William DeWitt Jr.The Owner of St.louis cardinals has officially announced to sell the team due to…
American businessman William Orville DeWitt Jr. was born on August 31, 1941, and is currently the chairman and managing partner of the Major League Baseball (MLB) St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball team.
Under DeWitt’s ownership, the Cardinals have won two World Series: in 2006 and 2011. Apart from the Cardinals, DeWitt has also owned or made investments in the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, and Cincinnati Stingers hockey team. Aside from baseball, Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. has investments in the petroleum company Spectrum 7 and the U.S. Playing Card Company. It also owns Arby’s franchises.
DeWitt was born in, the son of Margaret H. DeWitt and longtime Major League Baseball executive Bill DeWitt.
He attended St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up, he was surrounded by baseball all the time because his father was a St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds owner, and DeWitt was a batboy for the Browns. Eddie Gaedel, a diminutive player, pinch hit for DeWitt at a Browns game on August 19, 1951, and wore his jersey to the plate. He received an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1965 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University in 1963.
On December 5, 1966, DeWitt was a member of an investment group led by Francis L. Dale that paid $8 million to buy the Cincinnati Reds from his father, Bill Sr.[3]
In 1974, DeWitt began working for the Cincinnati investment firm Gradison & Co. Together with Mercer Reynolds in 1979, he Founded Reynolds, DeWitt & Co., an investment firm. The company has invested in Cincinnati-based U.S. Playing Card Company, which is estimated to be worth approximately $120 million, and owns 63 Arby’s franchises, valued at $50.4 million. Additionally, it owns a $40 million share in Kentucky’s Newport Aquarium.[4] In addition, DeWitt is associated with the 2012-registered private equity firm DeWitt Capital Group.[Reference required] DeWitt has owned a portion of the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds.[5]
One of DeWitt’s business endeavors, Spectrum 7, acquired George W. Bush’s Arbusto Energy in 1984. Arbusto Energy later combined with Harken Energy in 1986. In 1989, as Eddie Chiles got ready to sell the Texas Rangers baseball team, DeWitt and Bush got together.investors to buy the team.
One of DeWitt’s business endeavors, Spectrum 7, acquired George W. Bush’s Arbusto Energy in 1984. Arbusto Energy later combined with Harken Energy in 1986. In 1989, DeWitt and Bush rounded up buyers to purchase the Texas Rangers baseball team, which Eddie Chiles was about to sell.[5]
Additionally, DeWitt owned stock in the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and the former Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association.[2]
When eleven people were killed on December 3, 1979, in Cincinnati, before The Who performed, DeWitt owned a portion of the Riverfront Coliseum.
The St. Louis Cardinals were acquired by DeWitt and Stephen F. Brauer for $150 million from Anheuser-Busch in 1995.[6] He is in charge of all league, financial, and operational baseball-related matters for the team.[2] The Cardinals have won four National League pennants, 11 division titles, two World Series (2006 and 2011), and 15 total postseason appearances since DeWitt acquired the team.[7] In July 2019, Forbes calculated the team’s worth to be $2.1 billion, up from $1.4 billion in 2014.[8] The Cardinals, who made an estimated $233 million in revenue in 2012, are among the biggest privately held companies in St. Louis.[9]
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