Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to buy Clippers for $2 billion

[classy]

Didn't the current owner pay like 15,000,000 for the team?

I'm sure that racist old fuck will be taught a lesson by making 1.985B off his investment! 10,000%!, nice!

People bring this up, but its not about the money. Sterling already is worth a couple of billion dollars and he is in his 80s. The joy of owning that team at this point in his life trumps the huge profit he is going to make. I guarantee you, if he had a choice in the matter he would keep that team even if someone was willing to pay 5 billion.

 

[Hugo Drax]

So...

Expose racist owner->public outrage->public demands sale->NBA threatens to force sale->huge interest in sale->racist owner threatens to sue to block sale->even more interest in sale->way over priced->$$$racist owner$$$

Wait what?

My theory was the old codger got everyone in the end with his final scam..
The suckers were the Americans,the Media and Ballmer ends up holding the bag like a fool.

 

[Hugo Drax]

People bring this up, but its not about the money. Sterling already is worth a couple of billion dollars and he is in his 80s. The joy of owning that team at this point in his life trumps the huge profit he is going to make. I guarantee you, if he had a choice in the matter he would keep that team even if someone was willing to pay 5 billion.

Thats what you think.

Guy sees his time is limited, and in the end Cash is king. He would have never gotten even close to this insane price otherwise.

Now he has 2 billion dollars that can be invested in an income producing structured trust. He made a great return on investment.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Thats what you think.

Guy sees his time is limited, and in the end Cash is king. He would have never gotten even close to this insane price otherwise.

Now he has 2 billion dollars that can be invested in an income producing structured trust. He made a great return on investment.

Yeah, the one thing 80-year-old billionaires care about is ensuring that they can double their wealth and put their profits in an income-producing trust. Without that, he surely would have died homeless.

Why is it so hard for people to conceive that there might be something rich people value more than money? Donald Sterling was an awful owner, but he had literally dozens of opportunities to sell the Clippers for a massive return on investment and he never did until he was forced out by the league. He loved owning a basketball team; it was worth more to him than any sum of money that could be offered. If you've already got enough money to buy every single thing you've ever wanted, and what you really want is a basketball team, then when you get one, you keep it forever. It's not an investment vehicle, it's your passion. Ballmer's the same way. You think he gives a shit that it cost him $2 billion to become a member of a club he's been trying to join for a decade? He could lose hundreds of millions on the team every year and still die rich and happy. He doesn't give a shit about whether he makes a return on his investment; his happiness is worth more than the money he could be making.

 

[classy]

Thats what you think.

Guy sees his time is limited, and in the end Cash is king. He would have never gotten even close to this insane price otherwise.

Now he has 2 billion dollars that can be invested in an income producing structured trust. He made a great return on investment.

??????

Your analogy makes no sense and here is why.

1. He never wanted to sell and all indications are he would have died being the owner.
2. If part of your argument is his time is limited, what person have you ever seen who already had lots of money, care about making more? Its like a terminally ill patient not eating ice cream because they are watching their figure.

A lot of people want to take solace in the fact he got burned and say yea but he made all this money. To person who has a couple of billion, 1 or 2 more ain't really all that big of a deal.

 

[Imported]

The team is already do inflated in value, that wouldn't be a bad thing. The Clippers are not worth $2 billion, not by a long shot.

No doubt. They aren't. If he really wanted a team in Seattle, he should have offered much more for the Kings or Bucks than he did though.

 

[momeNt]

Pretty sure teams are worth what the highest bidder is willing to pay. Resale in a non-commodity type market, is OBVIOUSLY going to be less, because the highest bidder is no longer present, provided that the circumstances regarding the team remain constant.

 

[ponyo]

Yeah, the one thing 80-year-old billionaires care about is ensuring that they can double their wealth and put their profits in an income-producing trust. Without that, he surely would have died homeless.

Why is it so hard for people to conceive that there might be something rich people value more than money? Donald Sterling was an awful owner, but he had literally dozens of opportunities to sell the Clippers for a massive return on investment and he never did until he was forced out by the league. He loved owning a basketball team; it was worth more to him than any sum of money that could be offered. If you've already got enough money to buy every single thing you've ever wanted, and what you really want is a basketball team, then when you get one, you keep it forever. It's not an investment vehicle, it's your passion. Ballmer's the same way. You think he gives a shit that it cost him $2 billion to become a member of a club he's been trying to join for a decade? He could lose hundreds of millions on the team every year and still die rich and happy. He doesn't give a shit about whether he makes a return on his investment; his happiness is worth more than the money he could be making.

Sterling is not that rich. Most of his wealth is the Clippers. It's not uncommon for the extremely rich to sell their business when they're old if they control majority of the stakes.

 

[Carson Dyle]

It's Monopoly money for Ballmer. Like your or I paying $100 too much for that new video card that just came out, so that we can have it today rather than next week.

 

[Eug]

People bring this up, but its not about the money. Sterling already is worth a couple of billion dollars and he is in his 80s. The joy of owning that team at this point in his life trumps the huge profit he is going to make. I guarantee you, if he had a choice in the matter he would keep that team even if someone was willing to pay 5 billion.

Sounds to me that your assessment is way off the mark.

As racist as he seems to be, I'd find it hard to believe he's that much of a moron financially.

