Who is William Chisholm and where does his fortune come from? This is the billionaire and new owner of the Boston Celtics

We have all dreamed of it. Only a handful get to live that dream. William Chisholm is a billionaire business man and a life long Boston Celtics fan. He’s not just a fan any more. He’s the new owner of the NBA’s winningest franchise.

First tech, then the Celtics

The deal went down on Thursday morning for a record breaking $6.1 billion dollars, more than any sports franchise has been bought for in North America. Chisolm has been “raising” the funds to buy his favorite team for years. In 2002, he co-founded a tech investing company called Symphony Technology Group.

He was the chief investment officer and a managing partner at the start up turned multi billion dollar company. He also bought a few existing companies like McAfee Enterprises and FireEye under STG, before combining the two which have formed Trellix which is a cybersecurity company. As of two years ago, the company was valued at $10 billion, which was more than enough to start pondering a majority stake in the Celtics.

The new C’s owner is a not only a “die-hard” Celtics fans from day one, he is also a native of the area. He grew up in the North Shore region of Massachusetts and went to Dartmouth College and then studied strategic management at The Wharton School where he got his MBA.

A chip off the ole’ block

Chisholm was a consultant for a firm before launching into the tech world, but he struck gold once he made the change at the beginning of the century. Now he will have a team to run with a new ownership group that includes other Boston businessmen, Rob Hale, and Bruce Beal Jr.

Related stories

NBA

Luka Doncic sinks insane tunnel shot in warmups before Lakers game

NBA

NBA’s top 5 most valuable teams

“Growing up on the North Shore and attending college in New England, I have been a die-hard Celtics fan my entire life,” Chisholm said in a statement shortly after the news broke. “I understand how important the Celtics are to the city of Boston – the role the team plays in the community is different than any other city in the country. I also understand that there is a responsibility as a leader of the organization to the people of Boston, and I am up for this challenge.

The price of the Celtics eclipsed the sale of the Washington Redskins, which was bought for $6.05 billion by Josh Harris back in 2023. Meanwhile the most ever paid for a control stake of an NBA team was $4 billion, paid by Mat Ishbia when he bought the Phoenix Suns a couple of years ago.