Stuart Miller

Billionaire Miller has led Lennar, the Miami homegrown homebuilder that’s shaped American suburbs for 70-plus years, since 1997. The firm has developed more than 1 million residences. 

Under his reign, the firm continued its expansion through acquisitions of other developers and diversification into business lines such as its LenX proptech arm and Quarterra multifamily division. It also spun off commercial property division LNR and later distressed investment arm Rialto, later selling both. 

Lennar has a machine-like “starts, sales, deliveries” M.O. that allows it to mass produce communities. Many of its developments are easy to spot –– look for the cookie-cutter homes in sprawling subdivisions targeting working families. The strategy relies on Lennar’s partnerships with land banks and its own land bank spinoff, Millrose Properties, allowing it to lock down developable land before it’s ready to build while keeping the land costs off its balance sheet. 

While the company is hailed for its role in alleviating the housing shortage and its executives’ business acumen, it’s been plagued by allegations of shoddy construction. Lennar was cleared of criminal wrongdoing after Hurricane Andrew’s destruction in south Miami-Dade in 1992, where Lennar is the biggest developer, and the firm settled homeowners’ class action for $2.4 million, denying wrongdoing. It also hasn’t dodged the 2025 market favoring buyers, experiencing a drop in revenue. 

Miller has a penchant for Miami Beach’s exclusive residential Star Island, where he owns an estate, scored approval for a mega-mansion, and sold development sites to billionaire Ken Griffin. 

— Lidia Dinkova