Billionaires At The Ballpark
The guy buying the Portland Trail Blazers bought a stake in Top Golf beause he hoped his kids would play the golf.
You know you’ve got too much money when you’re buying a major league sports team.
Billionaires are having outsized impacts on the country and the world, and this seems to be especially true in sports.
Who can afford to buy a team? Last week it was reported that Tom Dundon had begun the process of buying the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for about $4 billion.
According to Wikipedia, Dundon is 53 years old and started his business career by opening a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. He got into consumer finance (such as subprime auto loans) real estate and investments in healthcare. His interests in sports included buying a majority interest in the Carolina Hurricane of the National Hockey League for $420 million, acquiring Pickleball Central, investing in Topgolf Callaway Brands and co-founding the Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.
Dundon told Golf Digest he invested Top Golf "because I had hopes my two sons, then 7 and 10, would get interested in golf."
Also last week, the NBA approved the $6.1 billion to a group led by Bill Chisholm. And in July, the family of Jerry Buss sold a majority stake in the NBA’s L.A. Laker in a deal that valued the team at $10 billion.
What does a billionaire get for owning a team? Good seats at games? Better table at restaurants, more gossip column name recognition?
When the team wins, they get trophies and applause. When the team loses, they’re to blame. Billions alone don’t always buy championships (L.A. Dodgers the latest exception). Many owners have experienced both the highs and the lows. Just ask Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Tom Ricketts of the Chicago Cubs. After years of ridicule, Jim Dolan may get to bask in the success of the New York Knicks.
While there is much focus on the huge salaries of modern players, only a few get into the big leagues of team ownership, like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Tom Brady and Alex Rodriguez.
So good luck to Dundon and the rest of those billionaires. Have a hot dog on me (I might still be able to afford that).
