David Scott Blitzer (born September 7, 1969) is an American

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

and

sports team A sports team is a group of individuals who play a team sport together. The number of players in the group depends on the sport. The highest level of a sports team is a professional sports team. In professional sports, the athletes are very t ...

owner. Blitzer is the chairman of the

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm Blackstone's tactical opportunities division and managing partner of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

ice hockey team and the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

basketball team. He additionally owns several

association football clubs Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

under Global Football Holdings and holds minority stakes in the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

baseball team and the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

American football team. Blitzer is the first person to own team equity in the five major sports leagues of North America. Blitzer graduated from the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He joined Blackstone in 1991, where he served as the firm's global head of tactical opportunities from 2012 until transitioning to chairman in 2024. He and

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capita ...

co-founder Josh Harris are frequent partners, with the pair entering

sports business Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

together in 2011 and establishing Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment in 2017. Blitzer has an estimated

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...

of $3.6 billion .

Career

Early life and Blackstone

Blitzer was born on September 7, 1969, in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...

. He graduated from

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains a ...

in 1987 and graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from the

of the

in 1991. Blitzer joined the private equity firm Blackstone shortly after graduation and worked out of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 2001 to 2011 to oversee the company's interests in Europe. He is a member of their management committee and headed their global Tactical Opportunities group from 2012 until stepping down and becoming chairman in November 2024.

Sports investments

Blitzer began contemplating investing in sports after meeting

co-founder Josh Harris in 2008 at The Punch Bowl, a pub in London. By 2011, those talks led to the pair forming an investment group that purchased the

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for $280 million. Other initial members of the group included Art Wrubel,

Jason Levien Jason M. Levien (born 1973) is an American sports executive and investor. He is the CEO and Co-Chairman of Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Chairman of the Brisbane Bullets, an Australian basketball club. Levien is the former CEO a ...

, Adam Aron, Martin Geller, David Heller,

James Lassiter James Lassiter is an American film producer and talent agent. He served as the manager of American rapper and actor Will Smith before the two co-founded the production company Overbrook Entertainment in 1998. Also Smith's business partner, Lass ...

, Marc Leder, Michael Rubin,

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, businesswoman, and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show ''Red Table Talk'', for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytim ...

, and

Erick Thohir Erick Thohir (born 30 May 1970) is an Indonesian businessman and politician who served as Minister of State Owned Enterprises since 2019. He has been the chairman of Football Association of Indonesia since 2023 and founder of Mahaka Group, a co ...

. In August 2013, Blitzer and Harris purchased the

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) and their arena, the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

, for $320 million. Blitzer and investor David Abrams headed a group that owned 50% of the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, the Triple-A affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, from 2014 until selling to

Diamond Baseball Holdings Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) is an American sports ownership and management group that operates over 40 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams in the United States and Canada. DBH was established in 2021 by media conglomerate Endeavor and is a su ...

in 2021. Blitzer co-founded Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment with Harris in 2017. In addition to the 76ers and Devils, the company also owns the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are the G-League affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The Bl ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...

, esports team Dignitas of New Meta Entertainment, HBSE Real Estate, sports tech venture capital firm HBSE Ventures, and marketing, hospitality, and event ticketing company Elevate Sports Ventures. In January 2022, Blitzer and

Qualtrics Qualtrics is an American experience management company, with co-headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and Provo, Utah, in the United States. The company was founded in 2002 by Scott M. Smith, Ryan Smith, Jared Smith, and Stuart Orgill. Qualtric ...

co-founder Ryan Smith purchased

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS) and

America First Field America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is a soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, United States. It is the home of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Utah Royals of the National Wom ...

, which included the affiliated

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake ...

and Zions Bank Stadium. The pair also reestablished the Utah Royals of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL), which had gone defunct in 2020 and became the

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

. He sold controlling interest in Real Salt Lake, the Royals, and America First Field to Gail Miller in April 2025, with him remaining as a minority investor. Blitzer purchased a 25 percent stake in the MLB's

in June 2022, with an option to acquire controlling interest in 2028. Blitzer is the first person to hold team equity in the five major sports leagues of North America: the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS, and MLB. Blitzer purchased an 18% stake in the English football club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in 2015. He later formed Global Football Holdings, which has invested in

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese professional sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its Association football, football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home g ...

