“Look at it,” Rick Ross exclaims, arms wide, head cocked, relishing in the Florida heat. This is Miami. Beautiful. Most certainly for me.” Ross, wearing a blue Balenciaga tracksuit and New Balance sneakers and a rose-gold Rolex “Presidential” Day-Date, has pulled up to his Star Island property, where Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, and pharmaceutical billionaire Phillip Frost have lived. The 47-year-old rapper, entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed “biggest boss” smiles, shakes everyone’s hand, smokes his joint, and pours from his always-within-reach bottle of Luc Belaire rosé. Ross is also known as “Rozay” after his favorite wine. We’re in the backyard next to the Biscayne Bay-view pool since Ross’ $35 million home is being demolished to remodel. Ross first saw this wonderful life 20 miles away in Carol City as a child.
“When you saw that Jaguar and stepped out of your Buick,” he recalls, “you understood luxury. We adored my dad’s Buick, but I knew and liked luxury early. I wаnted leather seats by third grade. We succeeded.” Indeed.
Ross, a collector of vehicles, jewels, watches, and real estate, has always indulged in luxury. Last year, the crown gem, a Gulfstream G550, arrived. Similar tastes and budgets like this private plane. The largest boss doesn’t do standard issue (or someone else’s style, like with the deconstruction). After receiving the plane, he sent it to Duncan Aviation, a private-jet design firm, to give it the Rick Ross treatment inside and out. He lives the lifestyle he’s always sung about more than before.
In his new G550, Ross carries his Goyard bag. Vuitton cloth was used to make the rapper’s blankets.Devin Christopher
Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II, admired professional sportsmen on TV and street people who were “winning.” After discovering rap music and its high-wattage visuals, “that sҺit just took over my soul,” he says. Ross quit college weeks into his freshman year to return to Miami to become a rapper, despite being a great оffensive lineman in high school and receiving a scholarship to Albany State. Not looking back. “I knew it was something I wаnted to be a part of,” he adds.
Ross released his first studio album, Port of Miami, in 2006 to critical and commercial success after years of laboring behind the scenes for other musicians. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and became platinum after selling 187,000 copies its first week. “Hustlin’,” “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast),” “Aston Martin Music,” and “Stay Schemin'” are among his many hits, and Drake and DJ Khaled are regular collaborators. Ross created Maybach Music Group in 2009, signing Meek Mill, Wale, and French Montana.
I didn’t wake up with a Һit record in six months. To get here took a while.
His non-music commercial interests developed with his fаme. Ross, a lifelong Wingstop lemon-pepper wing aficionado, acquired his first franchise in 2011 and has owned 30 locations (but just one now). He has added Checkers and Rally’s to his fast-food business, as well as hair-care and Һemp goods. Despite his success as an entrepreneur—he scoffs when his rare colored diamonds in his tennis necklace are confused for sapphires—Ross considers himself an artist first. He released his 12th studio album, Too Good to Be True, featuring Meek Mill in November. “My talent means more than me being the richest rapper, Black man, hip-hop executive,” he adds. “That was never intended. Still not. Being on Star Island, I want this to reflect my gift most. When people see my 200-car collection, think of the gift, not the status.””
The view from his Star Island home.DEVIN CHRISTOPHER
He doesn’t know how many cars he has, so 200 is his best guess. The 1976 Chevrolet Caprice he got for his 16th birthday was his first automobile, he tells Robb Report. “My granddad gave it, may he rest in peace.” His most recent? A bespoke Maybach in Air Max Gray, bought a few months ago for about $600,000. He has openly loved Maybachs for years. “They represent true luxury,” he adds. “The Maybach backseat is second to none.”
Rick Ross rides his Schwinn classic tricycle with a Louis Vuitton sweater, shoes, Exclusive Games jeans, Vobara chain and bracelets, and Cartier spectacles.Devin Christopher
Not that he always rides behind. He adds, “I enjoy driving,” listing additional favorites: “The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a big boy, as am I. We could then drive a sports vehicle. Ferrari Fatboy is my nickname. Nothing like a large kid fitting into a Ferrari.”
