Micky Arison

Micky Arison is the former CEO and current chairman of cruise operator Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL). Arison also bought the the NBA team the Miami Heat, in 2010. Micky Arison was born in Israel in 1949 and dropped out of college in Miami to start working in the sales department at Carnival, which was founded by his father, Ted Arison, in 1972. Arison became president in 1979, helped the company go public in 1987, and became chairman and CEO in 1990 until June 2013 when he was replaced by Arnold W. Donald, who had served on the company's board for a dozen years. Arison has led Carnival through the acquisitions of several other cruise lines, including Holland America, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa Cruises and Princess, which expanded the company into the luxury cruise market and gave it approximately a 50% market share. He has also helped Carnival's cruises to frequently operate at full occupancy, increasing the company's profitability.

Mickey Arison is estimated to have a net worth of $9.1 billion as of 2017, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Micky Arison was born in Israel in 1949, and helped co-found Carnival Cruises with his father Ted Airson in the 1970s. Through this and other investments and business actitivies, Micky Arison has become one of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth exceeding $9 billion.

Carnival Cruise Lines is one of the world's largest cruise and tourism operators, containing more than 10 individual brands and operating more than 100 vessels. Carnival operates as a dual-jurisdiction corporation, with a U.S.-based unit (Carnival Corporation) and a U.K.-based unit (Carnival, Plc.) operating in conjunction as a singly entity. Carnival's brands currently include Carnival Cruise Lines, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Lines, Fathom, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn Cruise Lines. As of 2017, the company employs more than 120,000 individuals.

In 1995, Mickey Arison became managing general partner of the NBA team, the Miami Heat and hired Pat Riley as the team's head coach. He helped make the team more competitive, with numerous playoff appearances, and helped turn it into a championship team that won the NBA title in 2006. The Heat also won the NBA finals in 2012 and 2013. Arison served a three year term as chairman of the NBA Board of Governors and has been named to Forbes' list of the world's richest people.