David Scott Blitzer (born September 7, 1969) is an American

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some specie ...

and sports team owner. He is a senior executive at the

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

firm Blackstone and co-managing partner of the NBA's

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

and NHL's

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. Blitzer also manages several

association football clubs This is a list of lists of association football clubs from all over the world. Each of the articles linked from here lists clubs playing at the highest level in each country; for clubs playing at lower divisions, see separate linked articles. ...

under Global Football Holdings, owns 25% of the MLB's

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

, and is a limited partner of the NFL's

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, making him the first person to own team equity in the five major sports leagues of North America. Blitzer graduated from Penn's

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

and joined Blackstone in 1991, where he serves as the firm's head of tactical opportunities. He and

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...

co-founder Josh Harris are frequent partners, with the pair entering

sports business Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

in 2011 and establishing

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment is an American sports and entertainment company headquartered in the Philadelphia metropolitan area that owns and operates the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the New Jersey Devil ...

in 2017. Blitzer's

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...

is estimated to be $2 billion.

Career

Early life and Blackstone

Blitzer was born on September 7, 1969, in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...

. He graduated from

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, New Jersey, United States, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains and the ...

in 1987 and graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

in 1991. Blitzer joined the private equity firm Blackstone shortly after graduation and worked out of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

from 2001 to 2011 to oversee the company's interests in Europe. He is a member of their management committee and heads their global Tactical Opportunities group.

Sports management

Blitzer began contemplating investing in sports after meeting

co-founder Josh Harris in 2008 at The Punchbowl, a pub in London. By 2011, those talks led to the pair forming an investment group that purchased the

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) for $280 million. Other initial members of the group included Art Wrubel,

Jason Levien Jason M. Levien (born 1973) is an American sports executive. He is the CEO and managing general owner of the Major League Soccer club D.C. United and co-owner of Swansea City, a Welsh football club, and the Brisbane Bullets, an Australian baske ...

Adam Aron Adam Maximilian Aron (born September 30, 1954) is an American businessman and the chairman and CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. More recently, he became a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, additionally serving as its CEO from 2011 to 2 ...

, Martin Geller, David Heller,

James Lassiter James Lassiter is an American film producer, known for being co-founder of Overbrook Entertainment and longtime business partner of actor and rapper Will Smith. Career Lassiter attended University of Miami and Temple University and befriended Jef ...

, Marc Leder,

Michael Rubin Michael Rubin (born 1971) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He previously worked as an official at the Pentagon, where he dealt with issues relating to the Middle East, and as political adviser to the Coalition Provis ...

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

, and

Erick Thohir Erick Thohir (born 30 May 1970) is an Indonesian businessman and politician who has served as Indonesia's Minister of State Owned Enterprises since 2019. He is the founder of Mahaka Group, a conglomeration that focuses on media, sports and enter ...

. In August 2013, Blitzer and Harris purchased the

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) and their arena, the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

, for $320 million. Blitzer and investor David Abrams headed a group that owned 50% of the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, the Triple-A affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, from 2014 until selling to Diamond Baseball Holdings in 2021. Blitzer co-founded

with Harris in 2017. In addition to the 76ers and Devils, the company also owns the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

, esports team Dignitas of New Meta Entertainment, HBSE Real Estate, sports tech venture capital firm HBSE Ventures, and marketing, hospitality, and event ticketing company Elevate Sports Ventures. In January 2022, Blitzer and

Qualtrics Qualtrics is an American experience management company, with co-headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and Provo, Utah, in the United States. The company was founded in 2002 by Scott M. Smith, Ryan Smith, Jared Smith, and Stuart Orgill. Qualtric ...

co-founder Ryan Smith purchased

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) and

America First Field America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

, which included the affiliated

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

and

Zions Bank Stadium Zions Bank Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Herriman, Utah, United States, with a seating capacity of 5,000. The stadium is home to Real Monarchs, a MLS Next Pro team affiliated with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, and the Utah Warr ...

. The pair also reestablished the

Utah Royals Utah Royals FC is an American women's professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played its first stint in the National Women's Soccer League ( ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL), which had gone defunct in 2020 and became the

Kansas City Current Kansas City Current is an American professional women's soccer team based in Kansas City, Kansas. It began play as an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021. History Establishment Kansas City last had an NWS ...