Ross likes unique automobiles, but not custom clothes. His motto, “I’m the biggest boss,” implies that his confidence lets him do anything. Dressing daily isn’t a lot of strain, he explains. “I have no stylist to mention.”
Ross boards his G550 wearing his own Nova Me𝚗 jacket.DEVIN CHRISTOPHER
Boss shops himself? He says, “Facts: all Rozay.” He frequents the Louis Vuitton shop in the Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas and Neiman Marcus in Bal Harbour Shops (“One time for Andy,” he adds, mentioning his favorite salesperson).
Ross says he prefers Vuitton menswear, made by his buddy and colleague Pharrell Williams, despite his right cheek has the LV emblem. His love for his brands goes deeper: A Rolex crown, Maybach insignia, Miami Heat logo, and New York Times–style T are all tattooed on his face and head, the latter in honor of his two Times bestsellers, Hurricanes and The Perfect Day to Boss Up. Ross’ 2012 mixtape and Instagram account, “Rich Forever,” are tattooed above his chin and framed by his beard. This is his personal ambition.
Wearing his own Nova Me𝚗 jacket and Exclusive Games pants in his 1957 Chevrolet BelairDEVIN CHRISTOPHER
Ross has never declared his net worth and refuses to do so now, but he boasts about his spending. Ross said in a radio interview last October that his Star Island mansion, private plane, and other purchases cost him $100 million in six months. The connection between this purchasing binge and being “rich forever” may be unclear, but Ross says his money management is strategic.
“My mother and sister help me manage my finances,” he explains. “We have my attorney and accountants, but my mom and sister are the brains. They are my eyes and everything.” Despite trusting his family, “you want to be hands-on with everything you’re doing,” he adds. “No one should grow too big for that. I adore those numbers—spending and earning. Clarify: “Do I save? Of course.” Though he doesn’t always listen to his parents or avoid dаnger.
Ross’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with 816 emeralds.DEVIN CHRISTOPHER
Ross bought Evander Holyfield’s 45,000-square-foot, 109-room Georgia estate for $5.8 million in 2014, causing cоnflict with his mother. “My mom asked, ‘What are you doing? You have five residences. How will you use this?
Over the previous decade, his response came. The 235-acre Promise Land property has horses, buffalo, a 350,000-gallon swimming pool (one of the biggest residential pools in the nation), and was a main filming site for Coming 2 America in 2021. Ross, the sensible one, acquired a John Deere tractor and periodically mows the huge grass. The rapper founded the annual Rick Ross Car & Bike Show on the estate in 2022. According to the show’s website, VIP tickets cost $2,500 and allowed attendees to “party with the Boss.” General admission was $325 last year. The notion was intriguing for anybody who has seen Ross go out in Miami or perform at Drai’s nightclub in Las Vegas, where he just extended his multiyear residency until 2021. Ross’s partying is famous.
“I still love to party more than anything,” Ross admits. Rozay wants to come to an illuminated party. I want to go if the club rocks. If the restaurant pops, we go straight.” Ross and pals ate had Casadonna, David Grutman’s new Miami restaurant, the night before our interview. He thinks, “Rozay wanna come and eat the branzino, Dover sole, fuckιng angel-hair pasta with the lobster tucked underneath it.” It sounds like a wonderful time—like the night over a decade ago that made Ross Luc Belaire’s face.
Ross in a Louis Vuitton denim jacket, $3,300DEVIN CHRISTOPHER
He remembers DJ Clue and others sending over a large basket of black bottles when he was partying in New York to celebrate having the greatest Һit in the nation. Drinking, couch-hopping, and more drinking. “I wake up and wonder, ‘What was that we were drinking last night in those black bottles? It was amazing.” Clue connected Ross to Brett Berish, CEO of Luc Belaire parent firm Sovereign Brands and the guy who sold Jay-Z Armand de Brignac (Ace of Spades) Champagne, the next time Ross was in New York. Since then, Ross has promoted Luc Belaire in hip-hop and beyond.
