Josh Harris | |
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![]() Harris in 2023 | |
Born | Joshua Jordan Harris December 1964 (age 59) Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S. |
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Spouse | Marjorie Harris (m. 1995) |
Children | 5 |
Joshua Jordan Harris (born December 1964) 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 holds a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing. He has an estimated net worth of around US$9 billion.
Harris was born and raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He graduated with a degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986 before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS), working two years at the former investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert in between. He founded Apollo with Leon Black and Marc Rowan in 1990 and helped manage its daily operations until leaving in 2022 to focus on sports investments, done frequently in partnership with David Blitzer.
Harris headed investment groups that acquired the 76ers in 2011, the Devils and the Prudential Center in 2013, and the Commanders and Commanders Field in 2023. Other companies founded by him include Harris Philanthropies in 2014, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment with Blitzer in 2017, and the alternative assets firm 26North in 2022. Harris sits on the board of the Mount Sinai Health System, Wharton, and HBS, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and formerly served as treasurer of the Allen-Stevenson School.
Harris was born in December 1964 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. [1] [2] He grew up in Chevy Chase playing several sports and considers them as having developed his work ethic. He cited his favorite as wrestling after winning a summer camp tournament at the age of nine. [3] Harris graduated from The Field School in Washington, D.C. [2] [4] In 1982, he enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences in Philadelphia, and then transferred to the university's Wharton School during his freshman year after discovering an affinity for statistics. In 1986, he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. [2] [5] [6] As a freshman, Harris represented the Penn Quakers as a 118-pound collegiate wrestler and once matched with future Olympic gold medalist Bobby Weaver. [4] He also managed a lemonade stand business during summer vacation in 1983 and 1984 that had locations at the National Zoo and Farragut North station in Washington, D.C. [2] [7] Harris is a member of the Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities. [2] [3]
Harris moved to New York City in 1986 to work at the Wall Street investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert as a financial analyst in their mergers and acquisitions department. [3] [8] He left after two years to attend Harvard Business School (HBS), graduating with an MBA in 1990 as a Baker Loeb Scholar, an honor given to the top 5% of the school's departing class. [9] The same year, Drexel filed for bankruptcy due to engaging in illegal junk bond activity amid an ongoing recession. Harris worked two months at Blackstone before leaving to establish the private equity firm Apollo Global Management later that year with former Drexel partners Leon Black and Marc Rowan. [9] In 2008, Harris led a $2 billion investment into the multinational chemical company LyondellBasell, which he sold in November 2013 for a profit of $9.6 billion, one of the largest gains in private equity history. [10] [11] In April 2009, Harris was ordered to pay $30 million in a settlement to Huntsman Corporation after Apollo was sued for backing out of a merger with them the previous year. [12]
Throughout 2017, Harris met with senior Trump administration advisor Jared Kushner to advise with infrastructure policy, with a potential White House job being discussed prior to Apollo loaning $184 million to Kushner's private real estate firm Kushner Companies. [13] In May 2021, he announced he was stepping down from his day-to-day responsibilities at Apollo after being passed over as CEO for Marc Rowan, with his large personal focus on sports investments also reportedly becoming a source of tension within the company. [14] The position had been made available after Leon Black announced he would be stepping down due to an investigation finding he had paid $158 million to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for advice on taxes and estate planning. [15] He stepped down as senior managing director at Apollo in January 2022 and remained on their board of directors until his term ended in October. [14] [16] Black included Harris in a civil racketeering lawsuit the same year, alleging that he led a group within Apollo attempting to tarnish his reputation after his ties to Epstein were reported. [17] Harris denied the claims, with federal judge Paul Engelmayer dismissing the suit that June for lack of evidence. [18] Black would appeal before a court upheld the decision in March 2023. [17] Harris founded the alternative asset firm 26North in September 2022, [19] with assets under management valuing $22 billion as of May 2024 [update] . [20]
Harris is on the board of trustees of Mount Sinai Health System, Wharton, and Harvard Business School, [21] and serves on the Council on Foreign Relations. [22] He previously served on the Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets for the New York Federal Reserve, [23] as vice president and treasurer of the Allen-Stevenson School, [24] and on the board of the United States Olympic Committee. [22] His family office, HRS Management, was the largest investor in the American political newspaper The Hill until selling to Nexstar Media Group in August 2021. [25] In 2022, Harris invested $10 million in the Philadelphia-based real estate company Mosaic Development Partners and formed a joint venture with Canvas Property Group through HMS Management with the stated goal of buying more than $1 billion worth of properties. [26] [27] In 2023, he and investors Mark Penn, James Tisch, and Thomas Peterffy contributed $50 million to a startup fund for The Messenger , a now defunct American news website. [28] [29]