(Portugal),

AD Alcorcón Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Alcorcón, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1971, it currently plays in Primera Federación, holding home matches at the Municipal de Santo Domingo, ...

(Spain), S.K. Beveren (Belgium),

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

(Germany),

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

(Netherlands), and

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

(Denmark). In 2020, Blitzer and Harris bought a $140 million stake in the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). In 2023, he was a part of another group led by Harris that purchased the NFL's

for $6.05 billion. The same year, Blitzer invested in the return of

SlamBall SlamBall is a hybrid sport combining elements from basketball, American football, hockey, and gymnastics played with four trampolines in front of each net and boards around the court edge. While SlamBall is based on basketball, it is a contact ...

, a basketball league combining elements of other sports, and bought a minority stake in

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...

by way of HBSE in 2023. He was named to the NHL's Executive Committee in October 2023, which is responsible for vetting new ownership applications, collective bargaining, and league expansion. Blitzer and professional golfer

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

are owners of the Jupiter Links Golf Club of the virtual golf league TGL, founded in 2023. In 2024, he sold his stake in the Steelers to Art Rooney II and

Thomas Tull Thomas J. Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. Tull is the founder of Tulco LLC, an investment h ...

. Blitzer is a member of College Sports Tomorrow, a group formed in 2024 consisting of 20 pro team owners, league executives, and college administrators proposing an overhaul to

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

, including abolishing

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

and reorganizing Power Five schools in seven divisions of ten each with a system of

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

for the rest, in addition to changes to NIL deals and the transfer portal. Blitzer and Harris have also invested in youth sports brands, forming Unrivaled Sports as a parent company in March 2024 with capital from

The Chernin Group TCG Capital Management, LP, doing business as TCG or the Chernin Group, is an American investment advisory firm focused on private equity investments in the media, entertainment, technology, sports and consumer and digital media sectors. History ...

. He was among a group of investors in Major League Table Tennis and LOVB Pro, a women's indoor volleyball league, in 2024 and The Snow League, a snowboarding and freestyle skying league created by

Shaun White Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American former professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a five-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. He holds the world record for the most X ...

, in 2025.

Properties

Personal life

Blitzer is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He is married to Allison () Blitzer; they have five children. His

was estimated by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' in June 2025 to be $3.6 billion. Blitzer's father-in-law, Stuart Ross, who once owned the North American rights to ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

'' franchise, was convicted of extortion in 2010 and sentenced to five years of probation after trying to extort $11 million from Blitzer. Blitzer founded the Blitzer Family Foundation in 2014. He is on the board of trustees of

Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is the largest hospital network in New York City. It was formed in September 2013 by merging the operations of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center. The Health System is structured around eight ...

and

and is a donor to

Hillel International Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, alternatively Hillel International or simply Hillel, is the largest Jewish student organization in the world. Hillel brands itself as a safe space for Jewish students and events aimed at facilitati ...

, an organization helping Jewish students. He participated in

panels hosted by the Wharton School in 2019 and

Sportico Penske Media Corporation (PMC ) is an American mass media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''Variety (magazine), Variety'', ''Rol ...

in 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blitzer, David 1969 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews American billionaires American business executives American chief executives of professional sports organizations American investors American soccer chairmen and investors American sports businesspeople Blackstone Inc. people Businesspeople from Union County, New Jersey Chairmen and investors of football clubs in England Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Germany Chairmen and investors of football clubs in the Netherlands Chairmen and investors of soccer clubs in the United States Crystal Palace F.C. directors and chairmen Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Jewish American basketball people Jewish American sports executives and administrators Jews from New Jersey Living people NASCAR team owners National Hockey League executives New Jersey Devils executives New Jersey Devils owners People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey Philadelphia 76ers owners Private equity and venture capital investors Real Monarchs Real Salt Lake owners Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni Sportspeople from Union County, New Jersey Utah Royals owners Washington Commanders owners Wharton School alumni