PHOTO courtesy Cy Cyr/BuilderOnline
Influence100
Mori Hosseini {titan} Any savvy politician with statewide ambitions knows that conventional maps are for rubes. Political cognoscenti understand that Florida is really subdivided among warlords; a loose collection of political fiefdoms controlled at the local and regional levels by people of intellect, wealth and power. It’s a place where the lines are no less important because they are invisible; lines that denote where one’s power ends and another’s begins. If a candidate happens to be in the Middle Kingdom along the Atlantic seaboard above the I-4 corridor, he or she will seek the approval of Mori Hosseini. An Iranian immigrant who started life as a Floridian in a $125-a-month apartment in Daytona Beach and rose to create ICI, a billion-dollar construction company, Mori is the embodiment of the American Dream. His accomplishments in the civic realm match his mastery of business. Mori is chairman of the Board of Governors of Florida’s State University System and sits on the Board of Embry-Riddle. His family founded Food Brings Hope, a charity aimed at feeding poor children. What is less obvious are his accomplishments in the political realm. His sphere of power stretches from Florida to the White House, and he’s the rare mega-donor whose grasp of the nuances of the political process equal his generosity in supporting candidates. He exudes the polished grace of a diplomat, and his style of influence relies much more on charm than table-pounding. Maybe that’s because Mori has learned the lesson that sooner or later you’ll end up at his table. Paul Bradshaw is founder of Southern Strategy Group, Florida’s largest governmental affairs firm. He has worked on several political campaigns including those for statewide candidates such as former Gov. Jeb Bush.
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