Jeremy Jacobs

In 1915, his father and his two brothers, Charles and Marvin, founded a company that first sold concessions in theaters and then expanded to major league ballparks.

Jeremy Maurice Jacobs Sr. (born January 21, 1940) is an American billionaire businessman, the owner of the Boston Bruins and chairman of Delaware North.

Jacobs was born in 1940, the son of Genevieve (née Bibby) and Louis Jacobs.

His mother was of Irish Catholic descent, and his father was the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland.

The original surname of his family's paternal side was Yakobovitch.

Forbes magazine ranks him as 481st richest person in the world.

His father took over the company in the 1950s when the health of his brothers faltered and Jeremy took over at age 28 when his father died in 1968.

Louis also at one point was the operator at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and owned the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League and the Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball Association.

Jacobs has a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, and attended the six-week Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Jacobs owns and operates the business founded by his father and uncles, Delaware North.

Delaware North is a global hospitality and food service business headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

The company operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gaming and entertainment industries.

Delaware North also owns and manages TD Garden, home to the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics.

It was paid for with Jacobs' own funds.

Jacobs has owned the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins since 1975.

Jacobs represents the club on the NHL's Board of Governors and serves on its executive committee.

The gift was made to Roswell Park's Leaders for Life endowment campaign in honor of Jacobs' brother, the late Dr. Lawrence D. Jacobs, an immunology researcher who died in 2001.

He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in Western New York in October 2006.

At the NHL Board of Governors meeting in June 2007, Jacobs was elected chairman.

He replaced the Calgary Flames' Harley Hotchkiss, who stepped down after 12 years.

After years of disappointing performance, Jacobs replaced numerous general managers and coaches.

Harry Sinden, the longtime president of the team, retired active work and moved into an advisory role.

New management included Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien.

Cam Neely, a former Bruins player, was also lured back to the new organization and was named president.

These changes were effective.

In 2007, Jacobs donated $1 million to support an endowed chair in immunology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Bruins record in the 2008–09 season was the second best in the NHL.

The University at Buffalo received a $10 million gift from Jacobs, his wife Margaret, and other family members on June 11, 2008, to establish the Jacobs Institute.

In 2011, the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years after beating the Vancouver Canucks in a seven-game series.

"I'm coming off winning a Stanley Cup (in 2011). I've got a sold-out building. I have a financially sound business. No Debt. Ownership for 37 years," he said.

"I'm the last guy that wants to shut this down – absolutely the last one out there."

Despite relinquishing the role of CEO to his son Charlie, he remains very active in the team and still holds the title of NHL Chairman of the Board of Governors.

Forbes estimated his net worth to be US$2.8 billion in November 2021.

Jacobs was referred to as one of the "most militant hard-line" NHL owners responsible for the 2012–13 lockout.

Described as "villainous" and a "bully", he was reportedly hated by the players.

On the first day of the 2012–13 NHL season after the lockout ended, Jacobs blamed the Players' Association for the season's delay, saying of the union, "There was no expression of a desire to make a deal."

Jacobs responded to reports that he was a "hard-liner" in the 2012–13 NHL lockout by saying he put the good of the league ahead of his own interest in keeping the players on the ice.

On January 6, 2015, Jacobs relinquished the title of CEO and named Jerry Jacobs Jr.. and Louis Jacobs co-CEOs.

He also named Charlie Jacobs CEO of Delaware North's Boston Holdings.

Jacobs was listed for several years in a row as one of Sports Business Journal's Most Influential People in Sports.