Forget regular old billionaires, or retired captains of industry. Chances are these days that your favorite sports team may be owned by an executive from the alternative asset management industry, the powerful faction of Wall Street that includes private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds.
According to an analysis by Fortune, which included scanning the websites and media guides of the roughly 153 teams, as well as speaking to investors and league officials, about 120 alt execs own stakes in sports franchises. Some are well-known, including Steve Cohen, chairman and CEO of hedge fund Point72 Ventures, who acquired the New York Mets baseball team in 2020 for $2.4 billion; Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, who led an investor group to buy the Washington Commanders, formerly known as the Washington Redskins, for a record $6.05 billion, in May; and Marc Lasry, CEO of Avenue Capital Group, who sold his 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks in April.
