Who

Cohen is the CEO of Recorded Music at Warner Music Group, the entertainment giant controlled by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. He's better known, though, as the former president of Def Jam and partner of Russell Simmons.

Backstory

Born in New York, Cohen spent his formative years in Israel and returned to the U.S. during his teenage years, attending college at the University of Miami. He moved to LA after graduation and jumped into the music business, promoting acts like Run-DMC and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Thanks to Run-DMC's Rev Run, Cohen was soon introduced to Run's brother, Russell Simmons, and in the mid-'80s Cohen joined Simmons' music management company, Rush Communications. At Rush, Cohen signed acts like Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince and EPMD; he later joined Def Jam, the label Simmons founded with Rick Rubin and moved up to the role of president in 1988 (which prompted Rubin to leave the company). For more than a decade, Cohen worked by Simmons' side at Def Jam, turning the label into a hip hop powerhouse thanks to talents like Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, Method Man, The Roots, and more.

In 1999, Simmons and Cohen cashed out, selling Def Jam to Universal for an undisclosed—but very hefty—price tag. (Cohen later testified at a trial that he made more than $100 million on the sale.) Simmons left Def Jam following the sale but Cohen stayed on, serving as CEO. He remained at the company until 2004, when he moved over to Warner Music.

Of note

In 2003, Edgar Bronfman Jr. purchased Warner Music for $2.6 billion, with financing from the private equity firms Thomas H. Lee, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners. One of Bronfman's first moves in January 2004 was to bring Cohen on board to oversee day-to-day operations. Cohen's been at the company, which went public in 2005, ever since, and oversees Warner's collection of more than a dozen labels—including Warner Bros., Atlantic, Elektra, Bad Boy, Sire, Rhino, and Nonesuch—and more than 800 artists, including Madonna, Diddy, Bjork, Eric Clapton, Missy Elliott, Jewel, and Green Day. A handful of his former Def Jam colleagues have joined him: Julie Greenwald, who was once Cohen's assistant, is now the president of Atlantic; former Def Jam exec Kevin Liles is a Warner EVP. Other senior execs include Atlantic chairman Craig Kallman, and Todd Moscowitz, who heads up Warner's Independent Label Group.

In person

"The blackest white guy in the world," in the words of music impresario Irv Gotti, Cohen is an intimidating presence at 6'5". He retains a slight accent from his years in Israel and is often attired in New Balance sneakers with an expensive cigar tucked into his pocket.

Grudge

Cohen had an epic feud with Steve Gottlieb, the founder of TVT Records, over the rights to Ja Rule. The dispute ended up in court, and Cohen and Def Jam were ordered to pay TVT a whopping $132 million in damages. (The judge described Cohen and Def Jam's behavior as "morally reprehensible.") The verdict was later reduced and then thrown out altogether on appeal. Needless to say, the two execs don't speak.

Personal

Lyor had two kids with wife Amy before divorcing in 2006. (He ended up selling more than $17 million in Warner Music stock the same year, listing the impending divorce settlement as the reason.) Lately, he's been romantically linked to fashion designer Tory Burch.

Habitat

Cohen continues to live in the Upper East Side townhouse that he bought for $9.17 million in 1999 and spent years renovating. Once the home of Cass Gilbert, the architect who designed the landmark Woolworth Building, the townhouse features a ballroom, gym and state-of-the-art AV system—plus an elaborate security system to keep the rap exec safe. (The broker who negotiated the deal? That would be Deborah Grubman, who just so happens to be the wife of his longtime lawyer, Allen Grubman.) In 2008, he put down $6.7 million to buy a weekend home in North Haven.

True story

During his childhood years, he was known as Lyor Shulman, which is his stepfather's last name. He changed his name to Lyor Cohen after reconciling with his father.