Agent of Kevin Durant
co-founder of Thirty Five Ventures
Spouse
Jana Ilyse Gold
Rich Kleiman (born November 27, 1976) is an American entrepreneur. A native New Yorker, he is Kevin Durant’s longtime agent and later business partner with Durant in 35V (Thirty Five Ventures). Founded in 2016, 35V incorporates Kleiman and Durant's business entities, including Durant’s personal brand marketing portfolio and on-court contracts, an investment portfolio and the sports business media network Boardroom.[1][2][3][4]Forbes has called Kleiman a visionary with an "established track records in starting companies, investing in emerging brands and in disrupting existing markets."[5][6]
Kleiman entered the music industry in 1998 as a partner in OneLevel.com, a hip-hop community commerce website. Kleiman led marketing and built relationships with celebrities such as Robert De Niro, Heavy D, and Q-Tip. During this time, Kleiman began a professional relationship with British DJ Mark Ronson, then relatively unknown. When Ronson was given his own label imprint under Elektra Records in 2003, he asked Kleiman, by then his manager, to manage the business side. Ronson and Kleiman together launched Allido Records, and had clients including Wale, Rhymefest, Saigon, and Daniel Merriweather. The pair also opened a studio in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Artists including Amy Winehouse and J Cole recorded at the studio.[7]
Through John Meneilly, Kleiman met Jay-Z, and went on to produce the rapper's Fade To Black documentary in 2004. Kleiman connecting Wale and Jay-Z, and Wale credited Kleiman with his decision to drop out of school and pursue his music career. Kleiman joined Jay-Z's Roc Nation in 2008. At Roc Nation, Kleiman managed artists such as Wale, Meek Mill, DJ Nice, and Solange.[7][8]
In 2008, Wale introduced Kleiman to a then 19-year old Kevin Durant, who had recently won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, at a Jay-Z concert at Madison Square Garden. Kleiman officially became Durant's agent and manager in 2012. Kleiman played an integral role in the launch of Roc Nation Sports in 2013, and served as the unit's vice president.[7]
At Roc Nation Sports, Kleiman also worked with athletes such as Victor Cruz, CC Sabathia, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Robinson Canó.[8][9][10] Kleiman's career in entertainment began at Radical Media, where he was a music supervisor, as well as a producer on projects such as Jay-Z's feature-length documentary Fade To Black.[11][12][13]
35V's flagship project is Boardroom, a media network that covers the business of sports, entertainment and culture. Boardroom was launched in 2019 and includes editorial, video, social media content, daily newsletters and podcasts by Kleiman and Durant.[2][24][25]
Kleiman married Jana Ilyse Gold in November 2003. They have two children. Mark Ronson, Kleiman's long-time friend, is the godfather to one of Kleiman's children. Kleiman's family resides on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.[26][7]
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