager already owned five stores when he entered Villanova University.
His time within the establishment will only be more brief.
A semester later, he abandoned his studies.
300 partnerships
At the age of 17, Michael Rubin bought 200,000 dollars (185,000 euros) of sports equipment at a reduced price - 17,000 dollars (15,000 euros), borrowed from a friend - and resold it for 75,000 dollars (69,000 euros).
Without a second thought, Michael Rubin shed his ski shops and founded KPR Sports – with the initials of his parents, Ken and Paulette – a company that buys and sells clearance items.
At 21, the entrepreneur recorded 1 million dollars in sales (928,000 euros), amassed in one year.
In 1995, its turnover reached 50 million dollars (46 million euros).
At the end of the 1990s, Michael Rubin tried a new gamble: creating a clothing and logistics company, Global Sports Incorporated, which would become GSI commerce, an e-commerce company.
A company that he sold in 2011 for the modest sum of 2.4 billion dollars (2.2 billion euros) to the giant eBay.
It nevertheless retains 3 assets: Fanatics, Rue La La and ShopRunner.
The same year,
Forbes
ranked him among the 20 most powerful CEOs under 40 of the year.
A decade later, Michael Rubin sold ShopRunner to FedEx for an undisclosed amount.
In 2021, he announced that Fanatics will become a global digital platform dedicated to sports.
An outstanding negotiator, the businessman won more than 300 partnerships with leagues, sports and teams during his career, notably with the National American Football League, and counts Jay-Z among his investors.
He also bought a basketball team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
A philanthropist
Like any self-respecting billionaire, Michael Rubin has also engaged in philanthropic activities.
When the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, it closed one of its Fanatics factories to manufacture hospital gowns and personal protective equipment.
The same year, he collected 60 million dollars (55 million euros), which he donated to associations fighting against hunger in the world.
In October 2023, he joined forces with the Make-a-Wish organization to make sick people's wishes come true in the field of sports.
A generous donor, Michael Rubin is equally magnanimous when it comes to partying.
White party
Friend with many personalities from the world of music, such as Meek Mill and Lil Baby, Michael Rubin gives a “
white party
” every summer, during which his guests arrive dressed all in white.
In his business affairs as in his select evenings, he leaves no detail to chance.
Its events attract between 350 and 1000 hand-picked guests.
“I manage the guest list for the white party
myself
, as well as that of the Super Bowl party,” he confided to
Billboard
on Thursday, February 8.
I approve of every name on the list.
It’s just about making sure the right people are in the room.”
The man with 925,000 Instagram subscribers has not forgotten his family life.
On the social network, Michael Rubin poses in matching pajamas – as is customary among celebrities – with his partner since 2016, Camille Fishel, model and founder of the yoga clothing brand Phat Buddha, and their three children. .
Proof that he masters the art of communication as well as his most famous and wealthy friends.