SOCIAL MEDIA
What is Frank McCourt’s net worth, the former Dodgers owner who wants to buy TikTok?
McCourt is thought to be spearheading this bid amidst the threat of a ban on TikTok in the United States.
Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has emerged as a prominent figure in the tech industry with his ambitious plans to acquire TikTok through his initiative, Project Liberty.
The billionaire’s net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $1.4 billion. He made his fortune primarily from the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 for $2.2 billion, netting him approximately $850 million in cash.
This sale came about after his management bankrupted the Dodgers in 2011. McCourt entered into a TV deal with Fox, which was rejected by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. This led to McCourt putting the Dodgers into bankruptcy in 2011, as he could not meet payroll, the team needing a loan from MLB to survive.
McCourt had a leg-up by being part of his family’s a Boston-based construction business. He graduated from Georgetown University with an economics degree in 1975 and began developing real estate in the Boston Seaport in the 1980s. McCourt attempted to buy the Boston Red Sox in 2001 but lost the bid.
He reportedly used 24 acres of land on the South Boston Waterfront as collateral to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 for $371 million.
Why does McCourt want to buy TikTok?
McCourt’s discontent with tech giants’ control over user data is not new. In an interview with Forbes, he expressed his desire to return control, choice, ownership, and rights to individuals.
“We have to break the model or evolve the model into one where it returns the control, the agency, the choice, the ownership and the rights to individuals,” he told them.
In 2021, he established Project Liberty, which focuses on research, policy advocacy, and technology investments to help people have more control over their data and digital identities. Project Liberty’s technology arm has been developing a Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP), an open-source protocol that would allow users to own their data and connect it across platforms.
“We can, and must, do more to safeguard the health and well-being of our children, families, democracy and society,” McCourt said in a statement surrounding his TikTok interest. “We believe we can preserve — and enhance — the TikTok experience by giving individuals and creators on the platform the value and control they deserve regarding who has access to their data and how it is used.”