Ted Lerner Biography

Theodore N. "Ted" Lerner (born October 15, 1925 in Washington, DC) is an American real estate developer and managing principal owner of the Washington Nationals baseball team. As of September 2012, Ted Lerner is number 100 on the Forbes 400 list, and number 344 on Forbes "The World's Billionaires List" with an estimated net worth of US$3.9 Billion. The majority of Lerner's wealth was generated by Lerner Enterprises, the real estate firm he started in 1952, with a $212 loan from his wife. The company is the largest private landowner in the Washington, DC area, with a wide portfolio of commercial, retail, residential and hotel properties, as well as Chelsea Piers in New York.

Background

Lerner was raised in a Jewish family in Northwest Washington D.C. After graduating high school in 1943, Lerner served with the U.S. Army through the end of World War II. He then went on to attend The George Washington University, where he received first an Associate of Arts and later an LLB from The George Washington University Law School. Lerner and his wife, Annette M. Lerner, married on June 17, 1951

Personal life

Theodore N. and Annette M. Lerner have three children: Mark D. Lerner, Debra Lerner Cohen and Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, they married Judy Lenkin Lerner, Edward L. Cohen, and Robert K. Tanenbaum respectively. Ted Lerner has nine grandchildren.

His daughter, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, is president of The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation and chair of the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation. The family are the sole owners and heirs of Lerner Enterprises. They own the vast majority of the Washington Nationals.

Lerner Enterprises

Lerner Enterprises is a real estate business founded in 1952 by Ted Lerner in Rockville, Maryland, United States, and operates primarily throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolis. The company was started from a $212 loan from his wife. Lerner Enterprises is the largest private landowner in the Washington, D.C. region.

Among the Lerner Enterprises ventures is a partnership in Chelsea Piers, a sports and entertainment complex on the Hudson River in New York City; the Tysons II commercial development; shopping centers including White Flint and Dulles Town Center; and thousands of homes and apartments, along with numerous office buildings. Lerner also played a role in developing other shopping centers in the Washington area, including Tysons Corner Center and Wheaton Plaza.

The headquarters of Lerner Enterprises in Rockville, MD was the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certified multi-tenant commercial building in the D.C. area and has been the recipient of multiple design and environmental awards.

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals franchise was formerly owned and operated by Major League Baseball from February 15, 2002 until the official transfer of ownership on July 24, 2006. The Lerner Family is the majority owner of the franchise, controlling over 90% of the shares.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment

The Lerner Family is also a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL Washington Capitals, WNBA Washington Mystics, NBA Washington Wizards, and Verizon Center.

Charitable giving

The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation provides support to many organizations, including: Food and Friends; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Shady Grove Adventist Hospital; Hadley's Park; the Weizmann Institute of Science; the Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Washington; YouthAids; Junior Achievement of the Greater Washington Area; the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School; and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, among many others. Ted and his wife Annette are founding members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The American Academy of Achievement awarded Ted Lerner the Golden Plate Award of Excellence in 1990.

The campus of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD is named in his and wife's honor after a multi-million dollar donation to the school.

The lunch room in the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy was donated by the Lerner Family. The family has also donated the Lerner Family Health and Wellness Center and Theodore Lerner Hall at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Along with the Lerner Center at Hebrew University in Israel.

The family donated the theater at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD.

Notable achievements

• 1990 American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award of Excellence
• Elected to the Washington Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area in 2003
• Elected to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.