Wilpon loses "tens of millions" in fund scam
Fred Wilpon, Michigan alum, owner of the NY Mets and major donor to the Michigan baseball and softball programs, is exposed to the Madoff hedge fund scandal to the tune of tens of millions:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122914169719104017.html
"Mets owner Mr. Wilpon, who also owns real-estate investor Sterling Equities, often raved about Mr. Madoff's investment prowess and invested tens of millions of dollars of both his own money and the team's with his company, say financiers who have worked with him. Mr. Madoff handled investments for the Judy & Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, which distributed about $1 million a year in 2005 and 2006 to charities, according to its most recent federal tax returns."
I wonder if this will impact other capital improvements such as the Crisler renovation. In any case, be glad we got the improvement to the baseball/softball facility a few years ago.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:54 PM ^
Prices for hotdogs at the new CitiField have been announced at $47.50. Vistors to CitiField wishing to purchase beer at Mets home games must have their credit pre-approved prior to purchase...
December 14th, 2008 at 10:38 PM ^
I know Fred pretty well - he was an LP in our firm. He really got jobbed like quite a few wealthy michigan Alum (the Ross family, and Sam Zell to name a few) - Madoff defrauded a lot of people. They could never explain any part of their fund, other than returns and the fact that it was closed ended - effectively making it invite only. I listened to the presentation once, and there was no actual asset that they invested in.
To the point at hand, Sam Zell heading towards bankruptcy is going to hurt Crisler a lot more. Most of the money has already been allocated for Crisler but there are a few huge donors who are facing capital calls - which could be a real problem.
December 14th, 2008 at 10:58 PM ^
That some of the most successful, savvy investors in the world were taken in by this guy. I know that lots of investors on the east coast are not very happy right now - which does not bode well for charities as well as Crisler. Let's see if the Shea scoreboard makes it to Ann Arbor, as Fred Wilpon once mentioned he wanted to do.
I was amazed that Sam Zell invested in the Tribune company at all, to be frank. I took a class at Ross from Sam's longtime COO and from what he told us, it seemed the Tribune purchase didn't seem to fit the Zell formula.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:28 PM ^
It doesn't at all - you're right. Sam hates leverage - most of his real estate deals have always been heavy cash. He made a ton of money off the last real estate bubble investing in residential apartments. If he can survive this, he will go right back to that pattern. It's a shame because he is a great guy, like most U of M alumni donors I have had the privilege to meet and know. But everyone was telling him to leverage and he eventually was swayed. He has wanted the Tribune forever, and paid heavy leverage to beat Blackstone to the punch. Problem is newspaper print ads are losing revenue faster than you can imagine. Increasing share of a decreasing market - down the tubes. Sam is a great guy and all Ross grads should try to reach out to him because he really makes time for Michigan alum.
I'll ask Fred the next time I see him but my suspicion is the Shea scoreboard is 50/50 at best now to make to A2. This is a bad situation as he might have to sell his ownership interest to cover his capital call. The problems are just beginning.
December 15th, 2008 at 5:35 AM ^
That is very off the topic of Michigan football. I wish people would put OT in front of the title.
December 15th, 2008 at 8:33 AM ^
This site's title says "Michigan football, basketball, hockey, and general what-have-you." This falls directly into the general what-have-you and is a hell of a lot more topical than Angelina Jolie or the MSU credit union.
As soon as I read the NYTimes yesterday, I was curious how this was going to play out for the university. I'm disheartened to learn that it's worse than I even thought.
December 15th, 2008 at 9:59 AM ^
Were several of your precious moments lost in the reading of those few lines of text?