Clientele Luxury Global Winter 2017

Page 33

PEOPLE of 2017

Clientele Luxury has selected A Group of Impressive Industry Leaders Who have established a Wealth of Excellence. This is our Official Clientele Luxury People of 2017 list.

Vin Lee, Chief Executive, Grand Metropolitan Beverly Hills-based Grand Metropolitan, a leading privately held luxury goods conglomerate, operates a $7 billion, 120-brand portfolio. Chief Executive Vin Lee is well-known as a powerhouse business mogul with incredible luxury vision. His career started with an education in fine arts and graphic design, which lead to patents in mechanical displays for the entertainment industry. Cinemagic Marquee was at the forefront of what became a $6 billion industry worldwide with mechanical billboards. Grand Metropolitan brands have been featured in hundreds of publications, including Forbes, Prestige, and Luxurious Magazines. Lee was honored in Haute Living as one of the most influential CEOs in Los Angeles. New York-founded Finlay Enterprises is one of the largest privately-held jeweler groups in the world, including Whitehall Company, Lundstrom, Marks Brothers, Friedmans, and Crescent Jewelers. Finlay graces red carpets at the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys, and Independent Spirit Awards. Alongside Harry Winston, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier, Vin Lee Jewelers, the creator of the tennis earring, has been worn by celebrities, diplomats, and royalty, most notably by family of the President of France at Cannes. Crowning Grand Metropolitan’s portfolio, which also includes tobacco giant IMASCO and French fashion house Orcofi, is a legendary furniture retailer. One of the largest furniture brands in the world, Heilig-Meyers Furniture owns 20 of North America’s top retail brands, including Rhodes, Wickes, Glick, Krause's, J. Homestock, John M. Smyth's Homemakers, and Room Store. They also manage 20 consumer brands, including Four Seasons Home Accents, KidStore, and RentSmart. Heilig-Meyers and Rhodes Inc. have been major NASCAR sponsors and helped to raise millions of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Lee’s business also extends to Beverly Hills' Gallery Rodeo, whose collection comprises approximately 100 fine works from artists from Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, Klimt, and Rodin; Pushkin Caviar, which was featured at the Emmys’ after party and Monaco Yacht Show; and the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, rated one of the Top 5 Private Clubs in America by Playboy Magazine. The BHCC atmosphere accommodates those well-versed in wine, spirits, food, and cigars. Lee curates it with humble gratitude, offering Pushkin caviar and LOUIXS cigars available only through the club. Lee's personal blend of cigars, LOUIXS, are rated one of the top seven in the world and considered the "Bugatti Veyron" of the tobacco industry. Grand Metropolitan participates in various charity auctions and red carpet events, as well as the G20 Economic Summit, the World Economic Forum at Davos, and the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. They've further sponsored an array of events for NASCAR, Formula 1, Concours d'Elegance, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and Bike Week in Daytona Beach. In a world where baubles of luxury are his vocation and recreation, Vin Lee still enjoys a simple visage of life. Outside his milieus of precious jewels and fine art opulence, he indulges in rare, exhilarating moments of track racing vintage Porsches and Ferraris, encapsulating free time between Holmby Hills, CA and the beaches of South Florida. He believes there is still a long way to go, but the mileage of the journey taken so far has all been worth it. ■ www.ClienteleLuxury.com | 33


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