Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 04:35, 14 June 2023

Sell the team (born June 1, 1961) is an American businessman. He is the co-owner of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics and Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes and Scotland's Celtic F.C. He is the son of Gap Inc. founders Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher.

Early life and education

Fisher is the son of Doris Feigenbaum Fisher and Don Fisher, the co-founders of Gap, Inc., and inherited his fortune from them. Fisher attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1983. After college, Fisher worked in the mailroom at the Republican National Committee and worked as a fundraiser for then-President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush. He then attended graduate school at Stanford University School of Business, where he earned a master's degree in Business Administration. Fisher, who is Jewish, has two brothers: Robert J. Fisher and William S. Fisher.

Career

After graduate school, he took a job for a real estate company that did business with his parents' company, the Gap. The business was not successful and he became president of Pisces Inc., the Fisher family's investment management company. He established a relationship with Lewis Wolff to jointly purchase several Fairmont hotels in San Francisco, which led to his investment in the Oakland Athletics. He also has stakes in Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes and Scotland's Celtic football club.

Fisher has been the majority owner of the Athletics since he and Wolff closed on their joint purchase of the team in 2005 and is now also the managing general partner. In November 2016, Wolff sold his 10% share in the Athletics to Fisher giving Fisher full ownership of the team.

In April 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $2.4 billion.

Oakland Athletics Las Vegas relocation controversy

In April 2023, the Oakland Athletics announced a plan to build a new stadium in the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the former Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel casino near Interstate 15, near the T-Mobile Arena, while also ending negotiations with the City of Oakland. After this, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, a large contingent of the 6,423 fans in attendance protested the relocation by holding signs and chanting "Sell the team!" during the game. During the same game, Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda hit a home run the to right field bleachers, over banners hung by fans critical of team ownership and management. After the game, MLB cropped the banners from it's video highlights. The league later claimed it was unaware of the change and issued an apology.

Philanthropy

Fisher chairs the board of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP Foundation), dedicated to training teachers for the KIPP public charter school network., and co-chair of the Charter School Growth Fund.

Political views

In 2019, it was revealed that Fisher, with his mother Doris F. Fisher and brothers William S. Fisher and Robert J. Fisher, had donated nearly $9 million to a political action committee that opposed Barack Obama in the 2012 election. He has donated to Ohio rep. Mike Carey, a longtime coal lobbyist and supporter of President Donald J. Trump.

Personal life

He is married to Laura Meier Fisher. The couple lives in San Francisco.

References

1. ^ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - John Fisher April 2022
2. "John J Fisher, The World's Richest People - Forbes.com". images.forbes.com.
3. ^ San Francisco Gate: "A's NEW ERA / JOHN FISHER / Son of Gap founder is the money behind the deal" by Todd Wallack March 31, 2005
4. Palevsky, Stacey (October 1, 2009). "Gap Founder Donald Fisher Leaves Stamp on Community". J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
5. Ozanian, Mike (November 18, 2016). "Fisher Family Buys Remaining Stake Of Oakland Athletics From Wolff". Forbes. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
6. "A's turned down $1 plot in resort corridor before settling on site for $1.5B Vegas stadium". The Nevada Independent. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
7. Tindera, Michela (October 26, 2019). "At Least 20 Billionaires Behind 'Dark Money' Group That Opposed Obama". Forbes. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
8. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/10/donors-to-anti-obama-dark-money-grp/
9. Princeton University news: "Fisher family funds dormitory for Princeton's Whitman College" by Ruth Stevens June 12, 2006
10. Stanford University Bulletin: "Laura Fisher" Archived 2013-07-06 at the Wayback Machine retrieved July 29, 2013

• 1961 births
• Living people
• American billionaires
• American retail chief executives
• Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
• California Republicans
• Jewish American philanthropists
• Major League Baseball executives
• Oakland Athletics owners
• Princeton University alumni
• San Jose Earthquakes executives
• Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni
• Fisher family
• Gap Inc. people
• 21st-century American Jews