Riding High With The Boss

Hit records, diamond-encrusted Rolexes and a car collection so vast he's lost count of what's in it-Miamibased rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross is living his dream. But it's his latest acquisition, a tricked-out Gulfstream G550, that makes the biggest statement.

- Leah Faye Cooper

Dressed in a blue Balenciaga tracksuit and New Balance sneakers, his wrist adorned with a rose-gold Rolex Presidential Day-Date, Ross has just pulled up to his property on Star Island, the exclusive Miami Beach enclave where Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan and pharmaceutical billionaire Phillip Frost are among past and present residents. The 47-year-old rapper, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed ‘biggest boss’ is in a buoyant mood—smiling, shaking everyone’s hand and pouring from the bottle of Luc Belaire rose he keeps near him at all times. (As a nod to his wine of choice, Ross also goes by Rozay.) Because the house Ross spent a reported US$35 million on is being prepped for demolition—he wants an upgrade—we’re in the backyard, next to the pool that overlooks Biscayne Bay. The vision of this life of grandeur, Ross says, first came into focus when he was growing up about 30km away in Carol City.

“When you seen that Jaguar and you’re stepping out of your Buick,” he says, “you understood what luxury was right then. And we loved my dad’s Buick, but I understood (luxury) early and I was attracted to it early. By the time I was in third grade, I knew I wanted to be riding in leather seats. We pulled it off.” Indeed.