James Joseph Pallotta (born March 13, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman.[4] In 2009, he founded Raptor Group, a private investment company.[citation needed] Prior to forming Raptor, Pallotta was vice chairman at Tudor Investment Corporation. He was co-owner and chairman of the Italian football club A.S. Roma from 2011 to 2020;[5] co-owner and executive board member of the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics,[6] and co-owner of esports franchise Fnatic.[7]
James Pallotta | |
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Born | James Joseph Pallotta[1] March 13, 1958 Stoneham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Alma mater | University Of Massachusetts (BBA) Northeastern University (MBA) |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Chairman and MD, Raptor Group[citation needed] Partner, Tudor Investment Corporation[2] Shareholder, Boston Basketball Partners[3] |
Pallotta was born in 1958 in Boston to a mother from Canosa di Puglia, Apulia and a father from Calabria, Italy. Along with sisters Carla and Christine Pallotta, he was raised in Boston's Italian north end neighborhood. His sisters own and operate NEBO Cucina & Enoteca in Boston's financial district.[8] Pallotta earned a BBA at University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA at Northeastern University.[citation needed]
Pallotta founded Raptor Group, a private investment company with offices in Boston, New York City, Miami, London, and Abu Dhabi. Raptor focuses on various industries including sports, consumer, technology, media, entertainment, and financial services.[citation needed]
Pallotta, along with three other American investors (Thomas R. DiBenedetto, Michael Ruane and Richard D'Amore) acquired Serie A football club A.S. Roma in 2011.[9]
After becoming one of the owners in 2011,[10] in August 2012, Pallotta became the chairman of club, succeeding Thomas R. DiBenedetto, and becoming the 23rd in the club's history.[11] During Pallotta's ownership, the club would primarily engage in capitalizing on the sale of its players, leading AS Roma to obtain over half a billion in capital gains on player trading operations,[12] which earned Pallotta the nickname of “King of capital gains”.[13] This financial approach to football, coupled with one of AS Roma's longest period without winning any trophies,[14] as well as what many considered an undeserved dismissal of AS Roma icons Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi,[15][16] lead to a serious clash with the fans and the only worldwide protest in AS Roma history, with disapproving banners in several remote parts of the world.[17][18]
In December 2019, Pallotta was in final negotiations to sell the team for $872 million, to American businessman Dan Friedkin. [19] In August 2020, Friedkin signed the preliminary contract to agree to pay $591 million to Pallotta, the main shareholder of Roma.[20] As the club's balance sheets later revealed, AS Roma had tremendous debt and seriously risked bankruptcy before having to be transferred to a new ownership in 2020.[21][22][23]
Prior to Raptor Group, Pallotta was a vice chairman and partner at Tudor Investment Corporation.
Pallotta is a member of the board of trustees for the Santa Fe Institute[24] and the board of trustees for Northeastern University.[25] Pallotta serves on the board of directors for New Profit Inc.[26] as well as the board of advisors for Tulco, LLC.[27] He is also a member of the advisory council for the MIT Media Lab[28] and the external advisory committee for the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines (CBMM) at MIT.[29]