John Fisher (baseball owner)

John Fisher (baseball owner)
John Joseph Fisher (born June 1, 1961), is an American businessman. He is the principal owner of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. He is also the owner of the Texas Rattlers an inaugural PBR Team. He is the son of Gap Inc. founders Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher.
Early life and education
Fisher is the son of Doris Feigenbaum Fisher and Don Fisher, the co-founders of Gap, Inc., and inherited his fortune from them. Fisher attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1983. After college, Fisher worked in the mailroom at the Republican National Committee and worked as a fundraiser for then-President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush. He then attended graduate school at Stanford University School of Business, where he earned a master's degree in Business Administration.
Career
After graduate school, he took a job for a real estate company that did business with his parents' company, the Gap. The business was not successful and he became president of Pisces Inc., the Fisher family's investment management company. He established a relationship with Lewis Wolff to jointly purchase several Fairmont hotels in San Francisco, which led to his investment in the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He also has stakes in the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer and Celtic F.C., which competes in the Scottish Premiership.
Fisher has been the majority owner of the Athletics since he and Wolff closed on their joint purchase of the team in 2005 and is now also the managing general partner. In November 2016, Wolff sold his 10% share in the Athletics to Fisher giving Fisher full ownership of the team.
In April 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $2.4 billion.
Oakland Athletics relocation to Las Vegas
In April 2023, the Oakland Athletics announced a plan to build a new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip at the site of the former Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel casino near Interstate 15, near the T-Mobile Arena, while also ending negotiations with the City of Oakland. After this, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, a large contingent of the 6,423 fans in attendance protested the relocation by holding signs and chanting "Sell the team!" during the game. During the same game, Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda hit a home run the to right field bleachers, over banners hung by fans critical of team ownership and management. After the game, MLB cropped the banners from its video highlights. The league later claimed it was unaware of the change and issued an apology.
Philanthropy
Fisher is a member of the board of directors for KIPP and co-chair of the Charter School Growth Fund.
Political views
In 2019, it was revealed that Fisher, with his mother Doris F. Fisher and brothers William S. Fisher and Robert J. Fisher, had donated nearly $9 million to a political action committee that opposed Barack Obama in the 2012 election. He has donated to Ohio rep. Mike Carey, a longtime coal lobbyist and supporter of President Donald J. Trump. In 2023, it was revealed Fisher had endorsed fellow billionaire and Republican Party candidate Doug Burgum for the 2024 US presidential election, having donated the maximum legal amount to Burgum's campaign.
Personal life
He is married to Laura Meier Fisher. The couple lives in San Francisco. Fisher, who is Jewish, has two brothers: Robert J. Fisher and William S. Fisher.
References
1961 births
Living people
American billionaires
American retail chief executives
Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
California Republicans
American philanthropists
Major League Baseball executives
Oakland Athletics owners
Princeton University alumni
San Jose Earthquakes executives
Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni
Fisher family
Gap Inc. people
21st-century American Jews