Bill Foley (businessman)

Last updated

Bill Foley
Vegas Goldens Knights Bring the Stanley Cup to West Point (53486672358) (cropped).jpg
Foley at the United States Military Academy in 2024
Born
William Patrick Foley II

(1944-12-29) 29 December 1944 (age 80)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater United States Military Academy (B.S.)
University of Washington School of Law (J.D.)
Occupation(s)Financial services
Professional sports owner
Known forChairman of the Board of Fidelity National Financial
Owner of the Vegas Golden Knights
Owner of AFC Bournemouth
Owner of Auckland FC
Shareholder of Hibernian
Majority owner of Whitefish Mountain Resort
Spouse
Carol Johnson
​
(m. 1969)​
Children4

William Patrick Foley II (born December 29, 1944) is an American businessman and former attorney, specializing in financial services. He is chairman of Fidelity National Financial, Cannae Holdings and Black Knight Financial Services, and vice chairman of Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS). [1] Foley is the lead investor, chairman, and CEO of Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, a consortium that owns the Vegas Golden Knights. He is managing general partner of Black Knight Football and Entertainment, which owns Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, A-League club Auckland FC, and a stake in French Ligue 2 club Lorient, and Scottish Premiership club Hibernian. As of 2023, he had an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion according to Forbes.

Contents

Background

Growing up, Foley mostly lived in Texas with his family and extended family, who were ranchers. For a time, he lived in Ottawa, Ontario, when his father was posted in the United States Air Force there. Foley played shinny, an informal type of ice hockey, and started a lifelong appreciation for the sport. [2]

Foley attended the United States Military Academy. While a cadet, he made $40,000 on the stock market, which he invested in during his spare time. Upon graduating from West Point, Foley was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force, where during his career he negotiated million-dollar defense contracts with Boeing. After leaving the Air Force, Foley moved into corporate law upon earning his J.D. from the University of Washington in 1974. Later, he bought and revitalized the then struggling title insurance firm Fidelity National Financial. He would gon to invest in wineries, golf courses, hotels, ski resorts, steak houses, fast-food restaurants and auto parts manufacturers. [3]

Sports ownership

While Foley was living in Jacksonville, Florida, he explored buying the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars, before the team was acquired by Shahid Khan. [3]

In late 2006, Foley became the majority shareholder of Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI), the operator of Whitefish Mountain Resort, in Whitefish, Montana. [4] Foley's takeover of WSI occurred through a series of two reverse stock splits that took WSI from a publicly-traded company, with many shareholders living in the local Flathead Valley, to a private S corp. Foley was able to purchase 27% of the outstanding WSI shares in the early 2000s from Richard A. Dasen, a local shareholder who went to prison for 14 prostitution-related crimes. [5] [6]

In June 2016, Foley and Black Knight Sports & Entertainment was awarded a National Hockey League expansion franchise that became the Vegas Golden Knights. [7] The Golden Knights began play in the 2017–18 season at the new T-Mobile Arena, and also acquired a minority ownership of the facility. [8] [9] Foley pledged to win a Stanley Cup in six seasons, and the Golden Knights made good on that promise in 2023. [10] In 2020, Black Knight Sports & Entertainment purchased an American Hockey League franchise to act as a development team for the Golden Knights, relocating the San Antonio Rampage to become the Henderson Silver Knights. [11] The Silver Knights played out of the Orleans Arena until the Dollar Loan Center, which is operated by Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, is complete in 2022. [12]

In 2021, Foley announced Black Knight Sports & Entertainment had purchased an expansion team in the Indoor Football League to begin play in 2022 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. [13] On August 23, 2021, the team unveiled their name and logo as the Vegas Knight Hawks. [14]

On December 13, 2022, a group of investors led by Foley completed a deal to purchase English football club AFC Bournemouth, with Foley assuming the role of chairman. Ahead of the deal, he was present at one of Bournemouth's Premier League matches against Leicester City, with the Cherries winning 2–1. [15] [16] [17] On January 13, 2023, Foley acquired a significant minority stake in French football club Lorient, creating a partnership with Bournemouth. [18]