Harris began contemplating investing in sports after meeting senior Blackstone executive David Blitzer in 2008 while working in London. [30] [31] Those talks led to the pair forming an investment group that, in 2011, bought the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from Comcast Spectacor for $280 million. [32] Other minor investors included Art Wrubel, Jason Levien, Adam Aron, Martin Geller, David Heller, James Lassiter, Marc Leder, Michael Rubin, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Erick Thohir. [33] [34] Harris presided over an era in 76ers history known as "The Process", in which the team tanked for better NBA draft lottery odds. [35] [36] Supporting a plan formed by general manager Sam Hinkie, the 76ers went 19–63 during the 2013–14 season, [37] 18–64 in 2014–15, [38] and 10–72 in 2015–16, the latter being the third-worst record in NBA history. [39] The Process was unpopular with NBA executives and team owners, who lobbied league commissioner Adam Silver to step in due to the 76ers' poor performance affecting league revenue sharing. [40] [41] Harris would eventually agree to a suggestion by Silver to hire Jerry Colangelo, former owner of the Phoenix Suns, as team chairman in December 2015 with Hinkie stepping down in April 2016. [40] [42] 2014 draft selection and future NBA MVP Joel Embiid was among the players taken during the era, with the team having made five straight postseason appearances starting with the 2017–18 season. [43] [39] The 76ers were valuated at $4.13 billion by Sportico in 2023. [44]
In 2013, Harris and Blitzer bought the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and their arena, the Prudential Center, from Jeff Vanderbeek for $320 million. [45] The franchise was valuated at $1.17 billion by Sportico in 2023, with the Prudential Center grossing $85 million in 2022, ranking it among the highest-grossing arenas globally. [46] [47] He bought an 18% stake in the English football club Crystal Palace in December 2015, which is operated as a general partnership alongside Blitzer, Steve Parish, and John Textor. [48] [49] In September 2016, Harris and Blitzer bought the esports organizations Dignitas and Apex Gaming through the 76ers and merged them under the Dignitas brand. [50] In September 2017, the pair founded Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) to consolidate their sports ventures. [51] The company was valuated by Forbes at $11.86 billion in 2024. [52] In addition to the 76ers and Devils, HBSE also owns the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League and the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, HBSE Real Estate, the venture capital firm HBSE Ventures, [53] and the event and marketing firm Elevate Sports Ventures. [54] In June 2020, Harris and Blitzer bought a combined $140 million stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). [55] In 2022, he headed a group consisting of Blitzer, airline executive Martin Broughton, politician and Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe, tennis player Serena Williams, and racing driver Lewis Hamilton that pursued a bid to purchase Chelsea of the Premier League before it was sold to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for €4.25 billion ($4.5 billion). [56] [57] He also pursued a bid the same year for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB) before it was sold to Steve Cohen for $2.4 billion. [58] [59] In 2023, Harris and Blitzer explored buying stakes in the English football club Manchester United. [60]
In 2023, Harris headed a group that purchased the NFL's Washington Commanders and Commanders Field from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion, the highest price ever paid for a sports team. [61] [62] The group has 20 limited partners, including Danaher and Glenstone founder Mitchell Rales, Hall of Fame basketball player and entrepreneur Magic Johnson, and D.C. entrepreneur Mark Ein. [63] [64] Harris and Johnson had bid on the NFL's Denver Broncos the previous year before it was sold to a group headed by Walmart heirs Rob Walton and Greg Penner. [65] [66] He was the third limited partner of the Steelers since 2012 to become majority owner of another NFL team, joining Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns and David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers. [67] Around the same time, he bought a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing by way of HBSE. [68] In 2024, the pair sold their stake in the Steelers to Art Rooney II and Thomas Tull as NFL rules mandate a majority owner can not hold interest in another team. [69] Harris and Blitzer have also invested in youth sports brands, forming Unrivaled Sports as a parent company in March 2024 with capital from The Chernin Group. [70] [71]
Harris employs general managers to operate his teams and venues, with diversity, equity, and inclusion, and player empowerment being promoted within his workplace culture. [7] [39] [72] Harris also invests heavily in sports science and analytics, with 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey being a leading proponent of the field. [73] [74] In March 2020, Harris introduced plans to reduce salaries of HBSE, 76ers, and Devils employees making under $100,000 by 20% due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, which saw the NBA and NHL suspend operations for most of 2020. [75] He reversed the decision within a week after receiving public criticism, including an effort by 76ers All-Star player Joel Embiid to cover the losses of those affected. [75] [76]
