Jeff Skoll, the Canadian billionaire businessman and former president of e-commerce company eBay, has become a minority investor in US sports team ownership group Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).
MSE owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NWBA’s Washington Mystics, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, esports’ Wizards District Gaming (who compete in the NBA 2K League), and NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go. It is also a co-owner of aXiomatic, which controls esports organization Team Liquid.
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In addition, the group owns and operates the Capital One Arena, home to both the Wizards and the Capitals, and it recently secured full ownership of regional sports network NBC Sports Washington from US media giant Comcast.
Skoll joins the ownership group, led by chairman and chief executive Ted Leonsis. It also includes billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs, BET co-founder Sheila Johnson, and Mark Lerner, owner of MLB’s Washington Nationals.
Leonsis announced the news on his Twitter account and welcomed Skoll to the group.
Excited to announce Jeff Skoll as the newest minority investor in Monumental Sports and Entertainment. Jeff is a longtime friend, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur. Welcome Jeff! https://t.co/zsR3p7V0ht
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By GlobalData— Ted Leonsis (@TedLeonsis) November 29, 2022
Skoll, who was eBay’s first full-time employee before being named president, is now worth $5.6 billion, according to Bloomberg. He is the co-founder of impact investment firm The Rise Fund, and founder of the Jeff Skoll Group, which combines his philanthropic and commercial endeavors.
Skoll’s investment comes amid a string of major sports teams looking for investors or new owners. Multibillion-dollar teams on the market currently include Premier League soccer rivals Liverpool and Manchester United, the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and the MLB’s Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals.
Leonsis was recently named as a possible suitor for the Washington Nationals.
Earlier this year, MSE named Charles Myers as its first chief technology partner to oversee a new department that manages the group’s information technology, engineering, cyber security, digital development, and new technologies, as well as other technological needs the company has.
Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
