Comic says he purchased minority stake in New York Mets; laughing stock?
Political comedian Bill Maher disclosed that he bought a minority stake in the New York Mets when the majority owners were selling portions of the franchise earlier this year to cover debt.
Maher, who hosts Home Box Office Inc.'s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” was born in New York City and said he's been a Mets fan since he was six years old. He attended last night's 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field and was on the field for pre-game batting practice with Mets chief executive officer Jeff Wilpon.
“I've really never wavered in my love for this team,” Maher, 56, said in a video posted on the Mets' official Twitter feed. “We were thrilled in '69, we were thrilled in '86 and I think we'll be thrilled again very soon. You've got to believe and I do.”
Maher didn't disclose what his ownership stake is.
So far, the Mets have played well in the early part of the MLB schedule. The club is coming off several years of poor play, however. In each of the past three seasons, the Mets have finished below .500 -- and have been considered something of a laughing stock given the team's sizable payroll.
Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz in March sold 12 minority stakes in the team for $240 million and used the sales to repay $65 million in loans from Major League Baseball and Bank of America Corp. and at least $100 million of debt.
Wilpon and Katz in March also agreed to pay $162 million to settle a $1 billion lawsuit from Irving Picard, the trustee responsible for liquidating Bernard Madoff's defunct firm, over whether the Mets' owners and others blinded themselves to Madoff's Ponzi scheme because it benefited their businesses financially.
--Bloomberg News--
