People

collector’s Corner

Modern-day Renaissance man Ric Roth is a successful entrepreneur with a passion for family, art, architecture, music, food, animals and helping people whenever he can.
Text by Sandy Lindsey | Photo by Edward Leal | November 29, 2018 | People

“Our mission statement is ‘To Have Fun, Make Money and Do Good for The World’ — we try to do all of these things every day and often succeed!”

Ric Roth grew up in the hotel business and while at Boston University wrote a business plan to convert his family’s hotel properties to boutique hotels. “Apparently, they didn’t love the plan because after over 25+ years of ownership, they sold all of the hotels 6 months prior to my graduation,” he says. He then proceeded to go into the hotel and restaurant industry and helped develop the Primecard (FKA the IGT Card) program that would help restaurants and hotels fill their empty tables and beds while allowing the consumer to save on all of their purchases. “Since our inception, we have saved consumers over $120 million,” he says.

Currently, Roth owns and operates two successful South Florida businesses: Primecard and IGT Media Holdings. Based on his 30 years of experience, he’s launching Apogee Rewards, a revolutionary new program for business and leisure travelers, corporations and charitable organizations. He believes strongly in giving back and is currently active in A Safe Haven For Newborns, The Fountainhead, The Cushman School, The Shul Of Downtown and numerous animal rescue groups. “We recently helped pass a statewide ballot amendment that will eliminate dog racing in Florida by 2020,” he says. “Now I need to help find homes for about 8,000 greyhounds.” 

He also has a strong passion for art and has been collecting since he was in his late teens with a focus on emerging artists. “My collection includes works by Kenny Scharf, Nicole Eisenman, Mark Kostabi, Tom Sachs, as well as some older works by Chagall, Picasso and Milton Avery,” he says. A hobby architect, he and his wife Denia have renovated numerous properties and just finished their first ground-up build; IGTMediaHoldings.com; PrimeCard.com.