Team | League | Acquired | Notes |
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Philadelphia 76ers | National Basketball Association | 2011 | Managing partner under Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) with David Blitzer. Includes the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. |
New Jersey Devils | National Hockey Association | 2013 | Managing partner under HBSE with David Blitzer. Includes the Prudential Center and the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. |
Crystal Palace F.C. | Premier League | 2015 | General partner with Steve Parish, John Textor, and David Blitzer; 18% stake. |
Joe Gibbs Racing | NASCAR | 2023 | Limited partner under HBSE with Joe Gibbs and David Blitzer. |
Washington Commanders | National Football League | Managing partner; includes Commanders Field. |
Harris is Jewish. [73] [77] His father Jacob was an orthodontist and his mother Sylvia was a schoolteacher; he has a younger brother named Gabe. [7] [78] He married Marjorie Harris (née Rubin) in 1995. [9] [79] The couple met at Harvard and have three sons and two daughters together; Hannah, Stuart, Thomas, Pierce, and Bridget. [80] [81] Harris and fellow Chevy Chase native and businessman Mark Ein have been close friends since elementary school; they later attended Wharton and Harvard together and shared beach houses on Long Island during their time working on Wall Street. [2] [31]
Harris grew up a fan of local sports teams, attending Washington Redskins games at RFK Stadium and Washington Bullets games at the Capital Centre with his family. [2] [80] [82] Harris received the Outstanding American Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013. [83] He also competes in marathons and triathlons, finishing the 2010 New York City Marathon in 3:53:41 and the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon in 3:48:12. [9] [84] [85] Harris threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game in September 2023. [86]
Harris was inducted into Kappa Beta Phi, a Wall Street fraternity, in 2011. [87] In November 2017, he bought the Dommerich Mansion, a 21,000-square-foot townhouse in the Upper East Side of New York City, for $52 million. [88] In July 2021, he bought a 9,100-square-foot mansion in Miami Beach from Marcelo Claure for $32 million. [89] Harris frequently uses private helicopters to attend games. Due to a scheduling error, he once caused the cancellation of a youth soccer match being held at Newark's St. Benedict's Preparatory School, as the field is sometimes used as a helipad. [90] His net worth was estimated in mid-2024 to be $8.7 billion by Forbes and $10.5 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index . [91] [92] He held $2.54 billion in Apollo shares as of June 2023 [update] . [93]
Harris and his wife founded Harris Philanthropies, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, in 2014. [94] [95] He established the $5 million Harris Center for Precision Wellness at New York's Icahn Genomics Institute in 2015. [96] Between 2015 and 2020, Harris donated a total of $3.5 million to the Philadelphia Police Athletic League chapter, $648,950 to the Republican Party, and $190,150 to the Democratic Party. [97] [98] He has been partnered with After-School All-Stars since 2016, providing a $1 million grant for six schools in Newark, Philadelphia, and Camden. [99] Harris has also supported the University of Pennsylvania with several donations and sponsorships, including $1 million to the Penn Quakers wrestling program, forming the Harris Family Endowed Scholarship program for undergraduate students from the nearby Washington, D.C., area, and establishing the $10 million Harris Family Alternative Investments program. [6] [100] He has also participated in forums and panels hosted by organizations such as the Milken Institute, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. [101] [102] [103]
Harris has contributed to socioeconomic programs in Israel through sports, including founding a youth basketball league known as the 48ers and funding a project integrating Ethiopian immigrants. [104] [105] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he donated over $7 million worth of food and medical supplies to Philadelphia-based groups and organizations. [106] [107] [108] HBSE committed $20 million to fight racial injustice in wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests. [109] Harris donated $2 million the same year to The Bridgespan Group to expand their nonprofit programs in Philadelphia and Camden. [94] In 2022, he established the $5 million Harris Family Fund for Sports Management and Alternative Investments program at Harvard Business School, [110] and donating to the Reform Alliance, [111] several Philadelphia-area homeless shelters, [112] and mobile cancer clinics to the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. [113] The same year, he donated $1 million to Fund for Health, a health inequity collaboration fund by Penn Med and Wharton, with another million to Penn Med to promote student diversity in clinical medicine and biomedical research. [114] [115]
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and is one of only seven in the NFL with more than 600 total wins. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", played by their marching band after every touchdown scored by Washington at home. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at the Wells Fargo Center located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.
