For us NBA fans, they are the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers. But the basketball franchise is simply one of the multiple assets these two own under their sports and venue management company, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Josh Harris and David Blitzers are the billionaire owners of the Sixers and here’s a deep dive into how they built an empire, block by block, one at a time.

Joshua Jordan Harris is well-known in the field for his legendary work ethic. He didn’t have a father who just handed over the reins, nor was he naturally business savvy. Everything he owns now is the result of years of hard work and dedication and being smart enough to apply what he learned to achieve his dreams.

And surprisingly, the 59-year-old credits wrestling for setting the foundation. Yes, wrestling. Growing up, he had always loved sports. When Harris was just nine, he won a wrestling tournament during summer camp. “When you’re 9 and that happens, you get all excited,” he humorously revealed in a 2017 Forbes interview.

The excitement did not wear off, though. And soon, he was pursuing it seriously. One of the most physically demanding sports, Josh, at just 118 pounds, faced a lot of setbacks simply because he wasn’t working for it. “I wasn’t running, I wasn’t training as hard, I would lose badly. You lose in wrestling, you’re literally physically dominated,” he recounted. It just wouldn’t do. He kept at it, eventually ranking third in a Maryland state tournament and even made the University of Pennsylvania’s wrestling team.

More importantly, he learned a crucial lesson: “That was a real lesson for life that hard work and grit and tenacity led to more positive outcomes.” That was just the beginning.

Josh Harris was always drawn to business

Harris’ father was an orthodontist, but he never pushed Josh to pursue medicine. Left to his own devices, the young Chevy Chase native had more than enough time to try different things. And Harris chose to commit to The College of Arts and Sciences. However, in his freshman year, the HBSE owner found himself really interested in economics and statistics. Just like that, he was transferred to Wharton.

During college summers, Josh had his own lemonade stand. He also had a paper route. But he soon partnered with an older gentleman in a business called ‘Lemon Squeeze’. It had stalls at various locations which he managed and the elder man funded. Because of his love for finance, Harris ended up working for the now-defunct investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert.

“You work a crazy amount of hours [80-90], but you get a crash course in analytics and finance. I thought that was something worth going through,” he said in a 2015 Q&A with MoCo360 (Montgomery-based local and daily news website). After the 2-year “crash course,” Harris returned to get his M.B.A from Harvard Business School. Now pay attention, because here’s when Josh Harris took the big leap.

By the time the man finished got his degree, 1990, to be exact, the US was in recession. And Drexel, hit badly, had filed for bankruptcy. But what’s one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. During his two years at the organization, he had met his future partners, Leon Black and Marc Rowan. Seeing an opportunity here, the trio started the now $64 billion worth of Apollo Global Management by buying and consolidating distressed debt, then took the company to bankruptcy, allowing them to convert the debt they owned into equity.

And from there, they only saw growth. Seeing that everything at Apollo was in capable hands, Harris then went on to pursue a lost love. Sports. And it also saw him meet another ardent sports enthusiast and his future partner, David Blitzer.

One night at The Punchbowl the Philadelphia 76ers had billionaires for owners

A Wharton alum himself, David Blitzer’s path was straight. Shortly after graduation, the now 55-year-old joined the alternative investment management giant, Blackstone Inc. and was soon assigned to work out of London. Blitzer was already a certified Londoner by the time Harris arrived in 2008. Although they belonged to competitive firms, it was a lonely place for private equity expats working at that high level. Needless to say, they soon became friends and often met in The Punchbowl – a Guy Ritchie-owned elite pub with an impressive A-list clientele from around the world.

It was during one of these meetings that the seed of a future partnership was sowed. Sports enthusiasts and Wharton products became serious about studying the sports sector. “I grew up a Sixers fan. He went to Wharton. So I said, ‘Josh, let’s buy the Sixers, man!’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s funny. I already bid on them.’,” Blitzer shared in a 2023 interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

When two strategic minds who had perfected the art of the right investment at the right time, at the right price came to a mutual decision, and the resulting deal was brilliant. The Sixers, who were crumbling around the edges at the time, were losing close to $25 million a year owing to a mediocre roster and unsatisfied fan base. The Philly fans, by nature, are a passionate lot and have no qualms in telling you it as it is.

Anyway, after careful analysis, taking six months to work through the whole deal, they acquired the Philadelphia 76ers for $280 million in early July 2011. This is the same franchise that is valued at around a whopping $4.3 billion now! Just another masterstroke by Harris and Blitzer. Once the dynamic duo got a taste of the sports world, they couldn’t stop.

The 76ers were just the start of a long list of sports investments under the HBSE stronghold

Following the Philadelphia 76ers, Josh Harris and David Blitzer soon followed it with other acquisitions – NHL’s New Jersey Devils and their arena, the Prudential Center, in 2013 and Premier League’s Crystal Palace F.C. in 2015 were two major ones. The others are:

• Esports organization Dignitas and Apex Gaming through the Sixers merged the two under the Dignitas brand in 2016.
• NBA G League’s Delaware Blue Coats.
• AHL’s Utica Comets.

Seeing how their sports ventures were growing, Josh and David felt it right to consolidate them under one umbrella. And that was how the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) was born on September 25, 2017. They continued to add more to their portfolio. In 2023, NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing and, more recently, NFL’s Washington Commanders also come under the aegis of HBSE.

In addition, a venture fund, the HBSE Ventures (HBSEV), HBSE Real Estate (HBSE RE), Elevate Sports Ventures (sports & consulting firm), and 76ers Gaming Club are also part of the HBSE.

Apart from joint investments, Josh Harris has his interests. He founded an alternative assets firm ’26North,’ in 2022. Aside from that, Harris sits on the board of Mount Sinai Health System, Wharton, and HBS as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. What about Blitzer?

David Blitzer’s personal investments and interests

It seems like Blitzer is the biggest sports junkie between him and Harris. Aside from the HBSE sports investments, the man went on to purchase, co-own, manage, or buy stakes in a wide variety of sports. Let’s start with Blitzer’s football holdings. They all come under the Global Football Holdings.

• G.D. Estoril Praia of Primeira Liga (Portuguese) and AD Alcorcon of Segunda Division (Spanish) – owner [2019]
• S.K. Beveren of Challenger Pro League (Belgian) – co-owner [2020]
• FC Augsburg of Bundesliga (German) – co-owner/45% stake [2021]
• ADO Den Haag of Eerste Divisie (Netherlands) – owner [2021]
• Brøndby IF of Danish Superliga (Danish) – owner [2022]

The next list is his sports investments which he independently owned.

• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of International League (Minor League Baseball – US) – had a 50% stake [2014], but sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings in 2021
• Blitzer’s 2015 Crystal Palace FC under HBSE includes an 18% stake
• Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (US). It comes with a few extras, namely, stadiums America First Field and Zions Bank Stadium, and the third-division league of soccer, the Real Monarchs of MLS Next Pro (US & Canada) – co-owner [2022]
• Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball – Limited partner, 25% stake with the option to become majority owner in 2028 [2022]
• Utah Royals of National Women’s Soccer League – co-owner [2023]
• Jupiter Links Golf Club of TGL – co-owner with Tiger Woods [2023]

All these businesses and you must be wondering just what the net worth of these men is. Well, Josh Harris has a net worth of $9.2 billion per Forbes’ real-time net worth. And David Blitzer – $3.1 billion (Forbes). Just two businessmen casually expanding their empire and growing their wealth. Inspiring, huh?