Who is the Brooklyn Nets owner? Get to know Joseph Tsai

Here is all the pertinent information you need to know about Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai.

Joseph Tsai has owned the Brooklyn Nets since buying the NBA franchise from Mikhail Prokhorov back in September 2019.

Tsai initially got into the major sports franchise ownership game in 2017 when he purchased a 49 percent stake in the Nets from Prokhorov. This 49 percent stake cost him roughly $2.3 billion. At the time of buying a minority share in the Nets, he had an option to purchase the franchise outright from Prokhorov entirely no later than 2021. Tsai took him up on the offer two years later.

By paying an additional $1 billion to Prokhorov, Tsai took control of the Nets in September 2019.

Brooklyn Nets owner: Who is Joseph Tsai?

Tsai was born on Taipei, Taiwan in January 1964. He first came to the United States at 13-years-old to attend boarding school. This is where he first developed his interest in North American sports, as he played football and lacrosse. Tsai went to college at Yale, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics in 1986. He played lacrosse all four years of college while he was in New Haven.

Tsai would stay at Yale to get his law degree, one that helped him initially begin a career in private equity investments. Then in 1999, that is when Tsai became a co-founder of Chinese technological company Alibaba. Being Western educated, he played an integral part in Alibaba’s finances initially as COO and CFO. Alibaba became one of the biggest companies in the world in the 21st century.

Tsai holds dual citizenship in Hong Kong and Canada. Besides owning the Nets, he is the majority owner of the WNBA’s New York Liberty and the NLL’s San Diego Seals. Tsai has been award the 15th expansion franchise in Las Vegas and continues to be a staunch supporter in growing the game of lacrosse internationally. He also is an investor in MLS’ LAFC on the soccer side of things.

While Tsai is a major investor in North American sports, he is best known for owning the Nets because of his co-founding role within Chinese tech company Alibaba.