After their busy offseason in which they traded for Chris Paul and extended James Harden, the Houston Rockets are up for sale. Even with all of the moves, owner Leslie Alexander is looking to sell the team after his 24 years of ownership. Alexander bought the team in 1993 for $85 million and is finally ready to move on. He will certainly not be leaving empty handed. The Rockets are estimated to be worth $1.65 billion and are a large part of Alexander’s total net worth. Let’s look at how Alexander came to be so rich, and why he bought the Rockets
Leslie Alexander Net Worth as of 2017: 1.9 billion
1965-1993 (Early Years)
Alexander went to work on Wall Street in his early 20s to seek his fortune. He started off in investing and went back to school to get a law degree make more money. He began work at a Wall Street firm and eventually began his own, The Alexander Group, in 1980. He was a member of the California State Bar and built up his wealth over the years.
1993-2017 (Ownership Years)
Alexander purchased the Houston Rockets in 1993 for $85 million, and they won the championship that year. Over his 24 years of ownership, the team has been very successful and is now one of the most valuable in the league. Alexander has surrounded himself with capable personnel in the front office, and this could be one of the reasons he lacks some of the name recognition that a Mark Cuban or Dan Gilbert may have. He stays relatively hands off in their operations and keeps his focus in his wine club and his stake in a student loan company.
The Rockets are one of the most popular teams in the league and have significant international recognition because of players like Yao Ming. It is possible that a future owner of the team could be a person outside of the United States who is simply just a Rockets’ fan.
The sale of the team comes as a surprise, but whoever shells out the money will be buying a team loaded with on and off the court talent. If anybody wants to put up most of the money, I can cover like the last $20 or so.
