MLB Teams

LA Dodgers Ownership Group And Their Holdings

By Roshan Khatiwada / 16 August 2023 02:14 AM

Hyun Suk Jang being welcomed to the Los Angeles Dodgers team
Source : instagram

LA Dodgers ownership group has the Guggenheim Baseball Management as the majority owner. The team includes Magic Johnson, Todd Boehnly, and Stan Kasten.

Dodgers are a professional American baseball team established in 1883 in Brooklyn. After spending sixty-eight seasons in Brooklyn, the franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1958.

Charles Byrne and Ferdinand Abell were the initial owners of the franchise during its establishment. The team competes in the West Division of the National League in MLB.

They are one of the oldest and most famous baseball teams in the world. The Dodgers have won twenty division titles, twenty-four American League pennants, and seven World Series.

The team from California is first in their division as of August 14, 2023, with a record of 71-46. They are four and a half games behind the American League leaders Atlanta Braves.

Dodgers Ownership Group List

Owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers consist of Mark Walter, Peter Guber, and Billie Jean King. Walter and Guber are part of the Guggenheim Baseball Management.

The management group has the majority stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise. The consortium is led by Mark Walter, the controlling partner of Guggenheim.

Mark Walter Guggenheim partners include other investors Peter Guber, Magic Johnson, Bobby Patton, Todd Boehly, and Stan Kasten.

The consortium bought the franchise in 2012 for a record price of $2.15 billion, the highest at the time for a professional sports team. Frank McCourt was the owner of the club previously.

Guggenheim partners Dodgers in 2018 added former tennis player Billie Jean King and her partner Ilana Kloss bought as minority stakeholders in the team. Further, entrepreneurs Robert L. Plummer and Alan Smolinisky bought a share of the club in 2019.

Here is the list of the owners of the franchise:

  1. Mark R. Walter
  2. Peter Guber
  3. Magic Johnson
  4. Bobby Patton
  5. Todd Boehnly
  6. Stan Kasten
  7. Bille Jean King and Ilana Kloss
  8. Robert L. Plummer
  9. Alan Smolinisky

1. Mark Walter

LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter is an American businessman and the chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is also the chief executive and controlling partner of Guggenheim Baseball Management, the principal owner of the team.

Los Angeles Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter during the 2020 MLB season
Source : facebook

The privately held global financial services firm has over $325 billion in assets under its management. The company is based in Chicago and New York.

Further, he is also the co-owner of the football club Chealse FC, which plays in the English Premier League. Mark also has a stake in the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks, along with some of his partners.

2. Peter Guber

Guber is an American business executive, educator, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the CEO and chairman of Mandalay Entertainment, an American entertainment company founded by Peter Guber in 1995.

Movies produced by the producer have received fifty Acadamy Award nominations while grossing over $3 billion worldwide. The entrepreneur is also fond of sports and is involved with four professional sports teams.

Peter is the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, the Golden State Warriors of NBA, the Los Angeles Football Club of MLS, and aXiomatic Gaming, a professional eSports team.

3. Magic Johnson

Johnson is a former professional basketball player who played for thirteen seasons in the NBA. He is also a businessman and has owned stakes in MLB, MLS, WNBA, NFL, and NBA.

Magic Johnson (middle) at the Dodgers Stadium during Jackie Robinson Day
Source : instagram

Magic has won thirteen championships in total, five as a player and eight as an owner. He was part-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1994 to 2010 and President of basketball operations from 2017 to 2019.

He is also a member of the consortium that is the principal owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB. Further, he is also a member of a group that owns the Los Angeles FC of MLS, the Los Angeles Sparks of WNBA, and the Washington Commanders of the NFL.

4. Bobby Patton

Patton is one of the partners of the Guggenheim Baseball Management. He is a businessman who operates gas and oil properties in Kansas and Texas.

He has investments in different sectors, such as insurance and ranching. Further, he is on the advisory council of the University of Texas College of Liberal Arts and the Board of Securit Benefit Corporation.

Bobby is also the tournament chairman of the Dean and Deluca Invitational PGA Tour event. The tournament is held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

5. Todd Boehnly

Boehly is an American investor and businessman who is also the chairman, co-founder, controlling member, and CEO of Eldridge Industries. It is a holding company with headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Todd Boehnly(Left) with the president of LaLiga club Real Madrid Florentino Perez (Right)
Source : facebook

Todd is also one of the members of the Guggenheim consortium. Further, he is the co-controlling owner and chairman of the English Premier League football club Chelsea FC and Ligue 1 football club RC Strasbourg.

The businessman also has a 27% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers along with his partner Mark Walter. He also owns DraftKings, a fantasy sports company, and Cloud9, an eSports organization.

