James Pallotta
Born
James Joseph Pallotta[1]

(1958-03-13) March 13, 1958 (age 65)
Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materUniversity Of Massachusetts (BBA)
Northeastern University (MBA)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forChairman and MD, Raptor Group[citation needed]
Partner, Tudor Investment Corporation[2]
Shareholder, Boston Basketball Partners[3]

James Joseph Pallotta (born March 13, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman.[4] In 2009, he founded Raptor Group, a private investment company.[citation needed] Prior to forming Raptor, Pallotta was vice chairman at Tudor Investment Corporation. He was co-owner and chairman of the Italian football club A.S. Roma from 2011 to 2020;[5] co-owner and executive board member of the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics,[6] and co-owner of esports franchise Fnatic.[7]

Early life

Pallotta was born in 1958 in Boston to a mother from Canosa di Puglia, Apulia and a father from Calabria, Italy. Along with sisters Carla and Christine Pallotta, he was raised in Boston's Italian north end neighborhood. His sisters own and operate NEBO Cucina & Enoteca in Boston's financial district.[8] Pallotta earned a BBA at University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA at Northeastern University.[citation needed]

Professional background

Raptor Group

Pallotta founded Raptor Group, a private investment company with offices in Boston, New York City, Miami, London, and Abu Dhabi. Raptor focuses on various industries including sports, consumer, technology, media, entertainment, and financial services.[citation needed]

A.S. Roma

Pallotta, along with three other American investors (Thomas R. DiBenedetto, Michael Ruane and Richard D'Amore) acquired Serie A football club A.S. Roma in 2011.[9]

After becoming one of the owners in 2011,[10] in August 2012, Pallotta became the chairman of club, succeeding Thomas R. DiBenedetto, and becoming the 23rd in the club's history.[11] During Pallotta's ownership, the club would primarily engage in capitalizing on the sale of its players, leading AS Roma to obtain over half a billion in capital gains on player trading operations,[12] which earned Pallotta the nickname of “King of capital gains”.[13] This financial approach to football, coupled with one of AS Roma's longest period without winning any trophies,[14] as well as what many considered an undeserved dismissal of AS Roma icons Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi,[15][16] lead to a serious clash with the fans and the only worldwide protest in AS Roma history, with disapproving banners in several remote parts of the world.[17][18]

In December 2019, Pallotta was in final negotiations to sell the team for $872 million, to American businessman Dan Friedkin. [19] In August 2020, Friedkin signed the preliminary contract to agree to pay $591 million to Pallotta, the main shareholder of Roma.[20] As the club's balance sheets later revealed, AS Roma had tremendous debt and seriously risked bankruptcy before having to be transferred to a new ownership in 2020.[21][22][23]

Tudor Investment Corporation

Prior to Raptor Group, Pallotta was a vice chairman and partner at Tudor Investment Corporation.

Initiatives

Pallotta is a member of the board of trustees for the Santa Fe Institute[24] and the board of trustees for Northeastern University.[25] Pallotta serves on the board of directors for New Profit Inc.[26] as well as the board of advisors for Tulco, LLC.[27] He is also a member of the advisory council for the MIT Media Lab[28] and the external advisory committee for the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (CBMM) at MIT.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Assemblea Straordinaria Degli Azionisti" (PDF) (Press release). A.S. Roma. March 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "Stocks". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "2016-17 Boston Celtics Yearbook". Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017. Boston Celtics 2016–17 Year Book
  4. ^ "The 50 Wealthiest Bostonians". Boston Magazine. May 15, 2006. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  5. ^ "American Pallotta out to turn AS Roma into a 21st-century empire". www.asroma.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Straus, Brian. "Brian Straus: American Pallotta out to turn AS Roma into a 21st-century empire". SI.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Heitner, Darren (April 10, 2017). "Fnatic Esports Brand Receives Over $7 Million In Financing". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  8. ^ Blumenthal, Rachel Leah (January 18, 2013). "Nebo Owners Carla and Christine Pallotta". Eater Boston. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Roma's new owner reveals broad plans". Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  10. ^ "American Pallotta out to turn AS Roma into a 21st-century empire". www.asroma.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "Gazzetta Dello Sport Pallotta, è tua! Tra basket e soccer. La scalata di mister James per fare grande la Roma". gazzettagiallorossa.it. August 28, 2012. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "Roma, mezzo miliardo in plusvalenze nell'era Pallotta". Calcio e Finanza (in Italian). October 15, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "Roma, Pallotta è il re delle plusvalenze". Calciomercato.com | Tutte le news sul calcio in tempo reale (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Roma, monta la rabbia contro la società e Pallotta". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "Roma, Pallotta-Petrachi sotto l'assedio dei tifosi". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Caso De Rossi, striscioni e minacce ultrà contro Pallotta: "Pija er cortello". E sui social compare una lapide". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). May 15, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "Roma, protesta mondiale: striscioni contro Pallotta dall'Eur a New York - Sportmediaset". Sportmediaset.it (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "Addio De Rossi, la protesta è mondiale: da New York a Sydney tifosi in coro "Pallotta vattene"". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). May 17, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "U.S. Billionaire Nears Purchase of AS Roma Soccer Club". Bloomberg L.P. December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  20. ^ "Official statement regarding the ownership of AS Roma". A.S. Roma. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  21. ^ "Roma, il piano di Friedkin: Allegri più Paratici". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). September 21, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  22. ^ "Roma, Pallotta, tre secondi posti e 300 milioni di debiti: rivoluzione mancata". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "Roma, ecco il piano Friedkin per cancellare i debiti di Pallotta". Calciomercato.com | Tutte le news sul calcio in tempo reale (in Italian). Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  24. ^ Marshall, Jenna. "Manager of Communications". Santa Fe Institute.
  25. ^ "Members of the Board of Trustees". Northeastern University. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  26. ^ "New Profit Leadership Team". New Profit. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  27. ^ "Team". Tulco. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  28. ^ "Advisory Council". MIT Media Lab.
  29. ^ "External Advisory Committee". CBMM External Advisory Committee. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
Categories