The father of two grown daughters, Mr. Niccolini escapes the din of the restaurant world at the Bedford, N.

WSJ: Julian Niccolini

For the last 36 years, Mr. Niccolini, 59, has used his irreverent sense of humor and political savvy to establish the Four Seasons as the city's power-lunch gold standard.

WSJ: Julian Niccolini

In addition to running the restaurant, Mr. Niccolini finds time to appear in films most recently "Arbitrage, " with Richard Gere and write the occasional column for the New York Observer, Details and Gotham magazines.

WSJ: Julian Niccolini

CO-OWNER OF MANHATTAN'S iconic Four Seasons, Julian Niccolini presides over the restaurant's Philip Johnson- and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed dining rooms like a circus ringmaster seating, and playfully teasing, some of the nation's most prominent entrepreneurs and entertainers.

WSJ: Julian Niccolini