Caruso started his career as a real-estate lawyer in the corporate finance department of one of the nation’s largest law firms. Thereafter, he transitioned from law to pursue his lifelong passion for development, establishing Caruso Affiliated Holdings in 1987. Ignoring the traditional “shopping mall” approach to retail, he adopted a fresh, new strategy for development and revolutionized the industry with imaginative retail and mixed-use destinations that serve as timeless and beloved centers of town. One of those centers, The Grove, gets an average of 49,000 daily visitors -- more than Disneyland. Caruso’s world-class portfolio of properties continues to expand and include more than a dozen internationally renowned and award-winning retail, residential, mixed-use, and resort destinations. Among these are the recently opened Palisades Village and Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito.

Caruso was named by the Los Angeles Business Journal as "Developer of the Year" and its 2012 Ernst & Young LLP Master Entrepreneur of the Year. Caruso has also previously served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and commissioner for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Caruso was elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Chair of the Board of Loyola High School, and is on the Board of Advisors of Pepperdine School of Law. He maintains roles on the Boards for The Irvine Company, St. John’s Hospital and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation.