George Leon Argyros (born February 4, 1937) is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain. He is also a real estate investor and philanthropist. Argyros was the owner of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners from 1981 to 1989. He is the founder and CEO of property firm Arnel & Affiliates.
Early and personal life
Argyros was born on February 4, 1937, in Detroit, Michigan, but raised in Pasadena, California. Argyros is a second-generation American citizen; his grandparents emigrated from Greece. Argyros graduated from Chapman University The university's college of business and economics is named after him.
Business
Argyros made his fortune in real estate investments. He originally started his business career running a strip mall and moved on to buying and selling real estate to gas stations. He also was involved in buying and selling property in Southern California. From 1981 to 1989, he was the owner of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.
Argyros has done business through the real estate company Arnel & Affiliates (DBA "Arnel Property Management Company"). Arnel & Affiliates does business primarily in Southern California. Argyros has a net worth around $3 billion and owns around 5,500 apartments in Orange County and nearly 2 million square feet of commercial real estate in Southern California.
In 1981, Argyros and fellow Orange County developer William Lyon bought Newport Beach-based airline AirCal for $61.5 million, later selling it to American Airlines in 1987 for $225 million. His appointment came after his fundraising efforts for the Republican Party, including raising $30 million for the 2000 campaign of George W. Bush. He was the ambassador through November 2004.
Baseball
In early 1981, Argyros bought the Seattle Mariners for $13 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The trade of pitcher Mark Langston had him described by one newspaper columnist as the "miserly, mean-spirited owner" of the team. In the 1987 MLB draft, Argyros had to be convinced to draft Ken Griffey Jr with the first pick, as he wanted California native Mike Harkey. Gradually, management convinced him to go with Griffey, who would become a future Hall of Famer.
Argyros publicly tried to purchase the San Diego Padres in 1987 and sell the Mariners to local buyers, but he could not finalize a deal with Padres owner Joan Kroc. During the failed purchase attempt, Argyros was fine $10,000 for congratulating Padres manager Larry Bowa after being told not to talk to Padres personnel.
Argyros sold the Mariners to Jeff Smulyan in August 1989, with the team now valued at $76.1 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Earlier that year, the Mariners pulled its advertising from a Seattle radio station that broadcast a parody song, co-written by Jimmy Kimmel, criticizing Argyros.
Philanthropy
In October 2013, Argyros and his wife Julia announced two $1 million donations benefiting the arts in her hometown of Adrian, Michigan. One was to help kick off a $3.5 million capital campaign for the Croswell Opera House and another was to benefit a fine arts education endowment through the Adrian Schools Educational Foundation.
Argyros' foundation pledged $7.5 million in January 2018 to build a plaza in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. and a performing arts center in Ketchum, Idaho.
Argyros is a trustee of his alma mater Chapman University He was on the board of directors of the Richard Nixon Foundation. He was a board member for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
See also
- List of billionaires