Ted Leonsis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theodore "Ted" J. Leonsis (b. 1957 Brooklyn, New York[1]) is a long-time AOL executive, owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals, and a key investor in Clearspring.
Leonsis was born to Greek American[2] parents of modest means in Brooklyn, and spent his early years there. After skipping 8th grade, Leonsis attended Brooklyn Tech[3] but before graduation, his family moved back to their hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1973 and attended Georgetown University.[4] After graduation, Leonsis moved back to his parents' home in Lowell and began working for Wang Laboratories.[5]
His career with AOL started in 1993 when AOL (Then America Online) purchased his marketing company, Redgate Communications Corp and ended with his retirement in 2006. He held numerous positions at AOL during his years there, completing his tenure as the audience group's president and vice-chairman.[6] He now serves as vice chairman emeritus of AOL.
Leonsis is also the founder, chairman, and majority owner of Lincoln Holdings LLC, a sports and entertainment company that holds ownership rights in several entities including 100% of the NHL's Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Lincoln Holdings also owns approximately 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership (WSELP), which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise[7].
Leonsis became involved in film-making through producing Nanking, a documentary that made its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival[8], after reading The Rape of Nanking by the deceased Iris Chang.
After surviving an airplane crash landing in 1983, he drafted a list of 101 things to do in life and has completed many of the tasks including owning a sports franchise[9].
