John S. Middleton | |
|---|---|
 Middleton in 2023 | |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Amherst College (B.A.) Harvard Business School (MBA) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Leigh Middleton |
John S. Middleton is an American businessperson and philanthropist. He is the managing partner and principal owner of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. He purchased a minority stake in 1994 and increased his ownership to 48 percent by 2014. He became the Phillies' control person in 2016.
The Middleton family descends from John Middleton, who, in 1857, founded John Middleton Co., a Philadelphia retail tobacco shop that evolved into a manufacturer and marketer of pipe tobacco and cigars. [1]
Middleton graduated from the Haverford School in 1973. [2] He was a wrestler at Amherst College from where he graduated magna cum laude in 1977 with his bachelor's degree in economics. [3] He then attended Harvard Business School, graduating in 1979 with his Master of Business Administration. [4]
Middleton is married to Leigh Middleton, and they have two children, Frances [5] "Francie" Fields, and film and television producer John Powers Middleton. [6]
Middleton began working at his family's cigar business at age 16. [7] After graduating from Harvard Business School, he returned home to work at John Middleton Inc. where his father put him on the company's board. Under Middleton, the company bought four tobacco brands from R.J. Reynolds in 1987, transforming the company into a major corporate interest in the pipe tobacco industry, and facilitating the subsequent growth of its packaged-cigar business. [7]
In 2003, Middleton bought all shares in the family company from his mother and sisters, for about $200 million. [8] In 2007, Middleton sold John Middleton Co. to Altria, the parent of Phillip Morris USA, for $2.9 billion. [9] In 2015, litigation by his sister, Anna Nupson, supported by their sister, Lucia Hughes, disputing declared company assets of 2003, ensued. [8] Through a mediator, the case was settled for $22 million in February 2018. [10] Subsequently, Nupson filed a malpractice lawsuit, on July 15, 2020, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging ethical misconduct by Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis and attorney Bruce A. Rosenfield, who had represented her in the suit against her brother. [11]
Middleton is the president of Bradford Holdings, the parent company whose subsidiaries have included John Middleton Inc., Double Play Inc. (the corporate entity that holds his stake in the Phillies) and McIntosh Inns. [2]
Middleton bought a 15 percent stake in the Phillies for $18 million in 1994. [12] He has been elected chairman of its partners’ Advisory Board annually since 1998.
When Phillies' chairman David Montgomery took a medical leave of absence in 2014, Middleton assumed a more active role, overseeing on-field and business performance, and increased his shareholding to 48 percent. [13] In 2015, Middleton became the public face of the Phillies' ownership group. Middleton committed that the Phillies would have a greater focus on analytics, which influenced the hiring of Andy MacPhail as president, and Matt Klentak as general manager. [14] [15] [16]
At the November 2016 MLB owners’ meeting, Middleton was elected the Phillies’ control person by the thirty clubs, making him the primary person accountable to the commissioner's office for the Phillies' operations and compliance with MLB rules. [17] [12]
Middleton and his wife, Leigh, share philanthropic involvement in several organizations, [18] including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Penn Medicine, [19] the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, [20] the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Project HOME. [21]
In 2012, the Middletons announced a gift of more than $16.2 million to the Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia Youth Network, Philadelphia Academies and Drexel University for career and technical education. [22]
In 2013, the Middletons pledged $30 million to Project HOME [19] in an effort to end chronic homelessness by doubling the number of its apartments for homeless people, opening a new medical center and leveraging additional public and private funds. [23]
The Middletons received the 2013 Philadelphia Award, in 2014, for their philanthropic works in the Philadelphia area, directed towards education, homelessness, and workforce development projects. [24] [25]
Middleton serves as a member of the board of trustees of Amherst College, which awarded him its Medal for Eminent Service in 2004, in recognition of his dedication to the college. [4]
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizens Bank Park, located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, leadership and training, and changing systems to address barriers to health. RWJF has been credited with helping to develop the 911 emergency system, reducing tobacco use among Americans, lowering rates of unwanted teenage pregnancies, and improving perceptions of hospice care.
NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were originally established as Comcast SportsNet (CSN), a unit of Comcast's cable television business, beginning with a network in Philadelphia which launched in 1997. Their operations were aligned with the national NBC Sports division following the 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast. NBC Sports Regional Networks' business and master control operations are based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948.
Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest was an American lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist. Lenfest, along with his wife Marguerite, were among the most prominent Philadelphia-based philanthropists in his last two decades, donating more than $1.3 billion to 1,100 groups, supporting various educational, artistic, journalistic, and healthcare causes.
Colbert Michael Hamels, nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers (2015–2018), Chicago Cubs (2018–2019), and Atlanta Braves (2020).
NBC Sports Philadelphia is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally based cable television provider Comcast, and the Philadelphia Phillies. It is the flagship owned-and-operated outlet of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports-related news, discussion and entertainment programming.
William Yale Giles is the honorary National League (NL) President, and chairman emeritus and former part-owner of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Philadelphia Phillies.
John Middleton Co., a subsidiary of Altria Group, is the second largest manufacturer of large machine-made cigars, and a maker of pipe tobacco.
John Charles Haas was an American businessman and philanthropist, at one time considered the second richest man in Philadelphia. He was the chairman of global chemical company Rohm and Haas from 1974 to 1978. Under his leadership, the family's William Penn Foundation became a $2 billion grantmaking institution, ranking as one of the largest such institutions in the United States.
Joshua Jordan Harris is an American investor, sports team owner, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and a managing partner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and the NFL's Washington Commanders. Harris is also a general partner of the English football club Crystal Palace and owns a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing. He has an estimated net worth of around US$9 billion.
Aaron Michael Nola is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Aaron Samuel Altherr is a German-American professional baseball outfielder for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. Altherr has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets. He has also played in the KBO League for the NC Dinos.
Vincent John Velasquez is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jacob Tyler Realmuto is an American professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). From 2014 and 2018, he played in MLB for the Miami Marlins.
Zachary Adams Eflin is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Matthew Klentak is an American baseball front office executive who served as the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball from October 2015 to October 2020. He also previously served as the assistant general manager of MLB's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He currently serves as a special assistant in the Brewers front office.
Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia is a casino hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that opened in 2021. The casino is in South Philadelphia near the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It has 208 hotel rooms, 2,100 slot machines, 150 table games, and a sportsbook. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by The Cordish Companies. Cordish also operates Xfinity Live! Philadelphia nearby.
RushOrderTees is an American technology and custom apparel company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eighty percent of its two hundred and fifty employees are millennials.
