Steve Rubell Biography

Steve Rubell was born on December 2, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York. During his school years, his charm gave him a lot of popularity and a good reputation. His passion at that time was tennis, but he decided to enroll at Syracuse University with a major in finance.

Despite mediocre grades, Rubell graduated and continued his studies to earn a Master's degree in finance. While in college, he met a man named Ian Schrager and the two became great friends. After graduating from college, he joined the National Guard for a few years, then returned to New York City.

He managed to find a job with a stock brokerage firm and started making good money, but still wanted more. He decided to become an entrepreneur and started two restaurants, one in Queens and one in New Haven, Connecticut. His friend from college, Ian, now had a law degree and Rubell decided to hire him in 1974 to assist in the purchase of a chain of "Steak Loft" restaurants.

Based on the success of these investments, Steve decided to start his own nightclub with Ian's help. They started one in Boston, followed by another in Queens that was named "The Enchanted Garden". In 1976, they started another nightclub, this time in Manhattan. The building they purchased was located at 254 West 54th Street and, since it was a former television station, they named it Studio 54.

The doors to Studio 54 were opened in April of 1977 to much fanfare. Steve helped establish notoriety for the club by standing out front and deciding who would get in. He was known for dismissing people for being ugly or poorly dressed. He also arranged for celebrities to come to the nightclub, providing them with large parties and gifts.

In December of 1978, the IRS and FBI raided the nightclub after Rubell made a public comment that the Mafia made more money from the club than they did. In June of 1979, Rubell and Schrager were charged wtih obstructing justice, tax evasion, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion after the IRS found that they had skimmed approximately $2.5 million in unreported income from the club.

In December of 1979, the nightclub was raided again, and the IRS built a steady case against Rubell. Rubell and Schrager hired New York attorney Roy Cohn to form their defense, but it did not save them from 3.5 years in prison and $20,000 fines each. After they were released in January of 1981, they sold Studio 54 for nearly $5 million.

In 1985, Rubell discovered that he had been infected with HIV. His situation grew worse until July 25, 1989, when he died from AIDS complications.

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