Theodore Lerner

Ted Lerner, the Washington real estate magnate who became the owner of the Washington Nationals a dozen years ago, ceded control of the club to his son, Mark in June 2018. After serving in the U.S. Army during the latter part of World War II, he attended The George Washington University on the G.I. Bill where he received his undergraduate degree. In 1947, he earned an L.L.B from The George Washington University Law School, where he met his future wife, Annette Morris, at a fraternity dance. While in law school, he sold homes on the weekends. In 1951 he founded Lerner Enterprises with a $250 loan from Annette. Today, Lerner Enterprises is the largest private landowner in the Washington area, having developed office, retail, hotel, entertainment and residential projects that include Tysons Corner Center, White Flint Mall, The Spectrum at Reston Town Center, Washington Square at Connecticut Avenue and L Street NW and Tysons II. The Lerner family is a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the sports investment group that owns the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champions Washington Capitals, WNBA Washington Mystics, NBA Washington Wizards, AFL Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade and the Capital One Arena. In addition, Lerner Enterprises is a partner in Chelsea Piers, a 30-acre sports and entertainment complex located on the Hudson River in New York City. Former lawyer borrowed $300 from wife to start real estate developer Lerner Enterprises in 1952. Made fortune building massive shopping malls in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.: Tysons Corner, Tysons II, Wheaton Plaza, Landover Mall, Dulles Town Center, White Flint. Today owns 20 million square feet of commercial, retail space and 7,000 apartments. Also owns stake in NYC's Chelsea Piers. Moving headquarters to a new "green" building in Maryland this month. Owns pro baseball's Washington Nationals and small stake in regional broadcaster Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Opened $600 million Nationals Park this season.