The Rich & Famous Love South Beach

There is just something about South Beach that seems to act like a magnet that attracts the rich and famous from all over the world. South Beach seems to be the place to see as well as to be seen.

This magnetism isn’t a new thing. It started way back in ‘the day’. During the 1920’s and 30’s many millionaires including J. C. Penny, Harvey Firestone, Harvey Stutz, Albert Champion, Frank Seiberling and Rockwell LeGorce all built homes on South Beach. South Beach was obviously ‘The’ place to be so Al Capone, the famous gentleman gangster bought Clarence Busch's Palm Island estate as his permanent residence in 1928. Miami and South Beach were not amused and they did everything possible to remove Al Capone from the area to no avail. Al Capone served several prison terms but he always returned to South Beach when he was released. There was that magnetism!

The magnetic pull that South Beach has on the rich and famous has never diminished. The late, great Jackie Gleason insisted on filming his television show there in the 1960’s and that only added to the attraction. Miami Vice was also filmed in the area.

On any given day, those who love to engage in the sport of ‘people’ watching are treated to seeing many famous faces all over the South Beach area. It really is the playground of the rich and famous and the ‘beautiful’ people. The rich and famous are often spotted shopping at the very exclusive shops and dining at the world famous restaurants. There are so many famous people seen every day that it has become ‘old hat’ to the locals who don’t pay much attention to them...but tourists sure do. South Beach is the scene of many fashion shoots and it is by nature a movie set already built and ready for filming.

In 1997 the famous designer, Gianni Versace was shot by Andrew Cunanan as he was unlocking the gates to his Mansion on Ocean Drive. It was a tragic event but in true South Beach style, the mansion became famous. It is to this day one of the favorite spots for taking photographs by tourists. You might call these snap shots ‘morbid Kodak moments’. They are very popular.

Gianni Versace had purchased the 19,000 square foot mansion called Casa Casuarina in 1990. There are twelve bedrooms and thirteen bathrooms as well as an observatory. Famous people like Madonna, Sting and Elton John were known to hang out there.

The mansion had been valued at more that thirty million dollars but after the murder or Gianni Versace it was sold to a group of investors for only nineteen million.

The mansion is now a private club. If you would like to join right up, it will cost you $40,000 to join and an annual membership fee of $3,600. If you don’t want to join, you can just rent a room for between $2,000 and $6,000 per night. The mansion sits in the very heart of South Beach’s Art Deco historic district.