Thomas S. "Tom" Ricketts (born May 23, 1966) is the chairman and owner of the Chicago Cubs, and the chief executive officer of Incapital LLC, a Chicago investment bank that packages corporate bonds for retail investors. He is also a director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation as well as the son of Ameritrade founder J. Joseph Ricketts. Forbes estimate of the Ricketts's family wealth ($1 billion), consolidated under J. Joseph Ricketts name, placed the family at #371 on the Forbes 400 list.
In January 2009, a Ricketts family bid led by Thomas Ricketts was chosen as the winning bidder for the Chicago Cubs. The bid was estimated to total around $875 million for the team and related assets. The sale was approved unanimously by the owners of the other 29 Major League Baseball teams that October. Ricketts was introduced as the chairman of the Cubs on October 31, 2009. The transaction closed in late October 2009. All four siblings (Pete, Tom, Laura, and Todd) and both parents share interest in the team through their family trust.
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Background
Ricketts is the son of Marlene Margaret (Volkmer) and J. Joseph Ricketts, who founded Ameritrade when Tom was eight years old. Ricketts Senior let it be known that he wanted his children to establish themselves through their own hard work and would not be allowed to join TD Ameritrade until they reached the age of 30.
Ricketts is one of four children. His brother J. Peter Ricketts, who lives in Omaha, is the 40th and current Governor of Nebraska and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Nebraska. Younger sister Laura Ricketts, a lawyer, developed and runs Ecotravel.com and serves on the board of directors of Lambda Legal. Laura, Todd Ricketts, Tom Ricketts and his wife Cecelia and their five children all live in Wilmette, Illinois.
University of Chicago
In 1984, Ricketts moved from Omaha to Chicago in order to attend the University of Chicago. Just out of high school, he moved in with his younger brother Peter, also a student at the University of Chicago. Ricketts received a bachelor's degree from the university in 1988 and returned to receive his Master of Business Administration in 1993. Ricketts's relationship with the university continued after graduation with reception of the Distinguished Young Alumni award from the university's Graduate School of Business. The award is presented for, among other things, recognition of extraordinary career success, outstanding leadership, and influence in the business community to support the school and current students. In addition, as an alumnus Ricketts has been generous with donations to the university. This has included both volunteering his time and establishing an endowment for the New Year Scholarship Fund. Named after his joy of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the scholarship not only funds promising students but also allows for those students to meet with Ricketts and the other members of the endowment.
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Chicago Cubs
In April 2007, Sam Zell announced his intention to acquire the Chicago-based Tribune Company. After acquiring the Tribune, Zell announced that he would sell the Cubs and related entities including Wrigley Field and a 25% share of SportsNet Chicago. Under bankruptcy protection, the sale of the Cubs and the 25% interest in SportsNet Chicago would raise needed funds for the ailing Tribune company. The Ricketts family bid, headed by Thomas S. Ricketts, was selected as the winning bid on January 22, 2009. The family bid included all four siblings (Peter, Tom, Laura, and Todd) and both parents. Forbes estimated that the ownership stake in the Chicago Cubs represents $642 million out of the total $900 million bid made by Ricketts.
Tom Ricketts has said that his love for the Chicago Cubs started during the 1984 season when he was 18 years old and moved to Chicago to attend university. Later, Tom and his brother Pete lived in an apartment over the "Sports Corner" at Addison and Sheffield, across the street from Wrigley Field. He met his wife Cecelia in the Wrigley bleachers and simply states that "my family and I are Cubs fans". The bid was reviewed by Major League Baseball and other stake holders. Although several close friends told the press about Ricketts's deep love for the Cubs, the Ricketts family decided not to court media attention until the bid was accepted by all parties.
On July 6, 2009, the Chicago Tribune reported that Tom Ricketts and family had reached an agreement with the Tribune Company to purchase the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and 25% of Comcast SportsNet Chicago for close to $900 million, as was originally reported. The contract was sent to commissioner Bud Selig for approval. Final approval came by a unanimous vote of the other MLB owners in an October 6, 2009 conference call. On October 27, 2009, the Ricketts family, with Thomas S. Ricketts as board chairman, officially took over 95% ownership of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, and 25% ownership of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Tribune opted to retain a 5% ownership stake in the team.
Business history
With his father J. Joseph Ricketts and his brother J. Peter Ricketts, Thomas Ricketts currently serves as a director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. In addition he serves as chairman and CEO of Incapital LLC. Ricketts spent one summer early in life working at TD Ameritrade, giving customers stock quotes over the phone. This was his only work experience with the company before being invited to join as a director later in life.
Mesirow Financial and ABN AMRO
When Ricketts finished undergraduate studies (1988), he joined the Chicago Board Options Exchange as a market maker. Ricketts held this position until 1994, shortly after finishing his MBA. From 1995 to 1996, he served as vice president with Mesirow Financial until moving to ABN AMRO as vice president in their brokerage division. Ricketts is credited with pioneering the idea of using the Internet and other technologies to help companies sell their investment-grade bonds directly to retail investors, as opposed to limiting sales only to institutions. He helped launch the first successful version of this system while at ABN AMRO. In 1999 he left ABN AMRO to found Incapital.
Incapital LLC
Thomas Ricketts co-founded Chicago-based Incapital LLC in 1999. The securities and investment banking firm has since expanded with two additional offices in Boca Raton, Florida and London, England. Currently, Ricketts serves as Incapital chairman and chief executive officer. Forbes describes the company as a "technologically-oriented investment bank focused exclusively on the underwriting and distribution of fixed income products to individual investors. Incapital underwrites for several major U.S. corporations through its InterNotesSM product platform".
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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