There is a long tradition of high-profile businessmen owning professional sports franchises, but Blackstone (NYSE: BX) executive David Blitzer has taken that trend to a new level. According to Business Insider, Blitzer is the first person to own an equity share of a team in all five major U.S. men's sports leagues. Although owning pro-sports franchises carries an undeniable "cool factor," Blitzer's involvement in sports is based on his belief in the industry's growth potential.
That's not to say that he isn't a sports fan. “I thought I was good when I was, you know, like a teenager. Then I realized by high school that I was adequate at best and certainly was not playing past high school,” he told Bloomberg's "The Deal" podcast. Blitzer may not have possessed the athletic prowess to be a top player, but he never lost his passion for sports.