Commanders Field is an American football stadium located in Landover, Maryland, 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 until 2010, it had the NFL's largest seating capacity: over 91,000. By 2023, the capacity had been reduced to about 65,000.
Daniel Marc Snyder is an American businessman and former owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Redskins, from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke in 1999. Snyder is widely considered to be one of the worst owners in the history of professional sports, with the team managing only six playoff appearances and two wins during his 24 years of ownership.
| affiliations = Philadelphia 76ers | website = bluecoats
Dignitas is an American esports organization based in Newark, New Jersey. It was founded by Michael "ODEE" O'Dell in 2003 as a merger of two Battlefield 1942 clans. Dignitas was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016 and is now a part of parent company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE). The team is best known for its League of Legends, Rocket League, Fortnite, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads.
Michael Gary Rubin is an American businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Fanatics, a global digital sports platform that consists of several businesses, including licensed sports merchandise, trading cards and collectibles, sports betting and iGaming, special events, and live commerce. He is also a board member of Rue Gilt Groupe, which includes RueLaLa.com, Gilt.com, and ShopPremiumOutlets.com. He previously founded GSI Commerce in 1998, selling it to eBay in 2011 for $2.4 billion.
Marc J. Leder is an American businessman who co-founded Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Boca Raton, Florida. He is also a limited partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and the Josh Harris Group, which owns Real Salt Lake of the MLS, the English Premier League's Crystal Palace F.C., and the NFL's Washington Commanders.
Marc Jeffrey Rowan is an American investor. He co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990 with Josh Harris and Leon Black and took over as CEO in 2021. As of April 2024, Forbes estimated his wealth at $6.5 billion.
David Scott Blitzer is an American investor and sports team owner. He is a senior executive at the private equity firm Blackstone and co-managing partner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils. Blitzer also manages several association football clubs under Global Football Holdings, owns 25% of the MLB's Cleveland Guardians, and is a limited partner of the NFL's Washington Commanders, making him the first person to own team equity in the five major sports leagues of North America.
Justin Lamar Anderson is an American professional basketball player who last played for Valencia of the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers before being selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks.
Arthur Mitchell Wrubel is an American private equity investor who founded Wesley Capital Management, LLC and is a minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association.
Martin J. Geller is an American businessman and founder of Geller & Company. He is also a limited partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC (HBSE) is an American sports and venue management company founded by investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer in September 2017. HBSE owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as other properties such as their minor league affiliates, the Prudential Center, and the esports organization Dignitas. HBSE also holds a minority stake in the NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing. The company is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and was valued at $11.86 billion in 2024.
David J. Adelman is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Campus Apartments, the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of FS Investments, and the Founder of Darco Capital Chair. Adelman is also a limited partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. His net worth was estimated by Forbes to be $2 billion in May 2023.
Thaddeus Brown is an American sports executive who is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which includes the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He formerly served as CEO of the NBA's Houston Rockets and the Toyota Center.
76 Place at Market East is a proposed indoor arena in Center City, Philadelphia. It would be the future home of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is planned to open in 2031. The arena would be located in Center City on the site of Fashion District Philadelphia near the Market–Frankford Line and Jefferson Station. 76 Place is expected to be privately funded at a cost of $1.3 billion by 76ers owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), with real estate developer and HBSE limited partner David Adelman leading the project.
The 2023 season was the Washington Commanders' 92nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth and final under head coach Ron Rivera. It was the first season under owner Josh Harris, who headed a group in the offseason that bought the franchise from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion.
Mark David Ein is an American venture capitalist and sports team owner. He was born in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and earned a degree in economics from the Wharton School and a MBA from Harvard Business School. Ein worked for The Carlyle Group, Brentwood Associates, and Goldman Sachs before founding Venturehouse Group in 1999. He is a lifelong enthusiast of tennis who played in a few Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournaments, chairs the DC Open tournament, and founder of the World TeamTennis (WTT) team Washington Kastles.
The value of the Devils is up 41% to $1.17 billion.
Harris has 20 limited partners in his group, including Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, Eric Schmidt and Mark Ein, the most in the NFL.