Stephen M. Ross — BrandWiki

Stephen M. Ross

Overview

Stephen Ross

birth name	Stephen Michael Ross
birth date	May 10, 1940
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
known for	Developing the Deutsche Bank Center and the Hudson Yards
alma mater	University of Michigan (BBA) Wayne State University (JD) New York University (LLM)
occupation	Non Executive Chairman of Related Companies, 95% owner of Miami Dolphins
children	2
relatives	Max Fisher (uncle)

Stephen Michael Ross (born May 10, 1940) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and sports team owner. Ross is the chairman of Related Companies, a global real estate development firm he founded in 1972. Related is best known for developing Deutsche Bank Center, as well as the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. Ross has a net worth of $10.1 billion in 2020, ranking him 185 on Forbes Billionaires List in 2020.[1][2] He is still featured on the list as of 2023.[3] Ross is also the principal owner of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium.[4]

Ross is a major benefactor of his alma mater, the University of Michigan; with lifetime contributions of $478 million to the university, he is the largest donor in the university's history.[2]

Career

Ross began his career as a tax attorney at Coopers & Lybrand in Detroit. In 1968, he moved to New York City and accepted a position as an assistant vice president in the real estate subsidiary of Laird Inc., then worked in the corporate finance department of Bear Stearns. In 1972, he was fired from that company after clashing with a superior;[16] living off $10,000 ($67,000 in 2021 dollars) lent to him by his mother,[17] he utilized his federal tax law knowledge to organize deals for wealthy investors, allowing them to shelter income with the generous incentives granted by the federal government to promote the construction of federally subsidized affordable housing.[17]

Ross was very successful, earning $150,000 in his first year,[17] and he was soon arranging more complicated transactions.

In 1972, Ross founded Related Companies, a real estate development company.[18] Related originally began as the Related Housing Companies, which built thousands of subsidized low and moderate income apartments nationwide.[19] By the 1980s, Ross turned towards higher-profile projects. He hired architect Robert A.M. Stern in the 1990s to design The Chatham on the corner of 65th Street and Third Avenue.[19]

Headquartered in New York City, Related now has offices and real estate developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., South Florida, Abu Dhabi, and London. The company directly employs approximately 4,000 people.[20][21] The company's existing portfolio of real estate assets, valued at over $60 billion, is made up of mixed-use, residential, retail, office, trade show and affordable properties in what the company calls "premier high-barrier-to-entry markets."[21]

Related is the largest owner of luxury residential rental properties with over 40,000 units in its portfolio[22] and has developed mixed-use projects such as Deutsche Bank Center in New York, CityPlace in West Palm Beach, The Grand in Los Angeles (designed by Frank Gehry)[19] and the 28-acre Hudson Yards project[23] on Manhattan's west side.[24] Hudson Yards is the largest and most expensive real-estate project in America — at almost a billion dollars an acre. Ross constructed an atrium inside Hudson Yards specifically to entice Coach into moving into the development.[19] Related is also a major investor in Equinox Fitness Clubs, SoulCycle and fast casual restaurant chains.[20][21]

The company announced in July 2024 that Ross would be stepping down as chairman of Related Companies to focus on his business ventures via Related Ross, the Miami Dolphins, and F1. Ross will continue to serve as nonexecutive chairman of Related Companies.[25]

Via Related Ross, the developer is looking to invest $10 billion to turn West Palm Beach into a financial hub, with plans for six million square feet of office space, 1.4 million square feet of condos, and nearly 900 hotel rooms across the 70 acres of land he’s amassed over the last two decades. In December 2025, Related Ross received a $772 million loan, one of the largest construction loans in Florida history, for two office towers in West Palm Beach.[26][27] On April 2, 2026, Related Ross broke ground for a 28-story condominium along the water in West Palm Beach.[28]