6. Stan Kasten

Kasten is also a member of the Guggenheim consortium and, after the takeover of the Dodgers, was named the President of the franchise. He is also the former President of MLB teams Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves.

Before that, he served as the general manager of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and the President of the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL. The team has a record of 1072-704 since Stan became the President of the franchise.

He became the President of the Braves in 1986, and from 1987 to 2003, the team won more games than any other team in the league. At one time, Kasten held three positions: the presidency of the Braves and Thrashers and chairman of the Philips Arena.

7. Bille Jean King and Ilana Kloss

King and Kloss are former professional tennis players. The pair have been together for over forty years and married in 2018.

Jean was a former world number one player and has won thirty-nine Grand Slam titles: twelve in singles, sixteen in doubles, and eleven in mixed doubles. On the other hand, Kloss was ranked the number one player in doubles in 1976 and has won two Grand Slams.

Dodgers minority owner Billy Jean King (Right) with Vin Scully at the Dodgers Stadium
Source : facebook

In September 2018, Kloss and King became the minority owners of the major league team Los Angeles Dodgers after buying minority stakes at the club. They are also part of the ownership group that owns the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

In October 2020, the pair also bought a stake in Angel City FC, a National Wonnen's Soccer team. On June 29, 2023, Malk Walter and King entered a partnership with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association to create a new professional ice hockey league in North America for women.

8. Robert L. Plummer

Plummer is a businessman who bought a minority stake in the team in 2019. He is the CEO and chairman of R.P. Lumber Company, a retail home center and building materials supplier based in Missouri and Illinois.

Robert also invests and operates in the banking, agriculture, hospitality, and real estate industries. One of the investor's success stories is developing a real state area inspired by Ebbets Field.

Ironically, the area came into the spotlight when the Dodgers faced the Cardinals during the 2013 National League Championship Series. Plummer is a lifelong Dodgers fan, and his Ebbets Field development is an ode to the home ballpark of the Dodgers

9. Alan Smolinisky

Smolinisky is an American investor and entrepreneur who is also a minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers in MLB. He recently partnered with Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, in an attempt to purchase the NBA team Portland Trail Blazers.

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Alan began his career in commercial real estate, partnering with his then-landlord Brian Chen. They together opened Conquest Student Housing which renovates and builds properties around colleges.

They later sold the company for $205 million and focused on public securities investment. Chen and Smolinisky now manage their personal capital from Pacific Palisades, California, and invest in real estate, energy, and venture capital.

LA Dodgers Ownership Percentage Is Mystery

Dodgers ownership percentage has not been disclosed publicly. The original six members of the Guggenheim consortium hold the majority of the team's stake.

The Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the franchise in 2012 for $2.1 billion, and as of 2023, the valuation has doubled and reached 4.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The subsequent sales of company shares to Bille Jean King and Ilana Kloss in 2018 and Robert L. Plummer and Alan Smolinisky in 2019 were minor stakes. Hence, most of the shares are with the original six members of the consortium.

Steve Kasten (Left), Mark Walter (Middle), and Dave Roberts (Right) before the Dodgers game
Source : facebook

Other remaining four members hold a minority stake in the team, whereas Mark Walter is the president. The Dodgers have a rich history and a loyal fan base that dates back to the 1880s.

The MLB team from California plays their home games at Dodgers Stadium. The purchase by the Guggenheim team also includes the stadium.

LA Dodgers new owners also bought the land surrounding the stadium for $150 million from the previous owner of the club, Frank McCourt.

Magic Johnson LA Dodgers Ownership

LA Dodgers owner Magic Johnson is a Guggenheim Baseball Management team member that bought the club. They purchased the team for $2.1 billion U.S. dollars.

Johnson is a former professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers for thirteen seasons. He was the first overall pick of the 1979 NBA draft.

Magic Johnson LA Dodgers ownership percentage is not public but is estimated to be around 2-3%. He is a member of the original six people of the consortium.

He is regarded as the greatest point guard of all time and led his Lakers team to five NBA championships. He is also the winner of three NBA Finals MVP and three NBA MVP Awards.

Magic Johnson at the Washington Commanders of the NFL after being a part of the group that purchased the team
Source : instagram

After his retirement, Johnson became a businessman and invested in different ventures. Magic, along with his partner Peter Guber are not only the owners of the Dodgers, but they were also partners in the Dayton Dragons, a minor league baseball team.

He was also involved in the purchase of the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, with whom he won the 2016 WNBA championship. The former basketball player also has ownership stakes in the Los Angeles FC of MLS, which won the MLS Cup in 2022.

In 2023, Johnson invested $240 million in a consortium led by Josh Harris in purchasing NFL side Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion. With the purchase of the Commanders, Magic has ownership stakes in MLB, WNBA, MLS, and NFL.

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