Sam Nazarian was born in 1975 in Tehran, Iran, however, the exact date of his birth is unknown in the media. He is an Iranian-American entrepreneur, businessman, and investor, best known to the world as the founder, Chairman and CEO of the SBE Entertainment Group. His career has been active since 1998.
Have you ever wondered how rich Sam Nazarian is, as of mid-2016? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Nazarian`s net worth is as high as $150 million, earned through his successful business career. His company owns several luxury hotels, restaurants, and casinos, the successful management of which has steadily increased his net worth.
Sam Nazarian Net Worth $150 Million
Born into a Persian-Jewish family, he and the rest of the Nazarians left Iran after the 1979 Iranian revolution, and settled in Beverly Hills, California. Sam`s father is Younes Nazarian, who became rich from investing in Qualcomm in its early stages. Sam went to Beverly Hills High School, and after matriculation enrolled at the University of Southern California.
His career began in 1998, when he founded the telecommunication business, Platinum Wireless, its main operation being the distribution of Nextel software. Little by little, his company grew, and so did his net worth. Using the profits of the company, Sam diversified his family assets by moving into real estate holdings; he started the real estate development firm 3Wall Development.
In 2002 he founded SBE Entertainment Group, which is a hospitality, real estate and entertainment company. Through the firm, Sam owns numerous nightclubs, restaurants, hotels and lounges, whose successful management certainly steadily increases his net worth.
Some of the nightclubs in his ownership include Create, Emerson, Hyde, Colony, Greystone Manor, Eden, The Abbey and MyHouse amoung others. He partnered with Philippe Starck, Jose Andres, Katsuya Uechi and Michael Mina to start several restaurnats; Katsuya restaurant has its locations in Hollywood, Glendale, Los Angeles, and San Diego, XIV restaurant was opened with Michael Mina on Sunset Strip.
Sam is also the owner of the SLS chain of hotels, including SLS Las Vegas, SLS Lux, SLS Beverly Hills, SLS Brickell and SLS South Beach. Also he owns the Redbury Hotels in Hollywood, Southbeach and New York, all contributing to his net worth.
Through the SBE Entertainment group, Sam has also served as the executive producer for films with budgets under $15 million. His producing debut was Gil Cates Jr.`s “A Midsummer Night`s Rave” in 2002, since when he has put his name on more than 10 films, including “The Beautiful Country” (2004), directed by Hans Petter Moland, “Down In The Valley” (2005), with Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood as leads, “Waiting” (2005), with Ryan Reynolds in the lead role. In the second half of the 2000s, the films on which he was executive producer became more popular, such as “The Last Time” (2006), “Five Fingers” (2006), “Mr. Brooks” with Kevin Costner, Demi Moore and William Hurt in lead roles, and “Kill Theory” in 2009, among others, all of which added a substantial amount to his net worth.
Thanks to his successful career, Sam has received numerous awards, and recognitions; in 2006 he was named as one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful People in Southern California” by the magazine West. Also in 2014 he was included in the Fortune`s 40 Under 40 list. Back in 2009, the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa named Sam into the Board of Airport Commissioners of the Los Angeles World Airports. Furthermore, he received the Hotelier of the Year honors for two consecutive years, by HotelChatter.com.
Regarding his personal life, Sam has been married to Emina Cunmulaj, an Albanian-American model, since 2015; the couple has one child together.
Sam is also recognized as a philanthropist; he started the SBE Foundation, through which he supports numerous causes, including education and improving children`s health. Also he donated $200,000 to the Beverly Hills Athletic Alumni Association, and Beverly High School changed the name of its basketball court to Sam Nazarian.