Miami Dolphins

In February 2008, Ross bought 50% of the Miami Dolphins franchise, Dolphin Stadium (now known as Hard Rock Stadium), and surrounding land from then-owner Wayne Huizenga for $550 million, with an agreement to later become the Dolphins' managing general partner. On January 20, 2009, Ross closed on the purchase of an additional 45% of the team from Huizenga. The total value of the deal was $1.1 billion.[29][30] This means Ross is now the owner of 95% of both the franchise and the stadium. Ross announced his intention to keep Bill Parcells as the director of football operations.[4]

Since buying the Dolphins, Ross has brought in Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams as minority owners of the team. In 2013, Roger Goodell made a pitch to the Florida legislature on Ross’ behalf in order to obtain multimillion-dollar public funding from the state to help renovate Hard Rock Stadium, the Dolphins' home field.[31]

F1

Ross owns the Miami International Autodrome, a purpose-built temporary circuit around Hard Rock Stadium. The Autodrome has exclusive rights to host the Miami Grand Prix through the 2041 season, with the Formula One Grand Prix held for the first time during the 2022 season. Ross had been trying to bring about the Miami Grand Prix for several years before being successful. The circuit layout is designed in a way that local residents would not be disrupted by the races. It is also one of the newest racetracks in the United States.[39]

RSE Ventures

RSE Ventures is a private investment firm that focuses on sports and entertainment, media and marketing, food and lifestyle, and technology. RSE Ventures was co-founded in 2012 by Ross and Matt Higgins, former executive vice president of the New York Jets.[40][41] RSE builds, owns and operates a variety of companies, including the Drone Racing League, Thuzio, VaynerMedia, and Relevent.[42][43]

Civic and philanthropic activities

In 2004, Ross made the single largest contribution (at the time) to the University of Michigan by donating $100 million to the school.[8] The university renamed its business school Ross School of Business in his honor. Ross invested in a partnership named RERI that was donated to the University of Michigan. RERI obtained its own appraisal for the donation in the amount of $32.935 million. The university sold the Ross-donated remaining interest in December 2005.[44] Ross was co-chair of the University of Michigan's fundraising campaign, which was completed in May 2007. On September 12, 2013, it was announced Ross had committed an additional $200 million gift to the university, to be distributed equally among the Ross School of Business and the university's athletic department. It replaced Charlie Munger's 2013 contribution of $115 million as the largest single gift in the university's history.[45] On September 20, 2017, Ross donated an additional $50 million to the University of Michigan, the majority of which would support career development programs for students, innovative action-based learning experiences, and resources for attracting and developing junior faculty.[46]

In 2015, Ross founded RISE, a coalition which fights racism and promotes social justice within the sports industry. RISE has partnered with NASCAR, National Lacrosse League, PGA of America, Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, United States Tennis Association, and USA Track & Field.[47][48]

In 2020, he committed $63.5 million to support the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, bringing his total contribution to the program to $100 million. The program features a network of over 350 experts working in cities around the globe to create accessible, equitable, and resilient urban areas. Ross also helped establish the WRI Ross Center and the New Urban Mobility alliance (NUMO), with contributions of $36.5 million.[49] The same year, Ross made an additional $13 million donation to RISE, bringing his total commitment to $30 million.[47][48]

Ross is chairperson emeritus of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the city's leading real estate trade association. As a member of the board of trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Ross was involved in the planning of a major renovation of the Frank Lloyd Wright iconic building and other new museums. He is a trustee of New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Urban Land Institute, the NY Chapter of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the Levin Institute and is a director of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and the World Resources Institute.[50]

Ross serves on the Board for the Cornell Tech Campus,[51] a $2B redevelopment of Roosevelt Island including the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, a partnership between Cornell University and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology that when completed will house several thousand postgraduate students, hundreds of faculty, and a high-tech business incubator.[52]

Stephen M. Ross

Early life and education

Career

Miami Dolphins

F1

RSE Ventures

Civic and philanthropic activities

Politics

Honors and awards

Personal life

External links

References