Furthermore, AFAIK, he had already said he was open to the idea of selling in the right circumstances. He just didn't want to be forced out for bargain basement pricing. I'd say at $2 billion, he would have jumped at the chance to sell. Not too often when deals like that come around.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Sterling is not that rich. Most of his wealth is the Clippers. It's not uncommon for the extremely rich to sell their business when they're old if they control majority of the stakes.

He's not "that rich"... He's only a billionaire even if the Clippers sold for $1. He has a real-estate business worth more than $1 billion, you realize? His lawyer was on the record saying that the Clippers could have sold for $10 billion and it wouldn't change Sterling's life in any way. You have to be insane to think that an 81-year-old billionaire needs to liquidate his ownership of a sports team to assure himself a comfortable life going forward.

 

[Miramonti]

Sterling is not that rich. Most of his wealth is the Clippers. It's not uncommon for the extremely rich to sell their business when they're old if they control majority of the stakes.

I believe most is in his real estate holdings, with additional $500m (previous forbes estimate?) in the clips. But case made is most likely right, that he's rich on paper with very little liquidity...relatively speaking. That's going to change soon, as this deal with Balmer no doubt is $2b in cash. I cringe just typing that, lol.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Sounds to me that your assessment is way off the mark.

As racist as he seems to be, I'd find it hard to believe he's that much of a moron financially.

Furthermore, AFAIK, he had already said he was open to the idea of selling in the right circumstances. He just didn't want to be forced out for bargain basement pricing. I'd say at $2 billion, he would have jumped at the chance to sell. Not too often when deals like that come around.

What can he do with $5 billion that he can't do with $1 billion? Buy the Lakers? At a certain point, additional money becomes largely meaningless; it's just numbers on paper. It doesn't affect his quality of life in any discernible way. However, ownership of something that brings him joy CAN affect his quality of life. The way some of you people talk about passions as investments makes me wonder at what point something is dear enough to you that no amount of money would make you sell it. "I'll give you $1 billion, but you can never see your kids again. No? OK, $2 billion. $5 billion? Everything has a price, am I right?" If he decides that owning a basketball team brings him more happiness than ANY amount of additional money in his bank account, is he wrong for thinking that way?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

For fucks sake, he is NOT going to have $2 billion more.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Here's an interesting update:

Espn has learned that experts had declared Donald Sterling mentally incapacitated, leaving Shelly as sole trustee & power to sell the team

 

[Remobz]

So...

Expose racist owner->public outrage->public demands sale->NBA threatens to force sale->huge interest in sale->racist owner threatens to sue to block sale->even more interest in sale->way over priced->$$$racist owner$$$

Wait what?

Exactly, sterling comes out on top. WTF??

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Yeah, the one thing 80-year-old billionaires care about is ensuring that they can double their wealth and put their profits in an income-producing trust. Without that, he surely would have died homeless.

Why is it so hard for people to conceive that there might be something rich people value more than money? Donald Sterling was an awful owner, but he had literally dozens of opportunities to sell the Clippers for a massive return on investment and he never did until he was forced out by the league. He loved owning a basketball team; it was worth more to him than any sum of money that could be offered. If you've already got enough money to buy every single thing you've ever wanted, and what you really want is a basketball team, then when you get one, you keep it forever. It's not an investment vehicle, it's your passion. Ballmer's the same way. You think he gives a shit that it cost him $2 billion to become a member of a club he's been trying to join for a decade? He could lose hundreds of millions on the team every year and still die rich and happy. He doesn't give a shit about whether he makes a return on his investment; his happiness is worth more than the money he could be making.

that's al davis you're describing

 

[waggy]

Exactly, sterling comes out on top. WTF??

yeah so? what do you want done?

 

[cabri]

Here's an interesting update:

Espn has learned that experts had declared Donald Sterling mentally incapacitated, leaving Shelly as sole trustee & power to sell the team

1) Who are the experts?
2) Who is paying them for their "expert" medical advice?

Then will Donald Sterling take the trust to court to fight this "self serving declaration"

 

[momeNt]

So...

Expose racist owner->public outrage->public demands sale->NBA threatens to force sale->huge interest in sale->racist owner threatens to sue to block sale->even more interest in sale->way over priced->$$$racist owner$$$

Wait what?

Exactly, sterling comes out on top. WTF??

This is likely why people are calling for the money from the sale to be confiscated.

 

[ponyo]

He's not "that rich"... He's only a billionaire even if the Clippers sold for $1. He has a real-estate business worth more than $1 billion, you realize? His lawyer was on the record saying that the Clippers could have sold for $10 billion and it wouldn't change Sterling's life in any way. You have to be insane to think that an 81-year-old billionaire needs to liquidate his ownership of a sports team to assure himself a comfortable life going forward.

Rich cares about money and securing the future for themselves and heirs. I personally know a multibillionaire who started two separate billion dollar companies. One was sold off at retirement age for retirement cash. The other probably would be sold for the right price if given a chance like Sterling. It's not about comfortable living. It's about making money.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Reports are now saying he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Convenient.

 

[waggy]

This is likely why people are calling for the money from the sale to be confiscated.

under what law?

 

[preslove]

If you care more about Donald Sterling having sell his team for a huge profit than the black people he discriminated against as a landlord, then you're probably a racist.

 

[Miramonti]

Here's an interesting update:

Wtf, lol.