Michael Capponi

Early life

Capponi was born in Belgium; he moved to Miami with his parents when he was six,^[6] and grew up on Key Biscayne. His parents divorced.^[6] He has said that by age 13 he was doing LSD in Crandon Park with the local Key Rats.^[6] He raced BMX bikes, and appeared in ads for Coca-Cola and Twix.^[6] He began working as a promoter for nightclubs when he was 15, organizing events and posting flyers, and while still in high school made $10,000 per month.^[6]

Adult life

By the 1990s he had developed an $800-per-day heroin habit.^[7] By 1995, he was homeless in New York City.^[6] At his father's suggestion, Capponi entered a methadone program in Belgium; he fell into a coma soon after starting, and had to undergo surgery to remove a benign brain tumour. He then went through a detox program in Canada, before returning to Miami Beach.^[6]

On March 20, 2015, he was at the helm of his 25-foot Chris-Craft Corsair motorboat when he fainted, he reported;^[8][9] The boat slammed head-on into a seawall.^[8][10] The accident seriously injured Capponi and a female passenger.^[8][10][9] Capponi suffered a broken nose, broken ribs, and a broken collarbone; his passenger suffered serious head injuries, was in a coma for three weeks, and lost much of her short-term memory.^[10][9] The final report of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the accident stated that "neither victim was cited and that no alcohol or drugs were found in the couple's systems, aside from the medication given to them at the hospital.^[11] Capponi's insurer claimed that he had failed to advise them of being convicted on a DUI charge in 2003 and hence had benefited from a lower premium. The insurer's case that they were not liable for damages was dismissed.^[8]

Nightlife and entertainment

Capponi's 31st birthday at Nygard Cay, Bahamas

In the 1980s, he promoted roving parties at a different location in South Beach every weekend, to escape the focus of police and regulatory authorities.^[12] Capponi contributed to the revitalization of South Beach, which began in the late 1980s.^[13]

His contributions to South Beach's development continued into the 1990s. The 12 September 1993 edition of the Miami Herald called him "the SoBe Prince" of nightlife.^[14] Also in 1993 the Miami New Times called him "a promoter with a higher calling, a nightlife star"^[15] In the 1990s he was close friends with Chris Paciello, a former Cosa Nostra associate and South Beach nightclub owner, with whom he owned music production company C&P Music.^[16] He credits Paciello with getting him off heroin by sending him to a detox center.^[16]

Since then, he has been the force behind nights at venues such as Warsaw, BED, Mansion, SET, LIV and Story.^{[17] [18]} In 2004, the Miami New Times named Capponi Miami's Best Nightlife Promoter.^[17]

Capponi has held events for various charities. In 2012, Donna Karan hosted Capponi's 40th birthday benefit at Capitale for the Haitian city of Jacmel.^[19]

In 2014, Capponi, along with software engineer Gideon Kimbrell, co-founded InList, an app for nightlife and special event reservations.^[20]

Development and construction

Capponi Group – Ten Museum Park, Miami

In 2004, Capponi co-created Ten Museum Park, a 50-story, 200-unit building in downtown, with developer Gregg Covin and architect Chad Oppeheim.^[21][22] It sold 95 percent of its units nine days after going on the market.^[23] The following year he formed Capponi Properties^[24] Capponi is responsible for multiple major home renovations including Market America founder JR and Loren Ridinger's Casa de Suenos.^[25] In 2008 the Developers and Builders Alliance honored Capponi with the Renovation Firm of the Year Award.^[26] In 2011 he sold a Sunset Island #4 home for $5.175 million, the highest price point on the island at the time.^[27]

In 2013, Capponi was a finalist for the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce's Better Beach Awards for the preservation and revitalization of Terra Veritatis, the 16-bedroom estate, which spans 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) of Miami Beach real estate.^[28] The Wall Street Journal called the $40 million project as "the most expensive renovation in the Miami area."^[29] Capponi and Gary Shear formed another company in 2013, Capponi Shear Construction, a general contracting firm.^[30]

In 2014, Capponi joined the development team with Moses Bensusan of Costa Hollywood, an urban beachfront development, by architect Hamed Rodriguez.^[31] The 500,000-square-foot resort consists of 307 fully furnished apartments.^[32]

In 2016, Capponi Properties broke another record for developing and selling the most expensive waterfront renovation project on Flamingo Drive in Miami Beach.^[33]

Work in Haiti

After the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake, Capponi organized a plane with a relief team consisting of Miami Beach firefighters and doctors.^[34]

In December 2010, Capponi started a project to revitalize Jacmel, a historical town in Haiti.^[35][36] This initiative was to help stimulate a self-sustained tourism economy for Haiti.^[37]

In 2011, he founded the Haiti Empowerment Mission, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2016, the foundation changed its name to Global Empowerment Mission.^[38]

On October 5, 2016, the day after Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, Capponi and the Global Empowerment Mission team were on the ground delivering aid and supplies.^[39]

Humanitarian initiatives

Capponi at his tent city in Belvil, Pétion-Ville, Haiti – March 2010

When Hurricane Charley hit Florida in August 2004, Capponi teamed up with the American Red Cross and organized relief efforts for the victims. He worked with local nightlife venues to raise money and provide support. The partnership continued in December 2004, with a fundraiser for the Thailand tsunami victims.^[40]

In 2006, Capponi teamed up with Miami Rescue Mission to fortify and expand its annual Great Thanksgiving Day Banquet, which feeds over 2,500 homeless people in Miami. In 2012, Capponi announced the construction of a 78-bed men's shelter for Miami Rescue Mission.^[41]