Ben There, Done That

Santa Barbara Polo Club patron Ben Soleimani is front and center in the latest issue of the society glossy Town & Country.

Ben, Iranian-born and London-raised, has been dubbed the “Mayor of Melrose” by the Los Angeles Times, given all the properties he owns on oh-so chic Melrose Avenue,  including one of my favorite watering holes, the Urth Caffe, when I lived nearby in Hancock Park.

Over the past 10 years, Ben, who is in his mid-40s, has acquired a handsome collection of buildings on the five-block stretch of the achingly trendy rue between San Vicente and La Cienega, as well as designing an eponymous line of rugs for Restoration Hardware.

“I wanted to create a street by myself that represents who I am and what I believe in,” says Ben, who has a home nearby in Beverly Hills, as well as living in London’s ritzy Mayfair district.

His family’s carpet company, Mansour, holds a royal warrant to the Prince of Wales.