Winner: Rams owner Stan Kroenke
Why: The reclusive Rams owner keeps so under the radar we found it hard to find a picture—but that doesn't mean he's not making big moves. The mustachioed mogul just bought the most expensive ranch ever sold—a 535,000 acre monster property down in Texas.
Stan is the eighth-largest landowner in the country, and married Ann Walton (whose family puts the "Wal" in "Walmart") in 1972. The mogul's sports empire includes the LA Rams, English soccer club Arsenal and a trio of Denver-based teams: the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and MLS' Colorado Rapids.
"Silent Stan"—a name earned for his media shyness—has been busy this year, announcing plans to move the Rams back to their long-abandoned home in LA. Of course, the team will be coming back to a brand-new, state-of-the-art arena—the most expensive in the world. His massive ranch buy and ambitious plans for the Rams make him Bisnow's February Player of the Month.
Honorable Mentions:
Larry Silverstein—after losing monster tenants Fox and News Corp for his 2 WTC tower, the prolific developer turned around and snagged a quartet of news tenants for 1 WTC—CBS, WNBC, WNJU and PBS.
J. Kyle Bass—the hedge fund manager released evidence that the REIT UDF is a "Ponzi scheme," and soon after the REIT's HQ was raided by the FBI and its share prices got slashed in half.
Emmitt Smith—he tells Bisnow "I have to get my space, to take advantage of my space! In business, it’s the same way, I’m not someone you can just put in a box and say, 'Hey, this is the only way we want to know you.'"
This is the second in a monthly series of articles recognizing the big players in commercial real estate. Please shoot your nominations for a local "Player of the Month" here.
