The youngest son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he graduated a top athlete from James Madison High School in 1944. In 1953, he established his own construction company, the Aronow Corporation, which quickly became one of the largest construction companies in the state. In 1959, at age of 32, the now-millionaire Aronow moved to Miami with his family, where he began racing boats as a hobby. The Cigarette boats he designed and built were a popular choice among cocaine runners. He was murdered in 1987.