Marc Leder
Born
Marc J. Leder

1962 (age 61–62)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania Wharton School (BS)
Occupation(s)Businessman, Philanthropist, Sports Ownership Group Limited Partner
Title
Spouse
Lisa J. Weisbein
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2010)​
Children4
Websitehttp://www.marcleder.com/

Marc J. Leder (born in 1962) is an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Boca Raton, Florida.[1] He is also a limited partner of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and the Josh Harris Group, which owns Real Salt Lake of the MLS, the English Premier League's Crystal Palace F.C., and the NFL's Washington Commanders.

Early life and education

Leder was born to a Jewish family and raised in the Long Island suburbs of New York City.[2][1] In 1979, Leder graduated from John L. Miller Great Neck North High School and in 1983, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he befriended his future business partner, Rodger Krouse.[3][4]

Career

After graduating, Leder joined Lehman Brothers in January 1987 as an analyst, and worked his way up to Senior Vice President.[5] In 1995, he left Lehman's with Krouse to found the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, Inc.[3]

Sun Capital Partners

Leder and Krouse founded Sun Capital in 1995. They chose Boca Raton, Florida for their headquarters, believing the New York market was already too saturated and competitive.

Leder describes the difficult first five years for Sun Capital, saying he and Krouse were, "just two investment bankers trying to get into private equity." And, when he asked his private equity contacts for advice, they told him, "stick with investment banking."[6] Undeterred, Leder says they honed a careful strategy, which was "to buy companies that others didn't want to buy."[7] Through perseverance, their strategy proved successful, leading to nearly a decade of rapid growth until 2008, when the market downturn and global Great Recession took hold. That forced Leder and Krause to retrench, and to once again rework their strategy, and by July 2013, Sun Capital had $8 billion in invested assets.[8]

Leder credits the lessons learned from the global recession for helping him guide Sun Capital's path through the COVID-19 Pandemic a decade later. He told RSM US, "We had the playbook for this pandemic—not the social distancing, but the dramatic economic impact, the deep recession we find ourselves in. And we shared that playbook with our management teams, and they were outstanding at getting and understanding the challenges that were facing them, whether it be employee safety and health, to cutting costs, to maintaining liquidity, to serving customers."[9]

As of January 2024, Sun Capital reports $14 billion in cumulative capital commitments from a portfolio of around 40 companies that employ nearly 28,000 people worldwide.[10]

The Sun Capital Partners Foundation

In 2007, Leder and Krouse created the charitable arm of the company called the Sun Capital Partners Foundation. The foundation pools and triple-matches employee contributions.[11] The foundation says its goal is to "promote sustainable, positive change" by working with local nonprofit organizations.[11] Since its inception, the Sun Capital Foundation reports over $17 million in donations to over 700 charities.[11]

Criticism of Sun Capital

In 2012, The New York Times criticized Sun Capital for its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, pointing in particular to certain portfolio bankruptcies and job losses that had occurred over the previous four years.[12]

Investments in Professional Sports Franchises

Leder is a member of an investment group led by Josh Harris that purchased the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers for $280 million in 2011.[13][14][15] Leder is also a limited partner of another Harris-led group that purchased the New Jersey Devils of the NHL and the Newark, New Jersey Prudential Center arena for $320 million in 2013.[16][17][18] Then, in 2015, Leder again joined Harris in buying a controlling stake in Crystal Palace F.C. of the English Premier League.[19] In 2022, Leder was part of a group led by Harris's longtime business partner, David Blitzer that purchased Real Salt Lake, which competes in Major League Soccer.[20] Finally, in 2023, Leder again partnered with Harris to purchase the NFL's Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion, the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise.[21]

Philanthropy

In 2010, Leder established the Marc J. Leder Foundation, Inc. a non-profit corporation based in Boca Raton that partially funds the Sun Capital Partners Foundation and makes grants to nonprofit organizations and a range of charitable initiatives, reflecting his "personal values and his commitment to social responsibility."[22]

