Wes Edens Scores Again: An American Financial Mastermind Takes on British Soccer

It makes sense that Wes Edens just became an owner of a storied soccer team, the Aston Villa Football Club of Birmingham, England. After all, this transaction combines two of Wes’ passions: sports and major business deals.

A Soccer Team With Goals

Wes’ partner in this endeavor is Nassef Sawiris, a billionaire businessman and Egypt’s wealthiest citizen. Together, they’re the team’s majority owners; their stake amounts to about 55 percent. The English Football League (EFL) has approved this sale.

To be more precise, Wes and Nassef own the company that owns the majority stake in the team. It’s called NSWE, and it bought its share of Aston Villa for around $39 million. Meanwhile, Tony Xia, Aston Villa’s previous majority owner, has been named the team’s co-chairman, and he’ll stay on its board. Tony, an entrepreneur from China, had purchased this team in 2016. As you may have guessed, it’s now common for foreign investors to own British soccer teams.

The future of the Aston Villa Football Club looks bright. It currently competes in the English Football League Championship, but it may be able to join the Premier League soon. The Premier League, which Aston Villa was a member of for 29 years, is the most prestigious soccer league in the United Kingdom. It enjoys massive popularity around the globe.

Indeed, when Aston Villa dropped out of the Premier League, it cost the team a significant amount of revenue. Not to mention, if this team had defeated the Fulham Football Club in a playoff game in May 2018, it would have already qualified for Premier League reentry. For sure, losing that game and the chance to rejoin that top league was a demoralizing experience for everyone involved.

As a historical note, the Aston Villa Soccer Club started playing its home games in Birmingham’s Villa Park in 1887. At one time, an amusement park occupied that land. These days, the team’s stadium can seat more than 42,000 screaming fans.

Wes and Nassef are excited to help Aston Villa reach its full potential. The first step will be a comprehensive analysis of the team’s players, management, training methods, practices, and so on. The new owners will no doubt search for new soccer stars as well, powerhouse athletes who can carry the team to glory once again.

Wes Is More

At this point, you might be wondering: Who is Wes Edens?

Wesley Robert Edens attended Oregon State University, where he majored in finance. After he graduated from that school in 1984, Wes worked for some of the most prestigious financial institutions in America. To wit, he found employment at California Savings and Loan, Merrill Lynch, and Smith Barney. He was a managing director at Lehman Brothers between 1987 and 1993. At Lehman Brothers, he specialized in mortgage trading.

Then, in 1993, BlackRock hired Wes to manage one of its subsidiaries: BlackRock Financial Management. He also served as a managing director at UBS, which brought him aboard in 1997. At UBS, Wes specialized in finding troubled assets that were worth investing in.

By working at a number of companies in a number of positions, Wes gained a wide variety of management skills. He would put all of the lessons he learned in those workplaces to brilliant use in 1998, when he and two partners founded Fortress Investment Group, a company that’s still thriving today.

Wes joined Fortress’ management committee in 1998 and its board of directors in 2006. Today, he’s also the company’s co-CEO and chief investment offer. In the latter role, he looks for promising assets to fund, focusing on industries like real estate, transportation, and healthcare.

When Fortress Investment Group went public in 2007, Wes’ share of the company was valued at approximately $2.3 billion. That stake represented a little more than 18 percent of the company.

Wes isn’t all business, however. For one thing, he’s a true family man: Lynn and Wes Edens have raised four kids. Plus, he’s a runner, an equestrian, a mountain climber, and a basketball fan. It’s no surprise, then, that he became an owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2004, he and a partner paid $550 million for their portion of that team. For this deal to go through, they had to promise not to move the Bucks out of Wisconsin.

Over the years, Wes has become a prolific philanthropist, and he’s already given away millions of dollars. He’s particularly interested in supporting organizations that are dedicated to healthcare and education, and he has a fondness for art.

Among the many groups that have benefited from Wes’ generosity are the following: Autism Speaks, Environmental Advocates of New York, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Lymphoma Research Foundation, and the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation.

Certain characteristics have long been hallmarks of the life and career of Wes Edens. He’s always been daring, tenacious, and imaginative. He’s been able to find lucrative deals in places where few people would even think to look. He consistently works hard, and he’s committed to his family and community. There’s no doubt that all of these qualities will be helpful as Wes tackles his newest project: restoring the Aston Villa Football Club to the prominence it once enjoyed.