Ted Leonsis

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Ted Leonsis's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the Washington Wizards. From 2018 to now the net worth went from $1B to $4.5B, about 4 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Monumental sells tickets, sponsorship and media rights for three teams. It also earns from events at Capital One Arena and from its own regional TV network and streaming service. Forbes puts the Wizards alone at $389M of revenue and $135M of operating income for 2024-25. Leonsis first got rich on America Online shares, then put that money into the teams.

Biggest deals.

• 1999: bought the Capitals plus 44% of the Wizards and arena from Abe Pollin for about $200M in total.
• June 2010: took control of the Wizards and arena from the Pollin estate at a $551M valuation; he reportedly paid $310M.
• September 2022: Monumental bought the 67% of NBC Sports Washington it did not own.
• November 2022: Jeff Skoll invested about $300M for under 10%, valuing Monumental at $4.1B.
• June 2023: Qatar Investment Authority bought about 5% at a $4.05B valuation.
• December 2025: Laurene Powell Jobs agreed to sell her stake to Qatar and Arctos Partners at $7.2B.

Career path

1. 1977

   Graduates from Georgetown; early jobs at Wang Laboratories and Harris Corp

2. 1981-84

   Founds computing magazine LIST with $1M of seed money; sells it for $40M, netting about $20M

3. 1994

   AOL buys his company Redgate Communications; he stays until 2006, retiring as vice-chairman

4. 1999

   Buys the Capitals and 44% of the Wizards and arena

5. 2005

   Buys the Mystics for $10M

6. 2009-10

   Sells Revolution Money to American Express and joins its board

7. 2010

   Takes control of the Wizards; forms Monumental on 10 June

8. 2018-19

   Capitals win the Stanley Cup; Mystics win the WNBA title

9. 2023-24

   Announces a move to Virginia; its legislature declines; he signs to stay in Washington until 2050

10. 2026

    Elected chairman of the NHL Board of Governors

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 13

• teamWashington WizardsNBA · Basketball · USSince 1999 · 44% from 1999; control through Monumental since June 2010; his share of Monumental was about 40% in 2017 · team and arena valued at $551M in 2010; he reportedly paid $310M
• teamWashington CapitalsNHL · Ice hockey · USSince 1999 · controlling, through Monumental · $85M per Forbes (about $200M with the 1999 Wizards and arena stakes)
• teamWashington MysticsWNBA · Basketball · USSince 2005 · controlling, through Monumental · $10M
• teamCapital City Go-GoNBA G League · Basketball · USthrough Monumental
• sports businessMonumental Sports & EntertainmentMultiple · USSince 2010 · founder, chairman and CEO; about 40% in 2017, no later figure · valued at $7.2B including debt in the December 2025 stake sale
• arenaCapital One ArenaNBA; NHL · Basketball and ice hockey · USSince 1999 · owned by Monumental per Forbes and Wikipedia; minority from 1999, control from 2010 · included in the 2010 $551M valuation
• sports businessMonumental Sports NetworkMultiple · USSince 2022 · 100% through Monumental after buying the 67% it did not own in 2022
• sports businessaXiomatic Gaming (controls Team Liquid)Esports · USco-owner and co-chairman
• teamWizards District GamingNBA 2K League · Esports · USthrough Monumental
• teamCaps GamingEsports · USthrough Monumental
• arenaEagleBank ArenaBasketball · USmanager, not owner (George Mason University venue)
• arenaMedStar Capitals IceplexNHL · Ice hockey · USmanager, through Monumental
• arenaDistrict E esports venueEsports · USthrough Monumental

Owned before 2

• teamWashington ValorArena Football League · Arena football · USthrough Monumental; league folded 2019
• teamBaltimore BrigadeArena Football League · Arena football · USthrough Monumental; league folded 2019

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: Companies linked to Revolution include Sweetgreen, DraftKings and BigCommerce. He co-owns and co-chairs aXiomatic Gaming, which controls esports group Team Liquid. He sits on the American Express, Groupon and Tempus AI boards.
• Property: A 20,000 sq ft estate in Potomac, Maryland, bought for $20M in 2011.
• Family in the business: His son Zach Leonsis became Monumental president and vice chairman in September 2026, overseeing finance, technology, venues and media. Partners Raul Fernandez and Sheila Johnson are listed as key people at Monumental.

Giving and politics

• A $10M family gift to Georgetown was announced in 2024. The Leonsis Foundation supports children's causes.
• He chairs the DC College Access Program.
• He donated to Barack Obama (2008, 2012) and Hillary Clinton (2016).
• He was briefly mayor of Orchid, Florida.

How they run their teams

• He leans on executives he trusts and sees only the hardest decisions. Michael Winger has led Monumental Basketball since 2023.
• Monumental says it has no immediate plan to list its shares but runs itself with public-company discipline.
• The newer investors, Qatar's state fund and Arctos, hold passive stakes with no board seats.
• The Wizards went 18-64 in 2024-25. Forbes notes a February 2026 trade for Anthony Davis and a 2026 lottery win.
• The arena is being rebuilt for $800M per Forbes, or about $1B with $515M of District money per Wikipedia.

What they have said

• He wants Monumental to be the most valuable regional sports and entertainment company anywhere, and sees it reaching $10-15B.
• During the Virginia episode he denied abandoning Washington and said he answers to fans, players, employees and union workers.
• He would put the Nationals, the Orioles or D.C. United on the same platform as his teams, and has ruled out European soccer.
• He took back local media rights so Monumental controls its content and can put games wherever fans watch.
• He frames ownership as running a civic institution and criticises collecting teams across several markets as purely financial.
• He rejects the tanking label for the 18-64 season, calling it player development.

Little-known facts

• He produced Nanking, a 2007 documentary that won Peabody and Emmy awards.
• He says Dan Snyder beat him to buying Washington's NFL team in 1999.
• Monumental was the first major US sports owner to take sovereign wealth fund money, in 2023.
• Mark Lerner, owner of the Nationals he tried to buy, is a minority shareholder in Monumental.
• Monumental opened the first sportsbook inside a US arena.