How Micky built the fortune
Micky Arison's wealth stems from Carnival, the cruise business founded in 1972 by his father, Ted Arison. Carnival Cruise Lines started with a single secondhand ship, the Mardi Gras, which ran aground on its first voyage out of Miami. The young company survived by selling cruises as affordable, informal holidays rather than as luxury travel for the wealthy, and it eventually became profitable enough to order new vessels. Micky joined the business early and became its chief executive in 1979, when he was still in his twenties, and chairman in 1990 after his father retired. Carnival's marketing of its ships as Fun Ships became one of the best known slogans in the travel industry.
As chief executive Arison turned Carnival from a single brand into a group that controls a large share of the global cruise market. Carnival listed its shares in 1987 and used them to buy rival lines, including Holland America in 1989, Costa Crociere and Cunard in the late 1990s, and Princess Cruises through a 2003 merger with P&O Princess that created a company listed in both New York and London. Each brand kept its own identity and target customers, while the group shared purchasing, shipbuilding orders and port operations, which lowered costs across the fleet.
Arison stepped down as chief executive in 2013, after a series of incidents including the 2012 sinking of the Costa Concordia off Italy and an engine room fire on the Carnival Triumph. He remained chairman. The cruise industry was hit hard in 2020 when the pandemic halted sailings worldwide, and Carnival raised large amounts of debt and equity to survive before demand returned. The Arison family still holds a substantial stake in the company.
Companies and holdings
Arison is also the managing general partner and controlling owner of the Miami Heat. His father bought the expansion franchise when it entered the NBA in 1988, and Micky took control in the 1990s. The team has won three championships, in 2006, 2012 and 2013, and plays at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami. The Heat built their championship teams around players including Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, and the franchise has been led on the basketball side by Pat Riley since 1995.
- Carnival Corporation and plc, chairman and major family shareholder
- Miami Heat, controlling owner
- Brands within Carnival including Princess, Holland America, Costa, AIDA, P&O Cruises and Cunard
Early life and career
Micky Arison was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and moved to the United States as a child when his father relocated the family. Ted Arison worked in shipping and air cargo before entering the cruise business in Miami. Micky studied business at the University of Miami but left before graduating to work in the family company. Growing up in a family involved in shipping gave him an early familiarity with maritime operations.
He began in sales roles at Carnival and moved through reservations and operations, learning how cruises were marketed to travel agents and how ships were scheduled and staffed. When his father stepped back from daily management, Micky was given leadership of the company at a young age, and he spent more than three decades in charge. His long tenure made him one of the longest serving chief executives of a large public company in the United States.
Philanthropy and public life
The Arison family has long supported arts education in Miami. Ted and Lin Arison founded the National YoungArts Foundation in 1981 to identify and support talented young artists, and the family helped establish the New World Symphony, a training orchestra for young musicians based in Miami Beach. Micky and his wife Madeleine have continued to support these institutions, and the Miami Heat run a charitable fund focused on youth and community programs.
Arison is an active presence on social media and attends many Heat games, but he rarely gives long interviews. His sister Shari Arison is a prominent businesswoman in Israel and manages separate family interests there. He has also been involved in Jewish and Israeli causes and in civic projects in South Florida.