Billionaire says football buy was ‘bashert’
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Billionaire says football buy was ‘bashert’

Josh Harris already owned parts of professional sports teams in the NBA, the NHL, the NFL, and the English Premier League.

But when the opportunity arose to buy his hometown Washington Commanders, the Chevy Chase, Maryland, native said it was “bashert.” (That’s the Yiddish word for fate.)

Harris, a co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which manages more than $500 billion in assets globally, bought the Commanders earlier this year from embattled Jewish owner Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion — a record for a North American sports franchise. The NFL approved the sale last week. Snyder, who is under many investigations looking into allegations of sexual harassment and toxic workplace culture, was fined $60 million as part of the sale.

In an interview with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Harris talked about the experience of buying the Commanders. “NFL teams come up once in a generation,” he said. “So it really got real for me when the process was announced. I’m a man of faith, I’m Jewish, and I would call this bashert. The fact that I was able to end up owning, being part of and stewarding for this city, my hometown franchise, in the NFL, is something I never could’ve imagined in my wildest dreams. I’m humbled. It’s like I’m on some greater mission that I don’t understand.”

Harris, whose net worth is estimated at $6 billion, also is a co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He’s also a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a general partner of the Crystal Palace Premier League soccer club in Great Britain.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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