Zygmunt "Zygi" Wilf (born April 22, 1950) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busi ...

businessman and real estate developer. He is the chairman and co-owner of the NFL's

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

and the majority owner of

MLS 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 ...

's Orlando City.

Early life

Wilf was born in West Berlin on April 22, 1950. His parents, Joseph (1925–2016) and Elizabeth Wilf (1932-), are

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...

and

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally acce ...

from

Nazi occupied Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. The Wilf family immigrated to the United States from Europe in the early 1950s and settled in

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

. After a brief stint as used car salesmen, Joseph and his brother Harry Wilf began purchasing apartment buildings and renting units. Eventually, the brothers began building single-family homes and founded Garden Homes. A real estate developer, his two main family-run businesses, Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties, have constructed some 25,000 homes in 39 states across the country since their initial ventures; the two entities and their affiliates own and manage in retail and business property.G.R. Anderson, Jr.
Eye of the Beholder
''City Pages'', January 3, 2007. Wilf attended

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in economics in 1971, and later earned a J.D. degree from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in June 1974. President

Richard Joel Richard M. Joel (born September 9, 1950) is a Jewish scholar who was the fourth president of Yeshiva University (YU), a Modern Orthodox Jewish university in New York City. He has written on topics that include Jewish leadership, the BDS movement ...

presented him with an honorary doctorate from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

in May 2010 at the university's 79th commencement. Zygi, along with his brother

Mark Wilf Mark Wilf (born 1962) is an American businessman who is the president and co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, and chairman and co-owner of Orlando City SC. Biography Born to a Jewish family, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, who were both Hol ...

, serve as trustees of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

. He received an honorary degree at Fairleigh Dickinson's 69th Commencement Ceremony in May 2012.

Career

After working as an attorney, Wilf joined the family business and became head of one of the company's affiliates, Garden Commercial Properties. Wilf has grown the company from four shopping centers in

Northern New Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...

to over a hundred properties, including several large malls. In addition to the commercial properties, the Garden companies also own and manage 90,000 apartment units around the country.

Minnesota Vikings

Wilf and five partners purchased the

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 majo ...

from

Red McCombs Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (born October 19, 1927) is an American businessman. He is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, former chairman of Constellis Group, a form ...

in 2005 for a reported 600 million. Legal advisement for the deal was provided by international law firm

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

and eventual Vikings Chief Operating Officer and now Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren.
Forbes
' estimates the 2020 value of the franchise at 2.95 billion, the 17th of the 32 NFL teams or the 33rd of the 50 most valuable sports teams. For several years, the Vikings and Wilf stated that their former home, the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

, was inadequate and lobbied for a new stadium. In May 2012, the Minnesota Vikings moved closer to getting a new $975 million

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

after the state senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing. Later that month the deal was signed by Governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to ...

and narrowly approved by the

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...

, ending any speculation of relocation. The new stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, opened in July 2016 on the site of the former Metrodome.

Nashville SC

In August 2017, Wilf, his brother

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

and his cousin Leonard became minority owners of the Nashville SC alongside lead investor John Ingram.

Orlando City SC

On May 12, 2021, it was announced that Zygi, Mark, and Leonard were purchasing

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 Cana ...

club

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...

, along with

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

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 Federati ...

, and

Exploria Stadium Exploria Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. The stadium is located along West Church Street in the Parramore neighborhood west of Downtown Orlando. It is the home of Orlando City SC, which entered Major League ...

, from their ownership group led by Brazilian entrepreneur Flávio Augusto da Silva. The value of the deal has been estimated at $400–450 million. The sale will require the Wilfs to sell their minority stake in Nashville SC.

Controversy

In August 2013, Wilf, along with his brother, Mark Wilf, and cousin, were found liable by a New Jersey court for breaking civil state racketeering laws and keeping separate accounting books to fleece former business partners of shared revenue. The presiding judge noted that Wilf had used organized crime-like tactics to commit fraud against his business partners. In September, the judge awarded the two business partner plaintiffs Ada Reichmann and Josef Halpern $84.5 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages and interest that the Wilfs must pay. In June 2018, an appeal reduced this amount to roughly $32 million.

Personal life

In 2011, Zygi and Audrey Wilf purchased an apartment occupying the entire 18th floor of New York's

778 Park Avenue 778 Park Avenue is a luxury residential building located in the Upper East Side Historic District on the north east corner of 73rd Street and Park Avenue. The 18-story English Renaissance apartment house, was designed by Rosario Candela who is ...

for $19 million, reduced from its original December 2009 asking price of $24.5 million while they still reside in their home in Springfield, New Jersey. Wilf is one of three NFL owners not born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, along with Kim Pegula (

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

, born in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

) and

Shahid Khan Shahid Rafiq Khan ( ur, ; born July 18, 1950)"Sha ...

(

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, born in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilf, Zygi 1950 births Living people American lawyers American real estate businesspeople Minnesota Vikings owners Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni New York Law School alumni People from Hillside, New Jersey People from Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey American people of Polish-Jewish descent German expatriates in the United States Jewish American sportspeople

Zygi Zygi ( el, Ζύγι; tr, Terazi) is a small village on the south coast of Cyprus, between Limassol and Larnaca. Before 1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President R ...

American billionaires 21st-century American Jews