Chamath Palihapitiya has its remaining interest in the Golden State Warriorsthe billionaire venture capitalist and proponent of SPAC said today on Twitter. The founder of Social Capital said he sold a first tranche in December and his remaining equity last week. in Dec, Sporty reported that Arctos increased its stake in the Warriors from 5% to 13% at a valuation of approximately $5.5 billion.
The team had no comment on the sale by Palihapitiya.
More from Sportico.com
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber led a group that bought the Warriors for $450 million in late 2010. Palihapitiya joined the ownership group months later, saying he invested $25 million for a 10% stake in the team; debt pushed the team’s enterprise value over $400 million.
On the pitch, the club started behind the foundation of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. In 2015, it won the franchise’s first NBA title in four decades and captured the fourth title of the Lacob era last month.
The court’s results were equally strong. Rising sponsorship and ticket revenue was further boosted with the opening of the Chase Center in 2019. The deep playoff run is expected to push the team’s 2021-22 revenues to more than $800 million, before revenues drop. shared, and an NBA club record. In January, Sporty valued the team at $6.03 billion in its NBA Team Ratings report, second behind the New York Knicks.
In January Palihapitiya . came under fire for his comment on The all-in podcast that “nobody cares” about the genocide of the Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang region. “Of all the things I care about, it’s below my line,” he said on the podcast.
“I recognize that I encountered a lack of empathy,” Sri Lankan-born Palihapitiya, who grew up in Canada and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, said in a statement after he faced rapid responses from government officials and human rights defenders.
The Warriors quickly distanced themselves from Palihapitiya’s comments. “As a limited investor who does not hold day-to-day operational roles with the Warriors, Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly do not align with those of our organization,” the team said in a statement:†
Palihapitiya was worth $1.2 billion in spring 2021, according to Forbesbut fell off the magazine’s billionaires list in 2022.