Beverly Hills Billionaire Tom Gores Joins Bidders to Purchase Padres

There is a new name in the bidding to purchase the San Diego Padres.

Tom Gores, the owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons and minority owner of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers, is leading a previously unreported group to purchase San Diego's MLB team, according to a report by The Athletic. The same report confirmed the leaders of the other three groups that are among the four finalists and matched previous speculation: Jose E. Feliciano, Dan Friedkin and Joe Lacob.

The Athletic also confirmed previous reports that the Padres, owned by the Seidler family, are likely to fetch at least $3.5 billion in the sale, which would be a MLB record. Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets in 2020 for $2.42 billion, the current record for an baseball team. The report said a second round of bidding was due in mid-April. It is expected a decision on who the Seidler family will sell to will be made following those bids.

Feliciano is the co-founder of Clearlake Capital, based in Santa Monica, and has ownership of the men's soccer team Chelsea in the English Premier League; Friedkin was born in San Diego and is the CEO of The Friedkin Group as well as ownership in two men's soccer teams (Everton in the EPL and Roma in Serie A); while Lacob is owner of the NBA's Golden State Warriors and the WNBA's Golden State Valkyries.

But Gores jumps into the fray with the second-largest net worth of the four. The founder of Platinum Equity, a private-equity firm headquartered in Beverly Hills, has a net worth of $10.1 billion, according to Forbes, behind Friedkin's $10.7 billion. Gores became the Pistons' owner in 2011 and self-funded a new $90 million headquarters and training center. Gores and Platinum Equity bought the Pistons for $395 million, with Gores buying out his firm's share four years later to have 100% ownership.

Platinum Equity oversees more than $50 billion in assets from 60 companies.

Gores also pursued bringing a Major League Soccer team to Detroit, but that effort failed, at least for the moment. He purchased a 27% stake in the Chargers in 2024.

In 2009, Gores purchased the San Diego Union-Tribune for a reported $30 million, then sold it two years later for $110 million. Gores lives in Beverly Hills, which would be key as the Seidler family is seeking someone who is local to sell the team to. All four finalists have SoCal ties, with some currently stronger than others.

Peter Seidler, who died in November 2024, and Ron Fowler led the group that purchased the Padres in 2012 for $800 million.