Steve Jobs' Widow Makes Big Move in Pro Sports World

Looks like Laurene Powell Jobs is buying major stake in Capitals, Wizards empire
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2017 9:40 AM CDT
Steve Jobs' Widow Makes Big Move in Pro Sports World
Laurene Powell Jobs and Adrian Fenty, the former mayor of Washington DC, arrive for a state dinner for Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong on Aug. 2, 2016 at the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

There aren't many women who hold top ownership positions in the sports world's "Big Four" pro leagues, but the wife of the late Steve Jobs is about to up those numbers. Citing sources familiar with the deal, the Washington Post reports that billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs is about to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a conglomerate that includes the NHL's Washington Capitals and the NBA's Washington Wizards, as well as DC's Capitol One Arena. Powell Jobs' investment will earn her a stake of about 20% in Monumental, which would be the company's second largest. Investor Ted Leonsis will remain the CEO and majority stakeholder and retain control over the sports teams.

Monumental's reported deal with Powell Jobs isn't totally out of the blue, the Post notes. The 53-year-old, said to be worth about $20 billion, had joined others in bidding on the LA Clippers awhile back, and her two brothers have a decades-long friendship with a top Monumental exec. The Post notes Powell Jobs hopes to parlay her sports world cachet into loftier social goals, including boosting education. "Laurene and Ted share the same commitment to a double bottom line, that the best companies are those that do good in their communities," one source says. Powell Jobs is so far staying mum on the deal, which would need the green light from both the NHL and NBA. Monumental issued a statement that said, "We have an agreement with Laurene Powell Jobs … to join the Monumental Sports & Entertainment ownership group. The process is underway." (More Laurene Powell Jobs stories.)

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