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Have you made a fortune in real estate and are looking for some ideas on how to spend that wealth? Consider the path of these 12 commercial real estate tycoons that own full or partial stakes in at least one of America's four major professional sports leagues.
Tom Gaglardi is the owner and governor of the Dallas Stars and the president of Northland Properties Corp., a family-owned hospitality company in Canada with head offices located in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Gaglardi was officially introduced as the sixth owner in Dallas Stars' history on November 21, 2011 and took over ownership of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars, and operations of the Cedar Park Center on December 17, 2014.
According to his bio on the Dallas Stars site, Gaglardi "began his career in the hospitality industry at age 13 as a busboy and has worked in virtually every area of his business since that time. He spent considerable time in construction, hotel and restaurant operations, real estate development and finance. At age 23, he was promoted to president of the Sandman Hotel Group, and at 26 he became president of Northland Properties Corporation, the Gaglardi family’s umbrella company."
The family also owns and operates a large real estate portfolio and the Revelstoke Mountain Resort.
Stan Kroenke got his career in real estate started in 1983. He founded the Kroenke Group and developed shopping centers and apartment buildings. In 1991, Kroenke founded retail real estate firm THF Realty with Michael Staenberg, where he serves as chairman and owner to this day. THF Realty commands a portfolio of about 20 million sq. ft. of space.
Kroenke also married Ann Walton, the niece of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Forbes estimates Kroenke's net worth to be $7.6 billion.
Kroenke has used that fortune to amass a portfolio of professional sports teams. He owns the NFL's St. Louis Rams. The family, in his son Josh's name, also owns four Colorado sports teams: the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth.
(That arrangement is necessary because the NFL prohibits its owners from owning teams in other markets.)
Ted Lerner is the founder of the real estate company Lerner Enterprises. The company has built a diverse portfolio of projects, encompassing more than 20 million sq. ft. of commercial and retail space, more than 22,000 private homes and over 7,000 apartment units. It is the largest private landowner in Washington D.C. and also owns Chelsea Piers in New York City.
Forbes estimate Lerner's net worth to be $5.5 billion. In 2006, the Lerner family took over ownership of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals franchise. The Lerner family is also a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL's Washington Capitals, the WNBA's Washington Mystics, the NBA's Washington Wizards, and the Verizon Center arena where all of those teams play their home games.
Edward P. Roski, Jr. is president and chairman of the board of Majestic Realty Co., a firm his father founded in 1948.
Majestic Realty Co. has a 78-million-sq.-ft. portfolio that includes industrial, office, and retail space, as well as sports, entertainment and hospitality projects.
Forbes estimates Roski's net worth to be $4 billion.
Roski is a minority owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and half-owner, with Phillip Anschutz, of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.
Stephen Ross is the chairman and founder of The Related Companies.
Ross formed Related in 1972 and has developed over $22 billion in real estate assets made up of mixed-use, residential, retail, office, trade show and affordable properties.
Forbes estimates Ross' net worth to be $6.7 billion.
In February 2008, Ross bought half of the NFL's Miami Dolphin franchise, Dolphin Stadium and surrounding land from then-owner Wayne Huizenga for $550 million. Less than a year later, on January 20, 2009, Ross closed on the purchase of an additional 45 percent of the team from Huizenga. Overall, Ross paid $1.1 billion to amass his 95 percent ownership stake in the team.
He is now managing general partner of both the Dolphins and the stadium.
Robert Sarver has been the majority owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns since 2004. He also owns the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and La Liga club RCD Mallorca.
Sarver founded the National Bank of Tucson in 1984. It later changed its name to the National Bank of Arizona. In 1990, he also co-founded Southwest Value Partners, which invests in institutional quality real estate in growth markets within the United States. The firm acquires office, hospitality, commercial land, residential land and multifamily residential units.
Herb Simon and his brother founded Melvin Simon & Associates in 1960 in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1993, the firm went public and became Simon Property Group. Herb continues to serve as chairman emeritus.
In 1983, the brothers purchased the NBA's Indiana Pacers. (Melvin passed away in 2009.) Herb Simon is also the owner of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
The Tisch family has a long history in both real estate and professional sports.
The Loews Corporation traces its roots to 1946 when Laurence Tisch persuaded his parents to buy a resort hotel in Lakewood, N.J. Laurence’s brother Robert joined the business shortly thereafter.
Seventy years later, Loews is made up of four principal subsidiaries: CNA Financial Corporation, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., Boardwalk Pipeline Partners and Loews Hotels & Resorts. Today, James S. Tisch is president and CEO; Andrew H. Tisch is co-chairman of the board and chairman of the executive committee and Jonathan Tisch (pictured above) is co-chairman of the board and chairman of Loews Hotels.
Their father, Preston Robert Tisch, purchased 50 percent of the NFL's New York Giants in 1991. Today, Steve Tisch serves as chairman and executive vice president while Jonathan is the team's treasurer.
Forbes estimates the Tisch family's net worth to be $6 billion.
The Wilf family immigrated to the U.S. from Europe in the early 1950s and two brothers, Joseph and Harry, eventually got into the home development business. Later, the family also started Garden Commercial Properties.
Zygi, Joseph's son, took over Garden Commercial. The company owns and manages in excess of 25 million sq. ft. of retail and commercial space.
In 2005, Zygi Wilf and five partners purchased the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for roughly $600 million.
Lewis N. Wolff is co-founder and chairman of Maritz, Wolff & Co. a private real estate investment fund that invests in luxury hotel and resort properties, hotel management companies and hospitality related assets.
Founded in 1994, Maritz, Wolff & Co. has invested over $700 million and acquired luxury hotels operated by hotel management companies, including Four Seasons, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton, and Rosewood, valued at over $2.7 billion.
In April 2005, Wolff headed a limited partnership group that purchased Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics.
Fred Wilpon is chairman, co-founder and senior partner of Sterling Equities. He is also the chairman and CEO of Major League Baseball's New York Mets and a director on the board of SportsNet New York.
Wilpon co-founded Sterling Equities in 1972. The company has acquired and developed commercial real estate over the years, among other pursuits. (You can view a timeline here.)
In 1980, Wilpon bought a one percent stake in the Mets when Charles Shipman Payson sold the team. Doubleday & Co. bought the remaining interest.
However, in 1986, Nelson Doubleday, Jr. sold Doubleday & Co. to Bertelsmann AG. Wilpon had a right of first refusal in the event of a sale and exercised it. Doubleday and Wilpon reached an agreement to purchase the Mets for $81 million becoming equal partners. In 2002, the Wilpon family purchased Doubelday's 50 percent stake for $391 million.
Malcolm Glazer passed away on May 28, 2014 at the age of 85.
Glazer was the president and CEO of First Allied Corp., a holding company for his varied business interests, including a shopping center portfolio that contains nearly 7 million sq. ft. of space.
Glazer used some of his fortune to acquire the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as the English Premier League team Manchester United.
Forbes estimates the Glazer family's net worth to stand at $4.7 billion. His family continues to run First Allied and his teams. That includes his sons Bryan Glazer, Edward Glazer and Joel Glazer and his daughter Darcie Glazer Kassewitz.
