By: Michael Herscovici
On June 29th 2009, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the Ponzi scheme he was operating. Many notable celebrities and millionaires invested money into his scheme and lost millions of dollars. One notable family, the Wilpon family, lost over $700,000,000. The Wilpon family is the current owners of the New York Mets organization.
The Wilpon family insists that the money that they lost is separate from the baseball money they have set aside, however losses to the amount of $700 Million have had a devastating impact to the family and they way they are managing their money. The Mets owners claim that the scheme has in no way impacted their ability to effectively run the franchise and to bring in free agents or make trades, but multiple reports elsewhere suggest otherwise.
Reports show that the Mets plan to cut their payroll to $100 million next season, which is equivalent to 33% of the organizational payroll. It appears that the amount of money the family has lost is directly effecting their other investments such as the Mets organization. It is clear that although the Wilpon family is in no means poor, or in financial trouble it does appear that the family is tightening its belt around its other investments.
Only time will tell how the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme will affect the Mets organization, but for a team that has not won a championship since 1986, a major financial setback and budget cuts can lead to a much longer wait then Mets fans were bargaining for.
Sources Listed Below:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/sports/baseball/14wilpon.html?em
2. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2009/08/29/2009-08-29_mets_owner_fred_wilpon_denies_need_to_sell_team_due_to_financial_difficulties_.html
3. http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/05/2009-02-05_bernie_madoff_tie_to_mets_money_prompts_.html
On June 29th 2009, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the Ponzi scheme he was operating. Many notable celebrities and millionaires invested money into his scheme and lost millions of dollars. One notable family, the Wilpon family, lost over $700,000,000. The Wilpon family is the current owners of the New York Mets organization.
The Wilpon family insists that the money that they lost is separate from the baseball money they have set aside, however losses to the amount of $700 Million have had a devastating impact to the family and they way they are managing their money. The Mets owners claim that the scheme has in no way impacted their ability to effectively run the franchise and to bring in free agents or make trades, but multiple reports elsewhere suggest otherwise.
Reports show that the Mets plan to cut their payroll to $100 million next season, which is equivalent to 33% of the organizational payroll. It appears that the amount of money the family has lost is directly effecting their other investments such as the Mets organization. It is clear that although the Wilpon family is in no means poor, or in financial trouble it does appear that the family is tightening its belt around its other investments.
Only time will tell how the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme will affect the Mets organization, but for a team that has not won a championship since 1986, a major financial setback and budget cuts can lead to a much longer wait then Mets fans were bargaining for.
Sources Listed Below:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/sports/baseball/14wilpon.html?em
2. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2009/08/29/2009-08-29_mets_owner_fred_wilpon_denies_need_to_sell_team_due_to_financial_difficulties_.html
3. http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/05/2009-02-05_bernie_madoff_tie_to_mets_money_prompts_.html
No comments:
Post a Comment