Embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling will turn quite a profit whenever the NBA team is sold, leading ‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary to deem him a very smart business man.
“I think sports teams are based on losing money while you own them and hoping somebody else pays a lot more later. That has certainly been the truth. I mean the Sterling situation really accentuates that.”
He continued, “[Sterling] put $12 million in play and now [the Clippers are] worth $2 billion? Very. Smart. Man.”
I don’t think anyone would argue that this turned out to be a great investment for Sterling, even though my personal thoughts are that the team is overvalued based on agreed purchase price.
I think the huge profit Sterling will make from the sale is a mixture of time (he purchased the team over 30 years ago, any investment you hold for that long will increase in value), a strong NBA market, an improved Clippers team and a little bit of luck…not sure how much keen business sense played into that.