Kaplan Among Miami's 50 Most Powerful People

ABA President Mitchell Kaplan

ABA President Mitchell Kaplan, the owner of Books & Books in Coral Gables and Miami, Florida, has been named one of the 50 most powerful people in Miami by Poder magazine. In its December/January "Power" issue, the magazine, which describes itself as "the leading source of market intelligence for the Latin American business elite and the U.S. Hispanic leaders," featured Kaplan alongside figures from the worlds of politics, sports, and business, including Governor Jeb Bush, Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat, and Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & PLC.

The Poder feature noted that "each immigrant and longtime resident has something in common with the poderosos [Spanish for powerful] we've chosen for our 50 most powerful people in Miami; each has a dream he or she hopes to live out in our city. The confluence of power, strategy, moxie, and plain luck in some cases keep their stories forever in flux in our sub-tropical city."

About Kaplan, Poder said, "Not only [does he own] the city's premier independent bookstore, he also founded and organizes, along with Miami-Dade College president Eduardo Padron, the Miami Book Fair International. His bookstore is the venue of choice for authors who swing through town on book tours. Just ask Hillary, Bill, Rudy Giuliani, and Madeleine Albright."