2. Los Angeles Clippers, NBA – $2 billion by Steve Ballmer in 2014
In the aftermath of a series of racist phone messages by Clippers owner Donald Sterling that were made public, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the NBA for life and stripped him of his ownership rights in the league. When Sterling initially refused to sell the team, his wife Shelly Sterling took him to court and won the rights to negotiate a sale of the team.
That opened the door for former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (with a net worth of over $20 billion) – who had two previous failed bids to buy the Seattle SuperSonics and the Oklahoma City Thunder – to blow all other bids out of the water with a $2 billion bid that was considered at least $500 million or more than any other bid for the team.
In his first year as the Clippers owner, Ballmer gained a reputation for going crazy on the sidelines as the team went to the Western Conference Semifinals – their 5th appearance in team history. But the team ultimately failed to win the series against the Houston Rockets despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series.
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