Notable Foundation Donations

  • $2 million to establish the Marc J. Leder Behavior Change for Good Term Fund at the School of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[23]
  • $2 million to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital's "Keeping the Promise" capital campaign.[24]
  • $1 million to endow a curatorial directorship at Penn’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), where Leder sits on the board.[25]
  • A 2023 gala to benefit Mommy's Heart, a 501(C)3 supporting abuse victims.[26]
  • $100,000 to support the development of artist-centered programming.[27]

Philanthropic Awards

Involvement in Promoting the Arts

Leder is a financial supporter of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a group founded by musician and activist Russell Simmons, which is dedicated to providing inner-city youths across New York City with significant exposure to the arts and supporting emerging artists with exhibition opportunities.[30] He is also deeply involved in the world-renowned Art Basil in Miami. And, he is a member of the International Council Board of the Berggruen Museum in Berlin.[31] Leder says, until his early 40's, he wasn't very much interested in art, but that, soon after, he realized it has a therapeutic effect in him, "It is such a different world than business and finance. It not only gives me a bit of a mental break from my work life, it also exposes me to new ideas and ways of looking at the world." [32]

Personal life

Leder has three children with his ex-wife Lisa J. Weisbein. They were married from 1987 until divorcing in 2010.[33] In January 2012, Leder had another daughter with his girlfriend at the time. He told the New York Post that he agreed to a "generous and amicable agreement over child support.[34]

Politics

Dating back to their early contacts at private equity firm Bain Capital, Leder has been a personal and financial supporter of the United States Senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, including during the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign in which he became the Republican Presidential Nominee. During the 2012 election cycle, Reuters reports that "out of the $337,000 Leder has spent in political donations in this election season, $321,600 has gone to Mitt Romney and other Republicans and Republican-aligned groups."[35]

However, Leder is also known to make donations to certain progressive groups and leaders, including liberal activist and recording artist Russell Simmons to support his nonprofit work in the arts.[36]

Mitt Romney Remarks Controversy

In 2012 Leder hosted a $50,000-per-plate fundraising dinner at his Boca Raton home for Romney's presidential bid.[37] At it, Romney spoke to the attendees and said that 47% of Americans believed that government should take care of them, viewed themselves as victims, and did not pay income tax, saying, "my job is not to worry about those people -- I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."[38] [39] Romney's remarks made national headlines, and according to ABC News, they might have hurt Romney in the polls, which showed a sharp drop after the tape was released.[40]

