$$ “Look at it,” Rick Ross says, arms outstretched, head tilted, basking in the brilliant Florida sun. “This is Miami. Beautiful. It's most definitely for me.”
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.
Ross has long been a voracious consumer of the finer things, having amassed enviable collections of cars, jewellery and watches as well as a substantial real-estate
