Topline
Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate magnate and owner of the Washington Nationals, passed away at the age of 97 on Sunday, a team spokesperson confirmed with Forbes on Monday, just over three years after he oversaw the team’s meteoric rise to its first ever World Series title.
Ted Lerner, the billionaire owner of the Washington Nationals, passed away on Sunday at the age of … [+]
Key Facts
Lerner, a self-made billionaire who built his wealth as one of the biggest real estate developers in the Washington D.C. area, passed away in his Chevy Chase, Maryland, home on Sunday.
His cause of death stemmed from complications from pneumonia, according to Nationals spokesperson Jennifer Mastin Giglio.
In a statement on Monday, the Nationals lauded Lerner for “ushering in a new era of championship baseball in his hometown” while “literally and figuratively” building a legacy “through his signature mix of tenacity and humility.”
Forbes Valuation
We estimate the Lerner family’s net worth was $6.6 billion as of this week, making him the 378th richest person in the world. His son Mark Lerner serves as the principal at his real estate company, Lerner Enterprises, while his daughter Marla runs the company’s family foundation.
Key Background
Lerner founded his real estate company in 1952 with a $250 loan from his wife, selling homes in the Washington D.C. area, before developing the Wheaton Plaza shopping center and a commercial district on former farmland in Tysons Corner, Virginia. He became a principal owner of the Nationals in 2006, purchasing the team for $450 million just one year after it relocated from Montreal and changed its name from the Expos. True to form, he oversaw the construction of the team’s new stadium, Nationals Park, which opened in 2008. He handed off control of the team to his son, Mark Lerner, in 2018, saying at the time that “owning a baseball team in my hometown had long been a dream of mine.” One year later, the Nationals, led by the pitching duo of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg and rookie phenom Juan Soto, defeated the Houston Astros to win their first World Series championship, and the first title for a Washington D.C. baseball team since 1924, one year before Lerner was born.
Big Number
$2 billion. That’s how much Forbes values the Nationals, as of 2022, with an operating income of $36 million, increasing the team’s value from $1.8 billion in 2019.
Further Reading
Ted Lerner, real estate magnate and Nationals owner, dies at 97 (Washington Post)
What You Need To Know About The Lerner Family, Billionaire Owners Of The Washington Nationals (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/13/billionaire-washington-nationals-owner-ted-lerner-dies-at-97/