Tom Gores may be known as a part owner of the Detroit Pistons, but the Beverly Hills-based Platinum Equity owner is buying a team closer to home: the Los Angeles Chargers.
Gores has agreed to purchase a 27% stake in the football team. The deal is expected to be approved next month at an NFL owners’ meeting.
Gores is buying a 24% stake in the team held by Dea Spanos Berberian and 1% each from Dean Spanos, Alexis Spanos Ruhl and Michael Spanos.
The Spanos family has been in a lawsuit since Spanos Berberian filed a lawsuit against Dean Spanos, the team’s controlling owner, in 2021 accusing him breach of fiduciary duty and tried to force a sale. The dispute has been settled as part of the sale.
Gores is one of the wealthiest people in L.A. with a net worth of roughly $8.8 billion. He is featured on page 28 of this year’s Wealthiest Angelenos section.
The Chargers are worth an estimated $5.1 billion this year, up from $4.2. billion the previous year. The purchase of a stake in the team, if approved, could lead to increases in Gore’s wealth in future editions of Wealthiest Angelenos.
• • •
Zoë Ryan has been named the next director of the Hammer Museum. She will take the helm of the museum on Jan. 1.
Longtime director Ann Philbin announced last year that she would be retiring after 25 years with the institution.
“It has been the most extraordinary journey of my life to lead the Hammer Museum for the last 25 years, and I am excited to hand the baton to Zoë Ryan to lead the museum into its next chapter. Zoë is a truly great choice and will be supported by a brilliant staff, a committed board, a vibrant university ecosystem, and an incredible community of artists. I wish her nothing but success,” Philbin said.
Ryan is currently at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has been the Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director since 2020.
“Annie Philbin has had an extraordinary impact in making the Hammer an internationally influential institution; I am thrilled and honored to lead this museum and be a part of the vibrant creative communities of Los Angeles,” yan said in a statement.
“I am thrilled to welcome Zoë to the Hammer Museum and look forward to her leadership and collaboration with the museum’s board, staff, UCLA, and the many artists who make up the Hammer’s community,” added Marcy Carsey, chair of the Hammer Museum at UCLA’s Board of Directors.
• • •
Late last month Diana Jarrar, founder of Westwood-based Magic Dates, won first place in SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition at The Kimpton Everly Hotel in Hollywood. SCORE provides a platform for small business owners.
Magic Dates offers plant-based snacks made from dates and other ingredients.
As the winner of the competition, Jarrar was given a $20,000 price which will be used to scale inventory and production, establish influencer partnerships and boost online marketing efforts.
