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Lewis Wolff

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For the Wisconsin politician, see Louis Wolf.
Lewis N. Wolff
Born1935 (age 88–89)
St. Louis
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin (B.A.)
Washington University in St. Louis (M.B.A.)
OccupationInvestor
Known forFormer owner and current chairman emeritus for the Oakland Athletics
Owner of the San Jose Earthquakes
SpouseJean Wolff
Children3

Lewis N. Wolff (born December 13, 1935) is an American real estate developer. Wolff had been co-chairman of the Board of Sunstone Investors, Inc. from October 2004 to April 2014.[1] Wolff owned sports franchises, serving currently as the co-owner of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. He was most well known for his ownership of the Oakland Athletics. However, in November 2016, Wolff sold his share[2] in the Oakland Athletics to John J. Fisher, and currently serves as the team's Chairman Emeritus.[3] Wolff is credited with the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown San Jose, California where he was the largest developer of offices, hotels, and parking for many years.

Early life and education

Lewis "Lew" Wolff was born on December 13, 1935[4] to a Jewish family[5] in St. Louis and was raised in the middle-class suburbs of University City, Missouri.[6] Wolff graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison[6] where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity,[7] and a fraternity brother of former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.[8] and US Senator Herb Kohl. In 1961, he earned an MBA from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.[6][9]

Career

In 1958, Wolff took a job as a real estate appraiser in St. Louis.[6] In 1961, his company sent him to Los Angeles to open a regional office[6] and in 1963, he co-founded a real estate consulting firm.[6] In the 1960s, he was very successful developing the booming San Jose market and earned a solid reputation in the industry.[6] In the 1970s, he accepted a position with 20th Century Fox tasked with managing its worldwide real estate investments.[6] Wolff's approach - which he would successfully apply throughout his career - was to find partners willing to fund the majority of the investment and take a more passive role, which would allow Wolff to directly manage the investment himself.[6]

In 1994, Wolff founded Maritz, Wolff & Co with Philip Maritz in St. Louis, Missouri.[10] The company owned interest in eighteen hotel and resort properties around the world, including the Fairmont San Jose Hotel, the Fairmont San Francisco, the Carlyle Hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Nevis, the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, and the Park Hyatt Sydney.[4][11] In 2011 Wolff and his partner, Philip Maritz, orchestrated the $800 million sale of five hotels, including The Carlyle and the Rosewood Management Company to New World, a Hong Kong-based real estate and hotel company.[citation needed]

In the past, he has been a co-owner of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association.[12] On April 1, 2005, Wolff and an ownership group led by The Gap heir, John J. Fisher, purchased the Oakland Athletics baseball team for $180 million from Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann.[4][13][14] In 2006, the A's ownership group purchased an option to revive the San Jose Earthquakes franchise of Major League Soccer.[15] At the 2007 MLS All Star Game, it was announced that Wolff had exercised the option, and the Earthquakes began play during the 2008 MLS season.[16]

Philanthropy

Under Wolff's ownership, the Oakland Athletics were community-minded. In 2011, Sony Pictures complied with Wolff's wishes in staging the motion picture premiere of Moneyball in Oakland, including a charity component that raised $370,000 for the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland and Stand Up To Cancer. Lew is also an active participant in the A's Home Run Readers program.[17]

The San Jose Mercury-News ranked Wolff first in its annual listing of the Bay Area's 25 Most Powerful Sports Figures in both 2006 and 2007. In September, 2008, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group also presented Wolff with its prestigious "Community Cornerstone Award," given to "a Silicon Valley leader who has displayed a lifetime of impeccable ethics, business achievement and community engagement."[17] Wolff’s Family Foundation supports numerous causes with emphasis on Stand-Up to Cancer, KIPP Charter schools, Planned Parenthood, Yavneh Day School, Los Gatos, California. The most recent activity is a personal campaign to research and address the impact of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) in the field of family law and children of divorce.

Criticism

From 2013, two years before Wolff assumed the position of Managing Partner of the Oakland Athletics, a position he occupied thru the 2015 season, and a period where the Oakland Athletics appeared in four post Major League baseball seasons although having one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, Wolff tried to develop a new ballpark for the team in the City of Oakland. After 2015 Wolff continued to try and implement a new ballpark for the following three years in the City of Oakland. Thwarted in these efforts, and required to remain within the Major League Baseball territory assigned to the team, Wolff sought a new ballpark in the City of Fremont. Fremont fell through. Athletics President, Michael Crowley and Athletics General Manager, Billy Beane supported the efforts of Wolff and Wolff’s management of the Athletics. Wolff was criticized for covering the upper deck of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with a tarp, eliminating the use of the third deck. The then co-occupant of the venue, the Oakland Raiders, also covered the upper deck.

Stadium efforts

Wolff has been quoted as saying the A's are "looking to stay in Oakland." In that same San Jose Mercury News article, he is quoted as saying "We have not been looking at venues in other places in the Bay Area," he said. "And we are not planning to look."[18] In 2014, the A's signed a 10-year lease to stay in the O.co Coliseum.[19] Shortly thereafter, the A's invested $10 million in new video boards at the Coliseum as part of the lease agreement.[20]

Personal life

Wolff is married to Jean Wolff and has three children and four grandchildren. They live in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Lewis Wolff - Forbes". forbes.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  2. ^ Ozanian, Mike (November 18, 2016). "Fisher Family Buys Remaining Stake Of Oakland Athletics From Wolff". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Oakland A's". LEW WOLFF. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  4. ^ a b c Bloomberg: "Oakland A's Owner Wolff Seeks $1.8 Billion From Hotels as Sales Considered" By Nadja Brandt Archived 2015-01-14 at the Wayback Machine Apr 6, 2011
  5. ^ JWeekly: "Oakland A’s Ready for Their First Jewish Heritage Game" by Andy Altman-Ohr Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine May 11, 2012
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i San Francisco Gate: "A's NEW ERA / LEWIS WOLFF / A fan since childhood finally gets to own a team" by John Shea Archived 2013-06-18 at the Wayback Machine March 31, 2005
  7. ^ 2011 Pi Lambda Phi Membership Guide
  8. ^ Tyler Kepner (September 22, 2012). "Relocation of A's Has All the Plans but No Permit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  9. ^ a b MLB.com: "Lewis Wolff - Owner and Managing Partner Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine retrieved March 26, 2013
  10. ^ "Corporate profile: History". Maritz, Wolff & Co. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  11. ^ "Portfolio". Maritz, Wolff & Co. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  12. ^ "Executive profile: Lewis N. Wolff". Maritz, Wolff & Co. Archived from the original on 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  13. ^ Bloomberg: "Why The Oakland A’s Don’t Belong in Oakland" By Jonathan Mahler Archived 2012-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Oct 9, 2012
  14. ^ "Lewis Wolff". Oakland Athletics. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  15. ^ Michelle Smith (May 25, 2006). "A's gain rights to revive Quakes". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 12, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  16. ^ "Earthquakes return to San Jose in 2008". USA Today. 2007-07-18. Archived from the original on 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  17. ^ a b "Executive Bio". Oakland Athletics. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  18. ^ "A's co-owner Wolff not interested in sharing Coliseum site with Raiders". www.mercurynews.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  19. ^ "A's lease settled after Lew Wolff accepts Oakland's changes". SFGate. Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  20. ^ "A's upgrading Coliseum with new video boards". Sporting News. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
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