Billions
Morning Dose: Friday, February 20
☀️ Good Morning:
We are still over a month away from meaningful baseball, but we are only one sleep away from the Grapefruit League opener.
The Mets will play their first game on Saturday at Clover Park against the Marlins. You can soak in the warmer weather through your television sets on SNY.
Before we get into the newsletter, make sure to check out our latest podcast. I return to the show to discuss the key parts of the offseason with Blake.
❶ Steve Cohen is a wealthy, wealthy man.
❷ Howie Rose reducing his workload.
❸ How the Mets are approaching the ABS system this spring.
And stay for the final outs for some interesting notes from Port St. Lucie!
📰 ABOVE THE FOLD
❶ BILLIONS
In case you needed to be reminded, Steve Cohen makes a lot of money.
He is actually reaching new heights.
🔝 EARNER: For the first time, Cohen topped Bloomberg’s annual list of the world’s highest-paid hedge fund managers. He took home a jaw-dropping $3.4 billion from Point72 Asset Management, according to Bloomberg’s estimate.
To put that in perspective, Cohen purchased the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020. That would be like if you earned $80,000 as a firefighter and bought the Mets for $56,000. In other words, the Mets are like a family SUV purchase for Mr. Cohen.
💵 INVESTING IN THE TEAM: Cohen has used his tremendous wealth to invest heavily into his favorite hobby. We talked yesterday about the $60 million bill he is footing for a new minor-league complex in Port St. Lucie. On the major-league level, he has spared no expense rebuilding relationships with franchise legends, investing in pitching labs or Citi Field enhancements. On the field, he has racked up the highest cumulative payroll in baseball since he took over as owner, which has cost him over $320 million in additional tax payments over the past four years.
