News that Michael Jordan decided to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets caught the NBA world off guard. As we all know, the Chicago Bulls legend is the richest athlete in the world and has a net worth of over $2 billion. Using the riches he amassed throughout his playing career, Jordan bought the Charlotte Hornets in 2010 for $275 million.
Although this is most certainly a smart and valuable investment, Jordan decided to sell away his majority stake with the Hornets to the Gabe Plotkin and Rich Schall group. This investment group also includes popular singer J. Cole. That said, let us take a closer look at this situation and find out more.
Michael Jordan sold his 80% majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets
As already mentioned, Jordan bought the Hornets more than a decade ago. However, it is difficult to credit him and claim that he turned the franchise into a successful contender. After all, the team has struggled to remain relevant and only made the NBA playoffs twice, and have been eliminated in the first round since MJ came into charge.
Michael Jordan is finalizing a sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, ending his 13-year run as majority owner, league sources told @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/t9tDh3ZooR
— MrBeardedXXL (@MrBeardedXXL) June 16, 2023
Many analysts have concluded that Jordan might just be the worst manager for a team since he missed the chance to draft several future stars and chose subpar players instead. One could argue that Kemba Walker and LaMelo Ball are the only two good players that the Hornets managed to draft in the last decade.
Since Jordan is unaccustomed to losing and failing, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised that he decided to sell his majority ownership of the Hornets. According to the reports, Jordan sold his stake in the team for around $3 billion.
Gabe Plotkin is a former investment banker and the chief investment officer for Tallwoods Capital. He already held a minority share of ownership with the Hornets. He partnered alongside Rick Schall, J. Cole, and other investors to generate the $3 billion required to buy the Hornets.
J. Cole is now a part owner of the Charlotte Hornets 🏀 pic.twitter.com/bU8RDBG4F3
— Team DREAMVILLE (@TeamDreamville) June 16, 2023
While one would assume that they own the entire Hornets franchise, fans should remember that Michael Jordan only owned around 80% as the majority stake owner. It has also been reported that he has still retained a minority ownership position.
Therefore, we can assume that Gabe Plotkin, J.Cole, and the rest of their investment group own somewhere around 70% of the Hornets. Hopefully, they are able to turn things around for the franchise and lead it back into relevance.