Jimmy Haslam Is Worth Billions, Prepares to Buy Milwaukee Bucks

In the world of professional sports owners, deal prices in the billions rather than the millions aren't all that uncommon these days. Valuations of NBA sports teams have gone up in recent years. A deal in the works for the Milwaukee Bucks seems to back that up. Jimmy Haslam plans to buy the Milwaukee Bucks, what's Jimmy Haslam's net worth?

A seasoned businessman as a leader in the Pilot Corporation and Chairman of the Pilot Flying J truckstop chain, Haslam also owns several professional sports teams. With wife Dee, Haslam owns the Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew, the NFL's Cleveland Browns, and may soon be an owner of a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.

Here's a glance at Haslam's net worth progression, according to Forbes:

• 2013: $1.8 billion
• 2014: $1.5 billion
• 2015: $2.8 billion
• 2016: $2.3 billion
• 2017: $3.6 billion
• 2018: $3.4 billion
• 2019: $2.7 billion
• 2020: $2.7 billion
• 2021: $3 billion
• 2022: $3.8 billion
• 2023: Current estimate is $4.8 billion.

Haslam happened into much of his wealth by luck or chance, as his father Jim Haslam founded the successful Pilot Corporation (then the Pilot Oil Corporation). The younger Haslam started his career with Pilot in 1976. By 1980, he was named vice president of sales, development, and operations.

At that point, Pilot operated around 100 convenience stores and had annual fuel sales of about 125 million gallons. In 1981, Pilot's first travel center opened. Haslam became the company president and CEO 15 years later, and Pilot's annual fuel sales had reached $1.2 billion at its 96 travel centers and 50 convenience stores.

There have been key moments in Pilot Flying J history:

• In 2001, Pilot joined Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC to form Pilot Travel Centers LLC.
• In 2008, Pilot announced CVC Capital Partners acquired 49.8 percent stake in Pilot Travel Centers LLC (Pilot Corp. retained 50 percent ownership)
• In 2015, the Haslam family acquired all of CVC Capital Partners' shares.

Pilot Flying J is one of the top 10 privately held U.S. companies, employing over 24,000 people. However, it hasn't been all good news for the company. In 2013, the FBI investigated a five-year fraud scheme involving the Pilot Flying J chain, for which the company paid restitution to customers and a $92 million penalty.

According to Forbes, Haslam acquired a majority stake in the Cleveland Browns in 2012 for just shy of $1 billion, at $990 million. He sold his previous minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers to take over the Browns. The franchise's record during Haslam's tenure as owner hasn't been impressive, but the Browns got their first postseason win in the wildcard round of the 2020–2021 playoffs.

Haslam also has a stake in the Major League Soccer club, the Columbus Crew. Haslam, his wife Dee, and Pete Edwards took ownership in January 2019. In 2020, Haslam's team won the MLS Cup.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Bucks' co-owner Mark Lasry has agreed to sell his stake of the NBA team for $3.5 billion to Jimmy and Dee Haslam. The deal still needs to get league approval, but if it does, it would be the second-highest NBA team sale price after the $4 billion paid for the Phoenix Suns.

Haslam won't be the sole owner of the Bucks, as there are still three other co-owners: Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan, and Mike Fascitelli.