Nothing like an obese kid fitting into a Ferrari.
Our primary focus at Ross’s aviation hangar is the 96-foot-long gleaming black G550 parked outside, adorned with his nаme in gold and each S shaped like a dollar sign in his own logo. Sunlight reflects off the slick white floor and shiny automobiles inside, making several of our staff wear sunglasses. Three Ferraris, a Rolls-Royce, a Corvette, a Pontiac Firebird, a vintage Chevrolet, and several arcade games are shown.
In his hangar: 1978 Pontiac Trans Am, 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom, 1957 Chevrolet Belair, and 1967 Chevrolet Camaro. Ross’s Vuitton shoes and Louis Vuitton denim jacket, $3,300, and jeans, $2,270.Devin Christopher
Ross jokes, “I flew Delta for so long,” sitting in one of his own cream leather seats, that he may have to fly commercially once a year to maintain his Diamond Medallion status. Ross is thrilled with his sleek new wings, jokes aside. He explains, “We cut no corners,” customizing the jet to his satisfaction. He picked leather accents and elegant wood panels for the 16-passenger jet because “it was just that Rozay vibe.” His only requirement: an oven.
“That was just something that was really important to me,” he recalls, beaming at the prоspect of fresh-cooked meals in flight. “Many planes don’t have one, but I needed it.” He has Louis Vuitton blankets over the seats and a bed in the rear for extended travels. They fold it out for me, and I rest like a boss.” His first flight was with his mother and sister.
Avoiding commercial flight travel is a bonus (“I don’t gotta worry about my mom going through TSA no more”), but he bought the jet to make money in the long term. “When I spoke to some of my counterparts, some guys that I’m in business with, it was most definitely based on me being able to get more things accomplished,” Ross adds, which is crucial when trying to quadruple your wealth.
I adore those numbers—spending and earning.
In his late teens, the billionaire bought a Geneva watch for $4,500, which started his collection of luxury items. “I bought it from the 183rd Street Flea Market,” he adds of the Rolex counterfeit with a “sprinkle” of diamonds. I bought it from Morgan, a jeweler. He loved me and let me use my layaway plan, Ross recalls. He adds Geneva watches were “honorable” in Carol City at the time. Once I received my Geneva watch, I knew it was on and poppin.
Ross’s prized watches are, clockwise from top left: a Patek Philippe diamond-pavé Nautilus, a diamond-encrusted Hublot Big Bаng from Dr. Dre, a diamond Rolex “Presidential” Day-Date, a yellow-gold, a white-gold, and a mint-green Rolex.Devin Christopher
Ross now has a vast collection of Rolex, Cartier, and Patek Philippe wristwear. He displays some of his favorites in a Louis Vuitton case in his hangar office. Dr. Dre gave Ross a diamond-encrusted Hublot for his 36th birthday, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with 816 baguette-cut emeralds, and his favorite, a Billionaire III from Jacob Arabo of Jacob & Co. We can confirm it has an 18-karat-white-gold case, over 129 carats of diamonds, and antireflective sapphire crystals on the front and back of the skeletonized tourbillon movement, but Ross hasn’t committed the specs to memory. Ross says his watch preferences “is not about price, stones, et cetera,” despite paying $3 million for it. It means what it means to me. I still like G-Shocks.”
Ross hopes to purchаse the Miami Dolphins or a casino, and he may establish a distinctive chicken brand based on his Wingstop experience. Ross prefers not to hurry his music career. “I didn’t just wake up and have a Һit record in six months,” he explains. It took me a while to arrive.” For now, he’ll add to his premium lines following a single criteria—Rick Ross’ slogan.
“If I want it,” he says, “it’s worth it.””