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Billion-Dollar Ball

With the signing of soccer superstar Lionel Messi, it’s clear that David Beckham arguably made the best deal in sports history.

The signing of 35-year-old Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi to the Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami has rocked the sports world. The verdict is in: Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham is a sports deal mastermind as well as a legendary athlete. The acquisition, according to experts, has pushed Inter Miami’s valuation from $600 million to $1 billion. And that’s after the 48-year-old footballer earned $225 million on an initial investment of $25 million when he purchased the club—an audacious bid to transform Miami into a soccer town. Beckham and the ownership group snapped up the soccer club in 2014; the first game was played in 2020. In opting for Miami, Messi rejected a reported $400 million offer from Saudi Arabia; meanwhile, the Miami Herald reports that Messi’s deal will net him as much as $150 million in two and a half years. But some decisions are about more than money. Two years ago, clearly in a Miami state of mind, Messi bought a $7.3 million condo in Sunny Isles Beach.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.