. He purchased a 25 percent stake in the MLB's

in June 2022, with an option to acquire controlling interest in 2028. Blitzer is the first person to hold team equity in the five major sports leagues of North America: the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS, and MLB. Blitzer purchased an 18% stake in the English football club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

in 2015. He later formed Global Football Holdings, which has invested in

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home games at the Estádio António Coimb ...

(Portugal),

AD Alcorcón Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcorcón, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1971, it currently plays in Primera Federación – Group 1, holding home matches at the Municipal de Santo ...

(Spain),

S.K. Beveren Sportkring Beveren is a professional Belgian association football club located in the municipality of Beveren, East Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division B. History The club was founded in 1936 as Red Star and registered to an amat ...

(Belgium),

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...

(Germany),

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

(Netherlands), and

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...

(Denmark). In 2020, Blitzer and Harris bought a $140 million stake in the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). In 2023, he was a part of another group led by Harris that purchased the NFL's

for $6.05 billion, the highest price ever for a sports team. The same year, Blitzer invested in the return of

SlamBall Slamball is a form of basketball played with four trampolines in front of each net and boards around the court edge. The name SlamBall is the trademark of SlamBall, LLC. While SlamBall is based on basketball, it is a contact sport, with blocks ...

, a basketball league combining elements of other sports, and bought a minority stake in

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...

by way of HBSE in 2023. He was named to the NHL's Executive Committee in October 2023, which is responsible for vetting new ownership applications, collective bargaining, and league expansion. Blitzer and professional golfer

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

are owners of the Jupiter Links Golf Club of the virtual golf league TGL, founded in 2023. In 2024, he sold his stake in the Steelers to

Art Rooney II Arthur Joseph Rooney II (born September 14, 1952) is the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Early life Arthur Joseph Rooney II was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the eldest of nine children of Patricia (Re ...

and

Thomas Tull Thomas Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. Tull is the founder of Tulco LLC, an investment hold ...

. Blitzer is a member of College Sports Tomorrow, a group formed in 2024 consisting of 20 pro team owners, league executives, and college administrators proposing an overhaul to

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

, including abolishing

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

and reorganizing Power Five schools in seven divisions of ten each with a system of

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

for the rest, in addition to changes to NIL deals and the

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool launched on October 15, 2018, to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member ...

. Blitzer and Harris have also invested in youth sports brands, forming Unrivaled Sports as a parent company in March 2024 with capital from

The Chernin Group TCG Capital Management, LP, d/b/a as TCG or The Chernin Group, is an American investment advisory firm focused on private equity investments in the media, entertainment, technology, sports and consumer and digital media sectors. History Peter Che ...

Properties

Personal life

Blitzer is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He is married to Allison (née Ross) Blitzer; they have five children. His

was estimated by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' in November 2023 to be $2.2 billion. Blitzer's father-in-law, Stuart Ross, who once owned the North American rights to ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' franchise, was convicted of extortion in 2010 and sentenced to five years of probation after trying to extort $11 million from Blitzer. Blitzer founded the Blitzer Family Foundation in 2014. He is on the board of trustees of

Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is a hospital network in New York City. It was formed in September 2013 by merging the operations of Continuum Health Partners and the Mount Sinai Medical Center. The Health System is structured around eight hospit ...

and

and is a donor to

Hillel International Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also known as Hillel International or Hillel, is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally. Hillel is represented at more than 550 colle ...

, an organization helping Jewish students. He participated in

panels hosted by the Wharton School in 2019 and

Sportico Penske Media Corporation (PMC) () is an American digital media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''Variety'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' ...

in 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blitzer, David 1969 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews American billionaires American business executives American chief executives of professional sports organizations American investors American soccer chairmen and investors American sports businesspeople Blackstone Inc. people Businesspeople from New Jersey Chairmen and investors of football clubs in England Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Germany Chairmen and investors of football clubs in the Netherlands Chairmen and investors of soccer clubs in the United States Crystal Palace F.C. directors and chairmen Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Jewish American basketball people Jewish American sports executives and administrators Jews from New Jersey Living people NASCAR team owners National Hockey League executives New Jersey Devils executives New Jersey Devils owners People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers owners Private equity and venture capital investors Real Monarchs Real Salt Lake owners Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni Sportspeople from Union County, New Jersey Utah Royals owners Washington Commanders owners Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni