Ted Lerner, a real estate magnate in Washington, D.C., and the former principal owner of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals died at age 97 on Sunday. Lerner’s passing was confirmed by a team spokesperson to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.

As a young man, Lerner worked as an usher for Washington Senators games since he could rarely afford to attend games. So purchasing the Nationals in 2006 from MLB “fulfilled a lifelong dream” for him, according to Adam Bernstein and Matt Schudel of the Post.

Here is everything to know about Ted Lerner:

Ted Lerner net worth

He and his family have an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He won a bidding war to purchase Washington Nationals back in 2006 for $450 million. Ahead of the 2022 season, it was later listed as MLB’s 12th-most valuable franchise with a value of $2 billion.

Ted Lerner wife

Ted married Annette M. Lerner in 1951. She supported many charitable causes along with her husband. Together, they donated funds to a number of organizations such as The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Food and Friends, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, and Hadley’s Park. Annette had loaned $250 to Ted for starting his real estate company Lerner Enterprises.

Ted Lerner career

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

The Lerner family is also a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League, the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association, and Capital One Arena.

Ted Lerner family

Ted was born into an orthodox Jewish family. His parents were immigrants from Palestine and Lithuania.

Apart from his wife, he is survived by three children, Mark Lerner and Debra Lerner Cohen. Mark is one of the representative members of the Lerner family and is the main owner of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. Debra is married to Edward Cohen and together they share ownership of the Washington Nationals. Marla Lerner Tanenbaum is one of the principal owners of the Washington Nationals and the chairperson of the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation.

Ted also has a brother Lawrence and a sister, Esther.