Meet the billionaires battling it out in the 2024 World Series

• The Dodgers and Yankees will look disconnected successful nan MLB 2024 World Series.
• Behind nan teams are billionaire owners Mark Walter and nan Steinbrenner family, respectively.
• Sports teams are becoming a much celebrated finance among nan able and backstage equity firms.

When nan Dodgers and Yankees return nan section to conflict it retired for nan 120th World Series championship, nan players won't beryllium nan only ones pinch trophies connected nan line.

Behind nan teams are their billionaire owners, who person built 2 of baseball's astir valuable franchises.

Mark Walter, nan CEO of finance patient Guggenheim Partners, is nan Dodgers' controlling owner. The financier is worthy $6 billion, according to Forbes.

In 2012, Walter led a squad of investors, which included now billionaire Magic Johnson and erstwhile Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten, among others, successful putting together a $2.15 cardinal bid for nan Los Angeles team and nan onshore astir its stadium. At nan time, nan woody collapsed records pinch a income value much than double that of nan erstwhile highest MLB squad sale.

Under nan caller ownership, nan Dodgers underwent a turnaround. Decisions were made to entreaty to fans' in-stadium acquisition — parking prices were lowered, for example; location were investments successful nan Dodgers' workplace strategy and its roster; and since 2013, nan squad has made nan playoffs each year, including successful 2020, erstwhile it won its first World Series successful complete 30 years.

"I'm not trying to prevention a dollar," Walter told The Los Angeles Times successful 2012. "I'd alternatively opportunity we person a awesome squad and possibly walk a small excessively much."

In nan 12 years since Walter's group purchased nan Dodgers, nan team's worth has astir tripled to $6.3 billion, and successful nan past twelvemonth alone, its worth has accrued 20%, according to Sportico.

Unlike nan likes of Walter and Johnson, who purchased nan Dodgers aft becoming wealthy, nan billionaires down nan Yankees are rich | because of nan team.

The Steinbrenner family has owned nan Yankees for decades. George Steinbrenner led a group that bought nan squad from CBS for astir $10 cardinal successful 1973, and complete nan adjacent 27 years, he expanded his liking to 57%.

Now, nan squad is owned by George's kids, Hank Steinbrenner, Jessica Steinbrenner, Hal Steinbrenner, and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal. The siblings are each worthy $1.5 billion, per Forbes.

The bulk of nan Steinbrenners' luck is tied up successful nan Yankees, which is MLB's astir valuable franchise, worthy $7.93 billion, according to Sportico. In summation to owning nan team, nan Steinbrenner family owns much than 25% of nan franchise's YES Network, arsenic good arsenic stakes successful Major League Soccer's New York City FC, stadium operations institution Legends Hospitality, and Italian shot nine AC Milan, Forbes reported.

Professional sports teams person go popular toys for nan superrich — and bully investments, arsenic nan spike successful nan Dodgers and Yankee valuations shows. In caller decades, nan valuations of US sports franchises person outpaced nan S&P 500, according to PitchBook.

The growing valuations are owed to streaming services driving up nan costs of broadcast rights, nan influx of gross from sports betting, and nan asset's recession-proof reliability.

"I've sewage a institution that nary matter really bad it does, I don't suffer a customer. No matter really overmuch I underperform, I still person that customer. That's a beautiful unsocial asset. And truthful that's why we're investing successful sports," billionaire Marc Lasry, who sold his liking successful nan Milwaukee Bucks past year, told Sportico earlier this period connected owning a team.

Banks person seen a flurry of activity from backstage equity firms and billionaires alike who want to get into sports — truthful overmuch truthful that Goldman Sachs launched a caller portion to counsel connected sports deals past year.

Sports teams are "assets that utilized to beryllium thought of arsenic nice-to-have trophy assets that you could talk astir astatine cocktail parties," Ivo Voynov, nan caput of sports finance astatine Citi Private Bank, told BI past year. Now, there's a consciousness of "building up existent companies astir these assets."