Ted Leonsis

Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman.

He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics.

With a net worth of $2.8 billion, he is one of the wealthiest individuals in the Washington, D.C., area.

As CEO of Monumental Sports, he has used the threat of leaving Washington D.C. to demand that District of Columbia taxpayers subsidize the operations of his D.C.-based teams.

In 2023, Leonsis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced an agreement whereby Virginia taxpayers would pay $1.35 billion for new stadiums for the Wizards and Capitals in Alexandria. Virginia, the largest public stadium subsidy of its kind.

Leonsis was born on January 8, 1957, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Born to a family of working-class Greek immigrant grandparents, who were mill workers, and parents who worked as a waiter and a secretary.

When his high school guidance counselor evaluated his skill set, the counselor concluded that young Ted was destined to work in a grocery store.

He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, before moving to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Lowell High School in 1973.

He was first in his family to go to university, where he attended Georgetown University to pursue his undergraduate studies majoring in American Studies, and graduated in 1977 at the top of his class.

After graduating from college, he moved back to his parents' home in Lowell and began working for Wang Laboratories as a corporate communications manager and Harris Corp. as a marketing executive.

Leonsis left Harris Corporation in March 1981.

He started LIST, a magazine focused on personal computing.

He raised $1 million in seed capital with his partner Vincent Pica,.

The first issue of the magazine was published in 1982.

Two years later, he sold the company to Thomson Reuters for $40 million, netting him $20 million.

In 1987, Leonsis established the PR company Redgate Communications Corporation.

When the organization was acquired by America Online (AOL) in 1994, Leonsis began working with AOL as a senior executive, remaining with the company for 13 years.

Leonsis has owned the Washington Capitals since the spring of 1999, and in that timeframe the team has won ten Southeast Division titles, three Presidents' Trophies, recorded more than 200 consecutive sellouts at Verizon Center (now Capital One Arena), and won a Stanley Cup Championship.

In the early years of his ownership, the Capitals went on to win back-to-back Southeast Division titles in 2000 and 2001, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In summer 2001, the Capitals traded for Jaromír Jágr and signed him to what was at the time, the largest contract in NHL history.

The trade was enthusiastically well received by fans and over 300 people showed up at Dulles International Airport to greet Jágr when he arrived.

After Jágr was traded in 2004, Leonsis was criticized by fans.

He was involved in a physical altercation with a fan, who led a mocking chant of Leonsis during the game and hoisted a sign chiding him.

In the altercation, Leonsis grabbed and threw the fan to the ground, which also caused a young child to fall to the ground.

For his involvement in the scuffle, Leonsis was fined $100,000.

He also received a suspension of one week, during which he was prohibited from having any contact with the team.

He held numerous positions at AOL before retiring in 2006 as the audience group's president and vice-chairman.

Leonsis is the founder, majority owner, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL's Washington Capitals, NBA's Washington Wizards, NBA G League's Capital City Go-Go, WNBA's Washington Mystics, and formerly the AFL's Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade.

Monumental Sports additionally owns the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and manages the MedStar Capitals Iceplex and George Mason University's EagleBank Arena.

In 2023, Leonsis threatened to move the Wizards and Capitals from the District of Columbia unless the city provided $600 million in public funding for a major renovation of Capital One Arena.

In December 2023, Leonsis and Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia announced that the state of Virginia would offer more than a $1.35 billion in taxpayer money to build the $2.2 billion stadiums for the Capitals and Wizards in Alexandria, Virginia.

At $1.35 billion, it would be the largest public subsidy for a project of its kind.

Economists characterized Leonsis's actions as extortion and playing neighboring localities against each other to extract resources from the public.

The consensus among scholars who study stadium subsidies is that stadiums and arenas have minimal economic benefits, which runs contrary to the rhetoric of proponents for stadium subsidies.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment released an analysis that touted purported economic benefits of the stadium subsidy.

The company's analysis was criticized by scholars who described the analysis as wanting and inadequate.

In February 2016, construction started on a new practice facility for the Wizards.

The development was paid for by DC taxpayers and District-funded Events DC while Leonsis' contribution to the $55 million cost was considered ceremonial.

The Wizards also announced that they would raise ticket prices for a third consecutive year.