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Teams/Central Division

Detroit Pistons

Tom Gores, 62, founder of buyout firm Platinum Equity, has owned the Pistons since June 2011 and outright since 2015. He and his firm paid $325M; Forbes values the team at $4.2B, and three families have owned it since 1937.

Team value$4.2BForbes, October 2026 · +15% in a year
Current owner paid$325M$325M, 2011
Growth since 199820x$206M on the 1998 Forbes list
Owners since founding4Central Division
Owner pagesTom Gores$10.6B · Investment firms Compare with another team

Every owner since the start

  1. 2011 to today
    Tom Gores

    Bought from Karen Davidson for $325M, covering the team and two venues. Platinum Equity held 49% until he bought it out in September 2015; that price was not found.

  2. 2009 to 2011
    Karen Davidson

    Inherited when her husband Bill Davidson died on 13 March 2009. She agreed to sell on 7 April 2011.

  3. 1974 to 2009
    Bill Davidson, with Oscar Feldman and nine other partners

    Bought from Fred Zollner in 1974 for $8.1M (other Wikipedia pages say $7M or $6M). None of the three figures is verified.

  4. 1937 to 1974
    Fred Zollner

    Founded it as the company team of his piston foundry in Fort Wayne. He moved it to Detroit in 1957 because Fort Wayne was too small.

Value over time

Forbes estimatePrice in an actual sale
  1. 12009 Karen Davidson inherits
  2. 22011 Tom Gores buys, $325M
Forbes annual team values, 1998 to 2026. Forbes published no list in 2001, 2006 or 2010. Numbered lines mark changes of control.
Show the numbers
YearForbes value
1998$206M
1999$226M
2000$236M
2002$230M
2003$258M
2004$363M
2005$402M
2007$477M
2008$480M
2009$479M
2011$360M
2012$332M
2013$400M
2014$450M
2015$810M
2016$850M
2017$900M
2018$1.1B
2019$1.27B
2020$1.45B
2021$1.58B
2022$1.9B
2023$3.08B
2024$3.4B
2025$3.65B
2026$4.2B
YearSaleTeam valued at
2011Tom Gores and Platinum Equity buy the team, The Palace and DTE Energy Music Theatre from Karen Davidson for $325M$325M

Forbes valued the Pistons at $206M in 1998 and $4.2B in 2026, about 20.4 times as much. The biggest one-year jump was $1.175B, from $1.9B in 2022 to $3.075B in 2023, a 62% rise.

How the current owner bought it

  • The seller was Karen Davidson. The deal was agreed in April 2011, approved by the NBA in May and closed on 1 June 2011.
  • The $325M bought the whole holding company, Palace Sports & Entertainment. That meant the team, The Palace of Auburn Hills arena and DTE Energy Music Theatre.
  • Gores personally took 51%. Funds run by his own firm, Platinum Equity, took 49%.
  • In September 2015 he bought the firm's 49% and has held 100% since.
  • Wikipedia says The Palace closed in 2017, was sold in 2019 and was demolished in 2020. No ownership change was found in 2025 or 2026.

Partners in the team

None identified: Forbes and CNBC both describe Gores as holding 100% of the team's equity since 2015.

How the team is run

  • Gores owns every share and is the governor, the person who votes for the team at the league. Vice chairman Arn Tellem is an executive, not a reported shareholder.
  • Gores lives in Beverly Hills, California. In February 2024, with the team 8-44, he said he had been in late-night meetings for ten days running.
  • After a 14-win season he replaced the basketball leadership in 2024, hiring Trajan Langdon and coach J.B. Bickerstaff. The team went 60-22 in 2025-26.
  • He moved the team from Auburn Hills to downtown Detroit in 2017. The city council approved the move with $34.5M of public money.
  • The arena is publicly owned. Its bookings run through 313 Presents, a joint venture between his company and the Ilitch family's Olympia Entertainment.

Quick answers

Who owns the Detroit Pistons?

Tom Gores, 62, founder of buyout firm Platinum Equity, has owned the Pistons since June 2011 and outright since 2015.

How much are the Detroit Pistons worth?

Forbes values the Detroit Pistons at $4.2B in its October 2026 list, up 15% from $3.65B a year earlier. That makes them the 27th most valuable of the 30 teams; in 1998 Forbes put the team at $206M.

How much did the current owner pay for the Pistons?

$325M (Tom Gores, 2011). Forbes now values the team at about 13 times that price.

Who owned the Detroit Pistons before the current owner?

Karen Davidson (2009 to 2011). Inherited when her husband Bill Davidson died on 13 March 2009. She agreed to sell on 7 April 2011.

Open questions

  • The 1974 price is unresolved: three Wikipedia pages give $8.1M, $7M and $6M.
  • The names of Davidson's nine other partners in 1974 were not found.
  • What Gores paid Platinum Equity for its 49% in 2015 was not found.
  • Whether debt was used in the 2011 purchase was not found.
  • The buyer and price of the Palace site in 2019 are not given in the sources.