On October 11, 2023, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announced Foley as the preferred bidder to be the owner of a new A-Leagues expansion club, based in Auckland, New Zealand. [19] The APL officially confirmed the new team would be awarded a licence under Foley's ownership on November 21, with the Auckland FC men's team being introduced for the 2024–25 A-League Men season and the women's team competing from 2025–26 onwards. [20]

At an AGM held in February 2024, Black Knight ratified a deal to become a significant minority shareholder in Scottish football club Hibernian. [21] The result of this deal is that Black Knight will be acquiring 25% of Hibs for a £6 million investment, while the Gordon family will retain its majority control (60%) of the club. [21] Foley was appointed to the club's board of directors soon afterwards. [22]

Personal life

Since 1969, Foley has been married to Carol Johnson, a former flight attendant for United Airlines, with whom he has four children. [23] His wife and daughters are all involved in the family winery, located in Santa Monica, California, [24] while his son is the chief business officer of the Vegas Golden Knights. [25] His other son, who was also a part of the winemaking business, died at the age of 31 in August 2018, as a result of a traumatic head injury. [26] [27]

Foley is a financial supporter of President Donald Trump. [28]

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References

  1. ↑ "Our Team". Vegas Golden Knights. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ "NHL - Potential Las Vegas expansion team owner a driven man". ESPN. December 12, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Las Vegas Golden Knights behind the scenes". Sports Illustrated. January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ Tabish, Dillon. "Whitefish's Mountain Mogul". FlatheadBeacon.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. ↑ Easterling, Camden. "Dasen sells shares of Winter Sports stock". DailyInterlake.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ Jamison, Michael. "Kalispell businessman Richard Dasen charged with 14 prostitution-related crimes". Missoulian.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ Ewing, Mark. "Bill Foley And The National Hockey League's Newest Franchise, The Vegas Golden Knights". Forbes. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. ↑ Kaplan, Daniel (October 3, 2016). "NHL's Vegas owner buys share of arena". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). MGM Resorts International. March 1, 2018. p. 72 – via EDGAR.
  10. ↑ "Vegas backs up owner's 'silly statement' by winning Cup within 6 seasons". NHL.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  11. ↑ "It's Henderson Silver Knights!". 8newsnow.com. May 28, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Renderings released of Henderson Event Center, future home of Silver Knights" . Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Vegas Golden Knights buy Indoor Football League expansion franchise". KSNV . May 11, 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Vegas Knight Hawks Are the Newest Franchise in the IFL". OurSports Central. August 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Bill Foley completes Bournemouth takeover with actor Michael B. Jordan named a minority owner". The Athletic. December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Always advance, never retreat': Bill Foley seals Bournemouth takeover". The Guardian. December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Bournemouth takeover: American businessman Bill Foley's consortium completes purchase worth over £100m". sky sports. December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Foley-led acquisition of 'significant minority share' in FC Lorient". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Premier League owner confirmed as preferred bidder for A-Leagues expansion licence in Auckland". A-Leagues. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Auckland expansion team awarded full A-Leagues license". A-Leagues. November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  21. 1 2 McLauchlin, Brian (February 27, 2024). "Bill Foley: Hibernian shareholders vote through American's £6m investment in club". BBC Sport. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  22. ↑ Greechan, John (March 8, 2024). "Billionaire Hibs investor in major boardroom move". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  23. ↑ Saker, John (December 13, 2011). "William Foley - the billionaire in our vines". Stuff . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  24. ↑ Graney, Ed (September 7, 2017). "Golden Knights owner Bill Foley finds inner peace as winemaker". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  25. ↑ Gotz, Ben (August 24, 2018). "Robert Foley, son of Golden Knights owner, gets promoted by team". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  26. ↑ Hill, Adam (August 24, 2018). "Son of Golden Knights owner Bill Foley dead at 31". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  27. ↑ Graney, Ed (December 28, 2018). "Golden Knights owner Bill Foley reflects on team's debut and losing his son". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  28. ↑ McKay, Ben (October 16, 2024). "Bill Foley backs Donald Trump again while investing in Auckland FC's future". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
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