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The World’s Fourth Richest Man Now Owns Your Hotel Room

New Orleans

The memory must have lingered, even if the marriage ultimately didn’t. When Bill and Melinda Gates got married at the Four Seasons Lanai in 1994, that must have planted a seed in the Microsoft co-founder who would become the fourth richest in the world (the couple divorced in 2021). Gates, through his company Cascade, first invested in Four Seasons in 1997.

Now Cascade is taking control of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts by buying about half of Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s stake for the tidy sum of $2.21 billion, raising its ownership to 71.3% and valuing the hotel chain at $10 billion on an enterprise basis, according to Reuters. That means that Gates will now have ownership control of the brand at three exalted South Florida properties—in Miami, Palm Beach and Surfside. In addition to these local resorts, the Four Seasons flag flies over some of the world’s giants in luxury hospitality, including the Four Seasons Bora Bora, with a new hotel in New Orleans set to reopen after Hurricane Ida.

Prince Alwaleed, through his investment vehicle Kingdom Holding Co., will continue to own the remaining stake, Four Seasons said in a statement.

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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.