Fred Wilpon is a baseball executive and the owner of the New York Mets. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

[edit] Biography

Wilpon bought a one-percent stake in the Mets in 1980 when Charles Shipman Payson sold the team, with Doubleday & Co. holding the remaining interest. In 1986, Doubleday president Nelson Doubleday, Jr. sold off his company, and he and Wilpon each bought a 50 percent stake in the Mets to become full partners. In 2002, the Wilpon family purchased the remaining 50% of the Mets from Nelson Doubleday, Jr. for $391 million.

Wilpon served as president of the team between 1980 to 2002, as Chief Executive Officer since 1980 and as Chairman of the Board since 2003. Wilpon currently serves as Chairman of Sterling Equities. His son Jeff is the COO of the Mets and executive vice president of Sterling.

Wilpon was one of the investors who lost money when Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed in December 2008.^[1] Wilpon has been reported to have lost about $700 million because of Madoff, which has led to speculation that he may be forced to sell the team. ^[2] Wilpon has said that his losses were "substantially less" than that figure. ^[3] Reports have recently surfaced that Wilpon and his family actually made about $48 million with Madoff, not losing money as previously reported. ^[4]

[edit] Personal life

As a teenager Wilpon was a teammate of Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax on Brooklyn's Lafayette High School baseball team. Wilpon and Koufax remain close friends, with Koufax an annual visitor at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Appelbaum, Binyamin; Hilzenrath, David S. (13 December 2008). "'All Just One Big Lie'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121203970_pf.html.