Jerry Reinsdorf

Founder, Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group

Owner, the Chicago Bulls and White Sox

Reinsdorf is best known as the longtime owner of the Chicago Bulls and the White Sox, both of which are seeking to expand the reach of their stadiums through potential multi-billion dollar projects. But he amassed his fortune in real estate dealmaking that’s more traditional than politically fraught arena site selection.

In 1973, Reinsdorf founded Balcor, a real estate syndication firm he later sold to Shearson Lehman Brothers for a price purported to fall between $50 million and $100 million.

Reinsdorf later formed the still-active Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group, which has invested in multifamily and apartment developments on Chicago’s Near West Side and West Loop. Though he has generally kept a lower profile in property development than in professional sports, real estate has remained a large part of his investment portfolio.

More recently, Reinsdorf partnered with the Wirtzes, who own the Chicago Blackhawks and make up the city’s other professional sports and real estate family. They are planning a $7 billion, 55-acre mixed-use redevelopment surrounding the United Center, which the families co-own. Known as the 1901 Project, the proposal envisions housing, retail, entertainment and open space tied to the arena district.

It also marks a succession plan for both families, with son Michael Reinsdorf taking the lead alongside Danny Wirtz, who has assumed the role following his father’s Rocky death in 2023.

The scale of the plan carries risk, particularly as public subsidies and taxpayer-funded infrastructure commitments come under scrutiny, as they’ve so far said they’re privately financing the 1901 Project. Still, Reinsdorf’s track record suggests a willingness to play the long game when stakes are measured over decades.

— Emma Whalen