Theodore John “Ted” Leonsis is a Brooklyn, New York City-born American businessman, investor, filmmaker as well as an author; he is also known to be a philanthropist and a former politician. Born on 8th January 1957, Ted is of Greek-American ancestry. He is perhaps best known for being the founder of America Online – “AOL” – and the owner of several sports teams. He has been active in his profession as a businessman since 1981.
A reputable personality when it comes to business and investments, one might wonder how rich is Ted Leonsis at the present? As estimated by sources, Ted counts his net worth at an amount of $1 billion as of mid-2016, amassed being one of the few people to establish very successful business ventures and invest in successful endeavors. He has managed to establish several successful business ventures including “Monumental Sports & Entertainment” and “Revolution Growth Fund” among others.
Ted Leonsis Net Worth $1 billion
Raised in New York, Ted was educated at Brooklyn Technical High School and later matriculated from Lowell High School in Massachusetts. He attended Georgetown University to earn an undergraduate degree in American studies. During college, he was a part of an English project in which he, along with his team members, had to prove that Earnest Hemingway was the writer of “The Old Man And The Sea”. After graduating at the top of his class in 1977, Ted started his career working for companies Wang Laboratories and Harris Corp. in the field of marketing. In 1981, Leonsis started his first business venture, a technology publication named “LIST Magazine”. In 1987 he founded the marketing communications company “Redgate Communications Corporation”, which was subsequently acquired by America Online – “AOL” – in 1994. This was a pivotal time in Leonsis’s career as he became a multi-millionaire in the process, consistently adding to his net worth.
Eventually, Ted started investing in sports teams, as the founding chairman of “Monumental Sports and Entertainment”. His company is the majority owner of the hockey team “Washington Capitals”, NBA’s “Washington Wizards” and Arena Football League’s “Washington Valor”. Adding to his business ventures, Ted founded “SnagFilms”, and produced a documentary film “Nanking” starring Rosalind Chao, Stephen Dorff among others. This movie was critically successful, and won the 2009 News and Documentary Emmy Award.
Apart from these, he has also authored four books until today, on IT software and business. All of these ventures that Ted has embarked upon have been very significant in adding to his net worth over the years.
Given his contributions in innumerable sectors of society and economy, he was honored with 2001 Businessperson of the Year Award by Washington Business Journal. He is also a well-recognized philanthropist who has founded “Leonsis Foundation”. The foundation works for the betterment of children in America.
Regarding his personal life, 59 years old Leonsis leads his life married to Lynn Leonsis since 1988 and the father of a son and a daughter; the couple resides in Potomac, Maryland in an estate which was previously owned by Joseph. P. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt. Ted is also an avid music lover who enjoys music of Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones.
