Baseball has been one of the most favorite sports of American folks for years. It has a huge fanbase, and thus the annual Major League of Baseball draws hundreds of thousands of fans to the stadiums and the TV. Due to its popularity in the USA, baseball team members, coaches, and team owners have been able to earn billions of dollars. One such person is John Sherman.
Although John has become a somewhat known figure with his purchase of the Kansas City Royals, he did not start his career with baseball. The businessman had always been a great fan of the sport but was never directly involved in it. Fortunately for him, after years of earning millions of dollars from his own company, he was presented with a chance to purchase the MLB team. Then the rest is history.
So, let's find out more about the life of John Sherman leading up to the moment he gained the ownership of the KCR's.
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From A College Graduate To The Owner Of A Team
John J. Sherman was born in the mid-1950s. Although the entrepreneur has not let the public know about much of his life, it does seem like he came from a well-off family. Moreover, the fact that John was able to establish his own company, which was in no way a small-scaled company, means that the businessman could gather enough funding early on.
John Sherman joined the Ottawa University in Kansas. There, he was able to gain a degree, although the nature of the degree is not known to many. However, as the businessman has extensive knowledge about the market and economics, we assume that his degree correlated with business and economics.
Attending Ottawa must have made the owner of Kansas City Royals fall in love with the city. He loved Kansas so much that he decided to make the city his home and settle down there.
Power Companies
Not long after he graduated from Ottawa, the enthusiastic youth opened up his own start-up company, LPG Services Group. After some time, the company took off, bringing in a lot of success and capital to the now-billionaire. Then, in 1996, LPG Service Group merged with another power-related company named Dynergy.
In 1998, John Sherman established another company named Inergy, L.P. Inergy is a Kansas-based propane gas supplier that provides services in around 28 states in the USA. Made public in 2001, the company has seen immense growth in the industry and has its own holding company called Inergy Holdings. In 2010, the company was reported to be worth around $6 billion.
In 2013, Inergy L.P. merged with Crestwood Holdings. As a result of the merger, John Sherman got to be on the board of Crestwood Equity Partners, where the businessman continues to serve.
Buying Kansas City Royals
Many people were happy when they found out that the energy businessman was buying the Kansas City Royals and becoming its owner. On the other hand, people took to social media to show their distaste and disappointment in the situation. However, the deal had already been set, and on November 26, 2019, John Sherman was named the third owner of Kansas City Royals.
John Sherman led a team of investors to buy the company for $1 billion. Moreover, in an interview, the new owner revealed that he owned over 50% of the team's stocks but did not specify the exact amount.
Here is a video of John Sherman talking about baseball and his team.
Before he owned an entire MLB team, John Sherman was still involved in baseball. The businessman was a partner and had part-ownership of another baseball team, the Cleaveland Indians, since mid-2016, where he served as the vice-chairman. Moreover, the billionaire was a member of the Major League Baseball's Audit Committee.
John Sherman Net Worth And Earnings
Establishing and owning several multi-billion dollar businesses certainly is a sure-fire way to earn billions of dollars. As the owner of Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Times has estimated that John Sherman's net worth was around $1.25 billion in June of 2020.
The energy companies that John Sherman established and leads do exceptionally well in the market. Furthermore, Kansas City Royals is gaining more worth in the market with an annual appreciation rate of 2.5%. Meaning, as John bought the team for $1 billion in 2019, the team's worth increased to $1.025 billion in less than a year in 2020.
John Sherman has not been the favorite owner of Kansas City Royals, however, he has been able to maintain an upward streak in the worth of the team. Image Source: KCR's Twitter.
Furthermore, in the following year of 2021, the value of the team improved by 3.4% and reached $1.06 billion. Few other businessmen who are also MLB team owners and executives are Jerry Reinsdorf, Christopher Ilitch, and Bob Castellini.
It has been estimated that the MLB team will continue to grow its capital. And as a direct result, the businessman is sure to have a lot more money to his name thanks to his shares.
And with his growing business portfolio, there is no doubt John Sherman's net worth will see a considerable rise in the coming days.
John Sherman Has A Blissful Marriage
Although John Sherman has been cautious about the information regarding his personal life being released to the public, he has not hesitated to speak well of his partner. The founder of Inergy often speaks of his wife, Marny Sherman, very fondly. The power couple has been married for several decades, yet the billionaire does not fail to shower his soulmate with love at any given chance.
Due to the tight-lipped nature of the Ottawa University graduate, the public is unaware if Marny and John have any children. The pair have never spoken about kids and rarely share details about their lives.
However, in a The Kansas City Star article, a couple by the name of John and Marny Sherman has been named the adoptive parents of Tim Sherman. Could it be that Tim really is Marny and John Sherman's son? Or is it just some coincidence, what do you think?
The Charity Works Of John And Marny
John Sherman's wife, Marny, has a huge heart. She often encourages her husband to dedicate some of their riches to the needy. The lovely couple has been actively participating in charities that provide underprivileged people with educational opportunities. They are indeed working to make the world a better place by helping such people gain some start in life.
John Sherman and his wife, Marny are very dedicated to provide education for underprivileged people. Photo Source: Kansas CIty Royals' Facebook.
Moreover, as John's role as the chairman of the board of directors in the Truman Presidential Library Institute, a member of the board of directors in the UMKC Foundation and Teach for America Kansas City, he will have a deeper understanding of the need for education. Furthermore, as a trustee of the Kauffman Foundation and the National World War I Museum, the owner of KCR is indeed well traversed in the charitable field.
Trivia:
- John Sherman played American Football when he was a young man. He was a quarterback who played for the Braves football team at Ottawa.
- The businessman has been inducted in the hall of fame of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the Bloch School of Business Entrepreneurs.
