THR's Power Business Managers 2012

Michael Karlin co-founded one of the largest business management companies in Hollywood, representing longtime music clients like Van Halen and film-television clients like Joan Rivers. His 200-person firm still is growing, but with director and actors fees being cut and the music business challenged, this hasn’t been the easiest time to procure new clients. “Not everyone can afford a full-time business manager these days,” he says.

One of the ways his firm keeps expanding is by reaching out to execs and athletes who might appreciate rock-star financial treatment — ranging from simple tasks like paying bills to more complex responsibilities such as responding to life-threatening emergencies like when the roof of a client’s home collapses (which, yes, has happened).