According to Forbes, John J. Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, is a billionaire. And not just one of those barely-there billionaires that dot the fruited plain of America, and for that matter much of the planet. Forbes pegs his net worth at $2.3 billion, ranking him No. 1,312 in the entire world. Fisher is from the wealthy family that founded The Gap retail chain. Were he living in Las Vegas rather than San Francisco, he would be the fifth-richest man hereabouts behind casino magnate Phil Ruffin, Panda Express co-founder Andrew Cherng, and mixed martial arts/casino owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III.
Yet Fisher is asking the state of Nevada in effect to give him nearly $400 million of taxpayer money toward constructing a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat baseball stadium to move the As–one of the worst major league baseball teams in the entire world, including Japan–from Oakland to Las Vegas. By all accounts, the deal–the fine print of which hasn’t been spelled out, at least to the public–would give him all the upside should things work out while giving Nevada taxpayers zero upside, and plenty of downside if things head south. Forbes values the struggling team now at $1.18 billion, about half of Fisher’s net worth. The team value–and Fisher’s net worth–would surely increase dramatically in Las Vegas.
Using Other People’s Money, of course, is one way mere billionaires become multi-billionaires. (See Trump, Donald J. and bondholders, Atlantic City casinos.) For me the question here is why Nevada–a small-population state with crying unmet needs in education, healthcare and a bunch of other things–should even consider coughing up this kind of public loot.
I’d say the reason is that Fisher, 61, is counting on the pathological desire that cities have to be considered Big Time when it comes to sports. The A’s even alluded to this psychological concept yesterday when touting what it said was its own poll of Clark County voters showing overwhelming support for the stadium. Team president Dave Kaval was quoted as saying in a statement, “We look forward to delivering a world-class ballpark and all the benefits Major League Baseball brings, including … civic pride.”
Fisher is hitting up the government for loot not because he has to, but because he can. As I see it, it’s not unlike a drug dealer selling meth to an addict, who has a crying need. So what if the product isn’t top-notch? The addict is hooked! Continue reading