David Blitzer

Blitzer was born on September 7, 1969, in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in 1987.[1] He graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 and joined Blackstone Inc the same year. From 2001 to 2011, he worked in England to establish private equity in Europe for Blackstone.[2] He currently serves as the head of their global Tactical Opportunities group and a member of their management committee.[3][4]

In 2011, Blitzer was a part of an investment group led by Josh Harris that purchased the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for US$280 million.[5][6] Other notable members of the investment group were Art Wrubel, Jason Levien, Adam Aron, Martin J. Geller, David B. Heller, James Lassiter, Marc J. Leder, Michael G. Rubin, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Erick Thohir.[7][8] In August 2013, Blitzer and Harris purchased the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), which included the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for over $320 million.[9] In 2014, Blitzer partnered led a investment group that purchased a 50% stake in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees;[10][11]

In 2017, Blitzer co-founded Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment with Harris to consolidate their shared sports ventures. In addition to the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, the company also owns the NBA G League's Delaware Blue Coats, the American Hockey League's Utica Comets, esports team Dignitas of New Meta Entertainment,[12][13] sports tech venture capital firm HBSE Ventures,[14] and marketing, hospitality, and event ticketing company Elevate Sports Ventures.[15] In 2022, Blitzer partnered with Ryan Smith to purchase Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS).[16] He purchased a 25 percent stake of the MLB's Cleveland Guardians later that year, with an option to purchase majority ownership after six years.[17][18] The move made him the first person to hold equity in the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLS, and MLB, the five major sports leagues of North America.[19]

In 2015, Blitzer purchased an 18% stake in the Premier League's Crystal Palace F.C.[20][21] He later formed Global Football Holdings, which has invested in FC Augsburg (Germany),[22] G.D. Estoril Praia (Portugal),[23] ADO Den Haag (Netherlands),[23] AD Alcorcón (Spain),[24] S.K. Beveren (Belgium),[25] and Brøndby IF (Denmark).[26] In 2023, Blitzer was a part of another investment group led by Harris that reached an agreement to purchase the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL) for $6.05 billion.[27] The deal, the largest for any sports franchise in history, is expected to be ratified at a league meeting in late May.[27]

Blitzer is Jewish.[28][29] He is married to Allison (née Ross) Blitzer; they have five children.[28][30] His net worth was estimated by Forbes to be $1.9 billion in April 2023.[31]

In 2010, Blitzer's father-in-law, Stuart Ross, who once owned the North American rights to The Smurfs franchise, was convicted of trying to extort $5.5 million from Blitzer in return for having no more contact with Blitzer's family and another $5.5 million from Blitzer for having no more contact with Blitzer and Blackstone. Ross was convicted of extortion and sentenced to five years of probation under the condition that he get psychiatric and alcohol treatment and has no contact with his daughter Allison, Blitzer, their children, and Blackstone.[32][33][34]

Blitzer founded the Blitzer Family Foundation in 2014.[1] He serves on the Mount Sinai Hospital and Wharton School. He is a supporter of Hillel, which focuses on encouraging Jewish undergraduate and graduate students to embrace their Jewish heritage.[35] In 2022, Blitzer was included on Sports Business Journal's "Most Influential: Dealmakers & Disrupters" list.[36]

• Blackstone profile
• HBSE profile
• Philadelphia 76ers profile