Charles Kushner part of group bidding for Miami Marlins: report

Developer considered buying an NBA team before

Charles Kushner and the Marlins' stadium
Charles Kushner and the Marlins' stadium

Fair ball? Charles Kushner is part of an investor group looking to buy the Major League Baseball team Miami Marlins.

It wasn’t clear whether Kushner is the main bidder in the group, or whether a deal is likely. According to Forbes, buying the team would likely cost $1.6 billion and require $600 million in cash.

Kushner, who headed the namesake real estate company until his 2005 imprisonment for tax evasion and witness tampering, has quietly been taking on a more active role in the business since his son and CEO Jared left to become a White House advisor.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

According to ESPN, Charles previously toyed with the idea of buying a basketball team and in 2012 Jared briefly submitted a bid to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team (which was previously owned by developer Frank McCourt).

The Marlins’ current owner, art dealer Jeffrey Loria, bought the team for $158 million in 2002. He’s been widely criticized in baseball for annually collecting tens of millions in revenue-sharing dollars, cashing in on a publicly-financed new stadium, and perpetually dumping some of the game’s best talent to pocket additional revenue.

Owning sports teams is a popular pastime for New York real estate developers. Related Companies’ Stephen Ross owns the Miami Dolphins football team and Bruce Ratner for years owned a stake in the Brooklyn Nets. [ESPN]Konrad Putzier