logo
Who Is The Billionaire Making A Bid For The Tampa Bay Rays?

Who Is The Billionaire Making A Bid For The Tampa Bay Rays?

Forbes19-06-2025
By Thomas Gallagher
Patrick Zalupski

On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that a group led by Patrick Zalupski—a homebuilding billionaire–entered exclusive negotiations to buy the team from principal owner Stuart Sternberg. The price being discussed: $1.7 billion, according to Sportico.
The announcement comes amid uncertainty regarding the team's future in the Tampa Bay area following a series of failed stadium proposals–including plans for renovations of Tropicana Field or a new ballpark in St. Petersburg.
Now, ownership could be turned over to a group headed by the 44-year-old CEO of a publicly-traded developer. Zalupski, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $1.3 billion, is the founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a Jacksonville-based company that describes itself as one of the country's fastest-growing homebuilders.
Zalupski's group is in talks with Sternberg, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who purchased the Rays in 2004 with fellow Goldman Sachs partner Matthew Silverman for a reported $200 million. The two other buyers joining Zalupski, according to a Rays announcement, are Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage, and Ken Babby, the founder of the Fast Forward Sports Group and owner of two minor league baseball teams. Zalupski did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Forbes.
Born in the suburbs of Detroit, Zalupski's family moved frequently during his childhood, as Forbes first reported in 2021. After graduating with a degree in finance from Stetson University, he became an auditor at FedEx, a job he felt dispassionate about. When his parents divorced, his mother moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked as a realtor. Zalupski soon followed and began helping with her business. He flipped his first property in 2004 at age 24. Reinvesting the profits from the deal, he then bought a nine-unit condo project in 2006–just before the housing market crashed.
Despite taking a loss on the investment, the mistake formed the foundation of Dream Finders, which Zalupski cofounded with a construction partner, Mark McGuigan, and McGuigan's wife, Tobi, in 2008.
As the real estate market began to rebound following the financial crisis, Dream Finders built 27 homes the following year. By 2013, the company had sold a total of more than 1,000 homes, and Zalupski bought out the McGuigans for an undisclosed amount. Zalupski then expanded Dream Finders beyond Florida into Georgia, then Colorado and Texas. In 2021 he took the company public on the New York Stock Exchange. He owns about half the company's shares and has 84% of the voting rights.
The business has been profitable every year since its founding, Zalupski told Forbes in 2021. That remains true four years later, based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings. In its most recent year, Dream Finders closed on 38,000 homes and earned $335 million in net income on revenue of $4.4 billion.
More than 90% of Zalupski's estimated fortune lies in his Dream Finders shares, per Forbes calculations. Since taking the company public four years ago, he's sold about $20 million worth of his stock, plus has entered into more than one pre-paid forward only sale agreement. Just how he's going to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to finance the purchase isn't clear, though there is always the chance he pulled out dividends when the company was private. He'll also have partners and the group will likely borrow to fund the deal.
The Rays, meanwhile, have gone through a tough stretch. In 2024, the roof at the team's stadium, Tropicana Field, was destroyed by Hurricane Milton. For the 2025 season, the Rays elected to play home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training stadium, located nearby in St. Petersburg. It only seats 11,026, making it the smallest ballpark in Major League Baseball and roughly a quarter the size of Tropicana. With ticket sales down for the 2025 season and the foreseeable future, Zalupski's group might have a plan to turn the franchise around.
Despite being relegated to a stadium more compact than the Oakland A's, who are destined for relocation, billionaire Zalupski and his rich partners' potential ownership may be a needed shot in the arm for the team's stadium issues.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds
Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds

Tampa Bay Rays (53-50, fourth in the AL East) vs. Cincinnati Reds (53-50, third in the NL Central) Cincinnati; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Zack Littell (8-7, 3.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 83 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Martinez (8-9, 4.73 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 81 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rays -114, Reds -105; over/under is 9 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays hit the road against the Cincinnati Reds looking to break a four-game road losing streak. Cincinnati is 28-22 in home games and 53-50 overall. The Reds have gone 43-21 in games when they record at least eight hits. Tampa Bay has a 53-50 record overall and a 22-22 record in road games. The Rays rank 10th in the AL with 113 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game. The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has 19 doubles, three triples and 18 home runs for the Reds. Noelvi Marte is 10 for 34 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. Yandy Diaz has 19 doubles, a triple and 17 home runs for the Rays. Junior Caminero is 13 for 39 with a double, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .266 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs Rays: 3-7, .231 batting average, 4.49 ERA, outscored by three runs INJURIES: Reds: Ian Gibaut: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (flexor), Rhett Lowder: 60-Day IL (forearm), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (groin), Carson Spiers: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler Callihan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Julian Aguiar: 60-Day IL (elbow) Rays: Stuart Fairchild: 10-Day IL (oblique), Brandon Lowe: 10-Day IL (foot), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (forearm), Ha-Seong Kim: day-to-day (back), Hunter Bigge: 60-Day IL (lat), Richie Palacios: 60-Day IL (knee), Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds
Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds

