Five things you might not know about Liverpool’s new owner John W Henry

In the wake of a new era for Liverpool football club, JOE tells you five things you may not know about their likely new owner, John W Henry.

By Conor Hogan

1. He’s a farm boy

Henry was born in Quincy Illinois, the son of farmers and took over the family farm in his mid 20s. He used his knowledge of farming as he entered into commodity trading in the 70s and 80s. He made his money trading corn and soya-beans.

2. He’s rich but no Abramovich

€617 million might seem a lot to the average man on the street, but compared to other owners in England he’s practically a pauper.

Tottenham’s Joe Louis has over €2 billion, Manchester City’s Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has €3.5 billion, Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich is worth over €6 billion, while QPR’s Lakshmi Mittal has a net worth of €14 billion.

3. He’s been successful with a team who hadn’t won in a while before

It’s been a trying time for Liverpool fans. After winning 11 league titles in 37 years, Liverpool have now gone 20 years without one. Reds fans can take solace in another Sports team’s situation, however.

After selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1918, Baseball team the Boston Red Socks were to go 86 years without winning a World Series. The ‘Curse of the Bambino’ was ended in 2004, less than three years after one John W Henry purchased the team. They repeated the feat in 2007.

4. He knows what to do with a stadium

While Gillett and Hicks failed to fulfill promises about a proposed move from Anfield to Stanley Park, Fenway Park, the iconic stadium where the Boston Red Sox play their home games, was renovated under Henry’s stewardship.

Fenway Park was fitted with more seats and better facilities and helped attract more funds and importantly, more money to the club.

5. Liverpool are not his first sporting interest

The purchase of Liverpool is not the first time Henry has had financial interest in a sports team. After starting off in the minor baseball leagues, he has been involved in some capacity with the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets basketball teams, the New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox baseball teams.

In 2007, he also purchased a 50% stake in Roush Racing, a leading team on the NASCAR racing circuit, who won their first Daytona 500 in February 2009 through Matt Kenseth.