References

  1. 1 2 Foroohar, Kambiz (October 1, 2008). "Blackstone, Apollo Outshone as Sun Capital Buys Boston Market". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020.
  2. ↑ Guttman, Nathan (September 18, 2012). "Romney Trashes Two-State Solution in Video". The Jewish Daily Forward. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Stocks". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  4. ↑ Private Equity International: "Rising Sun" by David Snow October 2006
  5. ↑ Powerhouses in Private Equity: Sun Capital's Marc Leder July 2019
  6. ↑ "Powerhouses in Private Equity: Sun Capital's Marc Leder (Published July 2019)". YouTube. January 9, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Marc J. Leder: On What It Takes to Be a Leder (Published April 2016)". HuffPost. January 9, 2024.
  8. ↑ Hoovers: Sun Capital Partners retrieved July 2013
  9. ↑ "Sun Capital in the eye of the distress storm (Published April 2016)". RSM US. July 2020.
  10. ↑ Sun Capital Partners retrieved January 2024
  11. 1 2 3 Sun Capital Partners retrieved January 2024
  12. ↑ "In a Romney Believer, Private Equity's Risks and Rewards (Published 2012)". The New York Times. January 21, 2012.
  13. ↑ Fagan, Kate (July 13, 2011). "76ers sale deal is done". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ Fagan, Kate (August 2, 2011). "Those who know him say Joshua Harris, soon-to-be Sixers owner, lives for competition and success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Group Led by Joshua Harris Completes Purchase of Sixers" (Press release). Philadelphia 76ers. October 18, 2011. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018.
  16. ↑ "NJ Devils Partners and Senior Leadership". New Jersey Devils.
  17. ↑ "Josh Harris Buys The New Jersey Devils". KYW-TV. Associated Press. August 15, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  18. ↑ Golden, Jessica (March 24, 2020). "76ers, Devils reverse decision to cut salaries up to 20% due to coronavirus hiatus". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Sixers owner Josh Harris buys into Crystal Palace soccer club". NBC News. December 19, 2015.
  20. ↑ Stejskal, Sam (January 12, 2022). "What Real Salt Lake should expect from David Blitzer, a new owner with stakes in Crystal Palace, the 76ers and more". The Athletic.
  21. ↑ Keim, John (July 20, 2023). "NFL owners approve $6.05B sale of Commanders to Harris group". ESPN.
  22. ↑ "Marc J Leder Foundation Inc. (Published January 2024)". ProPublica. January 10, 2024.
  23. ↑ Stanley, Tom (October 9, 2018). "Wharton Alumnus Marc J. Leder Makes $2 Million Gift to Behavior Change for Good Initiative | Inspiring Impact Stories". Inspiring Impact at Penn. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  24. ↑ cfelixcpa (November 22, 2023). "Marc J. Leder Foundation Makes Two Million Dollar Gift to Boca Raton Regional Hospital's Keeping the Promise Capital Campaign". Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  25. ↑ "$2 Million Gift from Marc J. Leder for Behavior Change for Good Initiative". almanac.upenn.edu. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  26. ↑ Goergen, Marc; O’Sullivan, Noel; Wood, Geoffrey (2023), "Private Equity and Employment", The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Private Equity, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–3, ISBN 978-3-030-38738-9, retrieved December 11, 2023
  27. ↑ "MoMA PS1 Announces New Board Leadership and $5M Strategic Transition Fund". press.moma.org. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Sun Capital Partners Co-CEO Marc J. Leder Receives Prestigious Yitzhak Rabin Financial Leadership Award from American Friends of Rabin Medical Center". BusinessWire. November 10, 2021.
  29. ↑ Faurote, Adrienne (January 8, 2024), "Introducing The Official 2023 Haute 100 Miami List", Haute Living
  30. ↑ Roser, Laura A., "How Marc Leder, Private Equity Maven and Co-Founder of Sun Capital Partners, Got Hooked by the Art World", Paragon Road
  31. ↑ Roser, Laura A., "How Marc Leder, Private Equity Maven and Co-Founder of Sun Capital Partners, Got Hooked by the Art World", Paragon Road
  32. ↑ Roser, Laura A., "How Marc Leder, Private Equity Maven and Co-Founder of Sun Capital Partners, Got Hooked by the Art World", Paragon Road
  33. ↑ Ostrowski, Jeff (July 10, 2009). "Sun Capital co-founder worth more than $400 million, wife says". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013.
  34. ↑ "'47 Percent' Host Had Another Election-Year Surprise (Published November 2012)". New York Magazine. January 10, 2024.
  35. ↑ "Spotlight on Romney fundraising host Leder (Published September 2012)". Reuters. January 10, 2024.
  36. ↑ "Marc Leder Is Secretive GOP Fundraiser (Published September 2012)". Forward. January 10, 2024.
  37. ↑ B. Dan Wood, Soren Jordan (2017). Party Polarization in America; The War Over Two Social Contracts
  38. ↑ "Mitt Romney's "47 Percent" Comments (Published 2012)". YouTube. January 10, 2024.
  39. ↑ Dan Balz, James Silberman (2013). Collision 2012; Obama Vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America
  40. ↑ "Mitt Romney Responds to '47 Percent' Comment (Published September 2012)". YouTube. January 10, 2024.

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