Associated Press

timean hour ago

  • Associated Press

Rays aim to break 4-game road skid, play the Reds

Tampa Bay Rays (53-50, fourth in the AL East) vs. Cincinnati Reds (53-50, third in the NL Central) Cincinnati; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Zack Littell (8-7, 3.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 83 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Martinez (8-9, 4.73 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 81 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rays -114, Reds -105; over/under is 9 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays hit the road against the Cincinnati Reds looking to break a four-game road losing streak. Cincinnati is 28-22 in home games and 53-50 overall. The Reds have gone 43-21 in games when they record at least eight hits. Tampa Bay has a 53-50 record overall and a 22-22 record in road games. The Rays rank 10th in the AL with 113 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game. The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has 19 doubles, three triples and 18 home runs for the Reds. Noelvi Marte is 10 for 34 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. Yandy Diaz has 19 doubles, a triple and 17 home runs for the Rays. Junior Caminero is 13 for 39 with a double, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .266 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs Rays: 3-7, .231 batting average, 4.49 ERA, outscored by three runs INJURIES: Reds: Ian Gibaut: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Wade Miley: 15-Day IL (flexor), Rhett Lowder: 60-Day IL (forearm), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (groin), Carson Spiers: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler Callihan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Julian Aguiar: 60-Day IL (elbow) Rays: Stuart Fairchild: 10-Day IL (oblique), Brandon Lowe: 10-Day IL (foot), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (forearm), Ha-Seong Kim: day-to-day (back), Hunter Bigge: 60-Day IL (lat), Richie Palacios: 60-Day IL (knee), Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

This Magnificent Dividend Stock Continues to Deliver Powerful Growth
This Magnificent Dividend Stock Continues to Deliver Powerful Growth

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

This Magnificent Dividend Stock Continues to Deliver Powerful Growth

Key Points NextEra Energy delivered strong earnings growth in the second quarter, powered by robust renewable energy demand. The company remains on track to deliver high-end earnings growth through 2027. It should have plenty of power to continue growing beyond that time frame. 10 stocks we like better than NextEra Energy › NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) has done a magnificent job paying dividends over the years. The utility has raised its payout every year for more than three decades, growing it at a 10% compound annual rate since 2007. The company should have plenty of power to continue increasing its nearly 3%-yielding dividend. That's evident from its strong second-quarter results and visible growth outlook. Another quarter of powerful growth "NextEra Energy delivered strong second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share increasing by 9.4% year over year," stated CEO John Ketchum in the second-quarter earnings press release. The company delivered robust operating and financial performance at both its electric utility (FPL) and energy resources segment. FPL generated $1.3 billion ($0.62 per share) of net income in the second quarter, a 3.3% increase year over year. The Florida-based utility benefited from continued investment in its business, including $2 billion in capital spending during the second quarter. FPL is investing heavily to install solar panels to capitalize on the state's abundant sunshine. NextEra's energy resources segment posted nearly $1.1 billion ($0.53 per share) of adjusted net income, rising more than 25% year over year. New investments in renewable energy helped drive growth during the quarter. Over the past three months, the company placed 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of new wind, solar, and storage capacity into service. The powerful growth should continue NextEra's strong second quarter gave it the confidence to reaffirm its long-term outlook. It still targets 6% to 8% annual adjusted earnings per share growth from 2024 through 2027. It also expects to deliver about 10% annual dividend growth through at least next year. Ketchum said he would be "disappointed" if the company's financial results did not meet or exceed the top end of its expectations through 2027 while maintaining its strong balance sheet and credit ratings. Strong, growing demand for renewable energy underpins the company's confidence in its long-term growth outlook. NextEra's energy resources segment added 3.2 GW of new projects to its backlog during the second quarter, increasing it to nearly 30 GW of projects. That's a massive backlog, considering that this segment had 38 GW of operating capacity at the end of March. Technology and data center customers are major drivers of renewable energy demand. NextEra's energy resources segment added more than 1 GW of projects in the second quarter to support growing power demand from large data center operators. It now has about 6 GW of projects underway tied to technology and data center customers. When combined with its existing capacity serving this customer group, the company will eventually produce more than 10.5 GW of renewable power solely to support the technology sector. That's more than the generating capacity of many large power companies, and enough to support the energy needs of millions of U.S. homes. NextEra's growth likely won't slow after 2027. Forecasters expect U.S. electricity demand to surge in the coming decades, accelerating significantly from the modest growth rate of the past couple of decades. As a leader in renewable energy development, NextEra Energy is in a strong position to capitalize on this surge. Few companies can match NextEra's combination of scale, expertise, and financial strength, which it can leverage to deliver the low-cost renewable power its customers need to support their growing energy demand. A great dividend growth stock NextEra Energy's earnings are growing rapidly, a trend that should continue in the coming years, driven by strong demand for renewable energy. The company's earnings growth should give it ample fuel to continue increasing its high-yield dividend. That compelling combination of growth and income makes NextEra look like an excellent stock to buy and hold for the long term. Should you invest $1,000 in NextEra Energy right now? Before you buy stock in NextEra Energy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and NextEra Energy wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $641,800!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,023,813!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,034% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Matt DiLallo has positions in NextEra Energy. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends NextEra Energy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Magnificent Dividend Stock Continues to Deliver Powerful Growth was originally published by The Motley Fool

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store