Who

Jason Binn is the founder of Niche Media, the publisher of such titles at Gotham, Hamptons and LA Confidential. He's the man who holds a mirror up to America's richest and makes a pretty penny doing so.

Backstory

Jason Binstock was determined to get noticed after graduating from Boston University. So the Roslyn, Long Island native mailed off perfumed, "personal and confidential" birthday cards to a bunch of top execs on Madison Avenue—with his resume enclosed, of course—a stunt that led him to his first job in the industry at the D'Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles agency. Binn was soon on the move, though, and headed to Miami where he teamed up with Jerry Powers, the former manager of pop artist Peter Max, to launch Ocean Drive. The magazine quickly took off thanks to Binn's aggressive promotional tactics, like hiring bikini-clad models to rollerblade around South Beach handing out copies. Binn returned to New York in 1998 and embarked on a magazine venture of his own. With financing from his wealthy father—"barter king" Moreton Binn, who made millions as the founder of Atwood Richards—he acquired Hamptons magazine, launching his second title, Gotham, three years later. With investors like Harvey Weinstein, he followed up over the next few years with a handful of other high-end city titles, including LA Confidential, Capitol File, Aspen Peak, and Boston Common. His right hand at the company is Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Niche's editorial director.

Of note

You won't see a takedown or exposé—or even much news—in the pages of obsessive networker and socializer Binn's titles. The mags are filled with publicist-friendly Q&As, party photos, and enthusiastic reviews of the spas and stores who just so happen to advertise in the magazine. To keep up their image as "niche" and targeted only to the most elite consumers, the magazines operate on a "controlled circulation" basis: They're sent gratis to the "right" people, namely households in the right zip codes with plenty of disposable income. (Of course, that's also because it's unclear how many people would actually pay to subscribe.) But the formula seems to be working. After several years of rising sales, in 2006, he combined his business with the Nevada-based Greenspun Media Group, which publishes the Las Vegas Sun as well as a handful of other titles in the Las Vegas area. He's since announced plans to launch several new titles (Atlanta Peach, Michigan Avenue) and in February 2008, the company acquired Philadelphia Style.

Drama

Binn has had falling outs with a number of his former partners over the years. In 2003, Randy Schindler, the founder of Hamptons and a Niche shareholder, filed a $10 million suit against Binn in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging he used company funds to pay for strippers in Las Vegas. (Schindler filed the suit shortly after Binn fired him; Binn's lawyer, Gerry Lefcourt, described the charges as "baseless" and the case was later thrown out of court.) More recently, Binn tussled with his old pal, Jerry Powers, who co-founded Ocean Drive.

Personal

Binn married Haley Lieberman, a real estate broker, in 2003. She's the daughter of Alan Lieberman, a prominent Miami real estate developer who controls a chain of hotels in South Beach. The couple has two young daughters, Penny and Celia, and live in Tribeca. In 2005, they purchased a loft with a view of the Statue of Liberty for $2.03 million. They purchased an adjoining loft for $1.76 million a year later. They also have homes in Southampton, Miami, and Aspen.