Who is potential Cleveland Guardians minority owner David Blitzer?

The Cleveland Guardians will potentially have a new minority owner in the future – so who is David Blitzer?

Before the start of the new year, it was announced that David Blitzer was set to take a 35% ownership stake in the Cleveland Guardians. Blitzer will purchase the 15% of shares previously owned by Royals owner John Sherman (who had to divest his Guardians shares due to his Royals ownership) and 20% of the shares owned by the Dolans.

Blitzer is no rookie to sports ownership, with stakes in the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia 76ers, and Real Salt Lake (MLS). Per MLB rules he will be allowed to take ownership of the Guardians in 5-6 years. Will he, tough? That still remains to be seen. At minimum, Guardians fans can be happy that he seemingly likes sports, and enjoys the prospect of winning.

Who Is This David Blitzer, You Might Ask?

The Global Head of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities group, David Blitzer has delivered a staggering return of 1.8x. To oversimplify, Blitzer runs one of the world’s largest investment groups that blurs the line between private equity and hedge fund solutions. He is estimated to manage over $650 billion in assets for Blackstone and has a personal net worth of $1.3 billion.

So What?

While the Dolan family has an estimated net worth of about $5 billion, it is important to note that they view the Guardians as business. Some of the most successful owners in sports see their sports team as a hobby and greatly prioritize winning. Ironically, when winning becomes the priority it is highly likely your sports team will become a great business – i.e. the New England Patriots. Cleveland Guardians fans should be excited about this purchase and some new blood in the ownership booth.