Frank McCourt (executive)

This article is about the American executive born in 1953. For the Irish-American writer born in 1930, see Frank McCourt.

Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt
McCourt in 2016
Born
Frank H. McCourt Jr.

(1953-08-14) August 14, 1953 (age 71)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materGeorgetown University
Occupation(s)Executive Chairman of McCourt Global
Founder & Executive Chairman of Project Liberty
Owner of Olympique Marseille
Owner of Los Angeles Marathon
Former owner of Los Angeles Dodgers
Former owner of Global Champions Tour
Former owner of Miami Celtics
Years active1977–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 2011)​
Monica Algarra
​
(m. 2015)​
Children6

Frank H. McCourt Jr. (born August 14, 1953) is an American business executive and philanthropist.[1][2] As of 2023, he is the executive chairman and former CEO of McCourt Global,[3] owner of the football club Marseille and founder and executive chairman of international non-profit Project Liberty.[3] He was the owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium from 2004 to 2012.

In 2004, he purchased a controlling interest in the Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Prior to purchasing the Dodgers and moving to Los Angeles, McCourt was a Boston real estate developer, whose family resided in Brookline, Massachusetts.

In 2013, he donated $100 million to establish the McCourt School of Public Policy, the ninth school of Georgetown University. He made a second $100 million gift to Georgetown University in March 2021, for the express purpose of ensuring that "the McCourt School can open its doors more widely and build a pipeline of future public policy leaders that reflects the true diversity of our communities."[4][5]

In 2016, he purchased French Ligue 1 football club Olympique Marseille from Russian-born billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus.[6] The takeover was completed in August after months of negotiations.[7]

In 2021, he founded the non-profit Project Liberty.[8] The initiative has multiple components which includes the development of the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP), the founding of the McCourt Institute with founding academic partners Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Sciences Po in Paris, and a network of partners within the Unfinished network.[9]

In 2023, he transitioned from CEO of McCourt Global to executive chairman and announced Shéhérazade Semsar de Boisséson, former POLITICO Europe CEO, as McCourt Global's CEO.[3]

In 2024, he announced plans to build a consortium to buy the US arm of TikTok.[10]

  1. ^ Bobrow, Emily (October 8, 2021). "Frank McCourt Wants to Build a New Model for Social Media". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Frank McCourt". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. February 10, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Another Billionaire's Plan to Rebuild Social Media". Time. November 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Anderson, Nick (March 26, 2021). "Georgetown alum pledges second $100 million gift to public policy school". Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Frank McCourt Announces Bold $100 Million Investment to Build Inclusive Pipeline of Policy Leaders, Reduce Tuition Barriers at Georgetown University's McCourt School". PRNewswire (Press release). Cision. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Formers Dodgers owner Frank McCourt completes takeover of Marseille". ESPN. October 17, 2016.
  7. ^ "Frank McCourt completes purchase of Marseille, pledges return to glory". Sports Illustrated. October 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "A Real Estate Mogul Has a $100 Million Plan to Save the Internet". Bloomberg. June 20, 2021 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  9. ^ Davenport, Tom. "Transforming The Internet With Project Liberty". Forbes.
  10. ^ "Tech critic McCourt mounts TikTok bid | Semafor". www.semafor.com. May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.