|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The Reinsdorf Rules
As a youngster in Brooklyn, Jerry Reinsdorf (L60) used to ride the subway into Manhattan’s Chinatown to buy fireworks, which he hauled back to his own borough to sell for profit. This early entrepreneurship provided Reinsdorf with his first taste of the art of the deal, and in 1998 the majority owner of both the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls was ranked in the top 100 by the Sporting News in its annual listing of “The Most Powerful People in Sports.” After he left Northwestern, Reinsdorf landed a job with the Internal Revenue Service. His first case: investigating Bill Veeck, then in his first term of ownership of the Chicago White Sox. In 1973 Reinsdorf cofounded Balcor Co., which specialized in real estate limited partnerships. The $104 million sale of Balcor eight years later provided him with the capital to join fellow alumnus Eddie Einhorn (L60) in a quest to become professional sports owners. Reinsdorf led a limited partnership in 1981 that purchased the Chicago White Sox for $19 million, ending Veeck’s second (and final) round of ownership of the club. Two years later the White Sox won the American League West title, and Reinsdorf, then considered the city’s sports savior, aimed for his next acquisition. That, in 1985, was the Chicago Bulls, led at the time by an up-and-coming first-year player named Michael Jordan. The price: $16 million. Under Reinsdorf’s ownership, the Bulls won six NBA championships. “Jerry stays out of the limelight, and he gives those who work for him a lot of independence,” says Irwin Mandel (EB64, L67), a member of the Bulls’ organization since 1973. “You have to be on your toes, but you know you’ll always be treated right.” The championship rings made Reinsdorf a nationally recognized sports figure, and he now owns two teams — for which he paid a total of $35 million — that Forbes recently estimated to be worth a combined $546 million. That’s brilliance. And that’s a lot of fireworks. — S.H. |