Several candidates emerged as potential new owners at Chelsea once Roman Abramovich announced that he would be selling the club, but Todd Boehly appears set to inherit the reins at Stamford Bridge as a consortium he heads up become the preferred bidders at Stamford Bridge.
A new era for the Blues is being ushered in, with a Russian billionaire that has been at the helm since 2003 preparing to walk away after seeing his assets frozen by the UK government.
Change has not been quick to implement in west London, with a protracted takeover saga seeing a number of interested parties enter the fray, but Boehly has emerged as a leading contender to take ownership of the Premier League heavyweights – which begs the question: Who is he? GOAL takes a look…
Who is Todd Boehly?
Boehly is an American businessman, philanthropist and investor who went to school in Bethesda, Maryland before moving to England to study at the London School of Economics.
From there he spent time working at Citibank and CS First in Boston before moving on to Guggenheim Partners in 2001.
He launched that firm’s credit investing business and would go on to become president of the company.
In 2013 he fronted a deal between Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Dodgers to create SportsNet LA – a network that broadcasts all things related to the baseball franchise.
Two years later, in 2015, Boehly pooled some of the assets he collected at Guggenheim – including The Hollywood Reporters, Dick Clark Productions and Security Benefit – to found Eldridge Industries, a holding company that owns stakes in roughly 80 finance, media, sports, real estate and technology businesses.
What is Todd Boehly’s net worth?
The 46-year-old is, according to Forbes, worth around £3.6 billion ($4.5bn).
He previously made a play for Chelsea back in 2019, with an offer in the region of £2.2bn ($2.8bn) being knocked back.
Which other sports teams does Todd Boehly own?
Boehly is the co-owner of seven-time MLB World Series winners the Los Angeles Dodgers – who last captured the grandest prize in baseball back in 2020.
He also owns stakes in 17-time NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks women’s basketball team.
His latest bid for power at Stamford Bridge has seen Boehly team up with fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walters, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital – with that consortium boasting some serious spending power between them.
What are Todd Boehly’s plans for Chelsea?
Boehly has seemingly fended off all rival interest in Chelsea – including a late bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s wealthiest man – to put himself in pole position to complete a takeover before the end of May.
Blues supporters will be eager to see a long-running saga, which has presented plenty of challenges on and off the field, brought to a close as soon as possible, while they will also be pleased to hear that a potential new owner has ambitious plans for his various sporting ventures.
Boehly said while speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in LA: “There’s nothing like sports to excite passion. And if you have passion, then you have people who care about things.
“And if you have people who care about things, you have great opportunity. And really, it’s about curating that experience, that access, that opportunity.
“For example, we’ll have four million people coming out to Dodger Stadium this year. So, our goal is to give them the best possible experience. We still have the most affordable tickets in the league basically, for a stadium that’s full regularly.
“In some sports like the NFL, they share all the media money. In baseball, you’re really a derivative of your local market.
“The Premier League’s similar. If you look at the way it works, to be one of the big brands, you have a structural advantage. And for us, we’re always looking for structural advantages.”
Credit: goal.com
