THE MONEY

The real estate developer best known for his Los Angeles County retail centers, The Grove and Americana at Brand, saw an uptick in his net worth thanks to a robust real estate market and the pending opening of his latest project, Palisades Village, a 125,000-square-foot retail center in Pacific Palisades, which is set to bow in September.

THE BUZZ

The 3-acre Palisades Village reimagines “Main Street” with shops, restaurants, an upscale movie theater and a park. Tenants include retailers A.L.C., Towne by Elyse Walker, Carbon 38, Zimmerman, Jennifer Meyer and the Little Market, Lauren Conrad and Hannah Skvarla’s nonprofit fair trade shop; restaurants by chefs Edoardo Baldi and Renee Erickson; and an outpost of Amazon Books. Caruso recently opened his Brentwood home – one of three he owns in Southern California – to an A-list crowd to celebrate the pending mall opening. Also in April, Caruso signed on as a backer of Imaginary Ventures, a new venture capital firm launched by Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet.

NET WORTH

$4.8 billion

+9%

Last year: $4.4 billion

AGE: 59

RESIDENCE: West Los Angeles

SOURCE OF WEALTH:

Retail development