Home

MLB

Steve Cohen Once Used a Fraction of His $17.5 Billion Fortune to Buy a Hollywood Icon’s Friendship Before Mets Takeover

Published 12/26/2022, 2:52 PM EST

Follow Us

Crazy things are happening in the baseball world nowadays. Years before buying the New York Mets, billionaire Steve Cohen did one such thing, which many people might consider crazy. Some people like to splurge on various luxurious items. But Cohen decided to spend a fraction of his $17.5 billion worth fortune to buy the friendship of a Hollywood icon. But can friendship really be bought? Somehow, Cohen made it possible.

He paid an amount that might not seem big to him. But it could change other people’s lives to become an icon’s friend for a day. 

Who did Steve Cohen pay to become his friend?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Guy Ramsay Fiery in Hollywood is an American restaurateur, an author, and also an Emmy Award-winning television presenter. The spiky-haired chef has done a lot of shows. One of which is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. In this show, he goes on a road trip and visits diners, drive-in restaurants, and dive bars that are popular among the locals in the US.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest MLB stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

And when the Hedge fund manager Cohen watched the show, he decided to pay Fieri $100,000 to become his friend for a day in 2013. It all started with being friends for a day. But the odd couple eventually came close enough that the chef’s show featured the billionaire’s favorite hot dog spot.

How the day went for the two is known best to them only. But one can easily say that Steve Cohen is probably the most unpredictable personality. And it can be seen in his Mets’ ownership. Ever since taking over the Mets, Cohen has been doing everything in his capacity to make the Mets a heavy force in MLB. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

How did Cohen become the majority owner of the Mets?

Years before Cohen bought a big part of Mets’ shares, he had already bought a minority stake of 8% back in 2012. Then, fast-forwarding eight years, the businessman bought enough shares to hold 95 percent stakes in the team.

Watch this story: From Steve Cohen to Hal Steinbrenner- MLB team owners with the highest net worth in 2022

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

However, buying the team hasn’t come to him easily. He had been given tough competition from the ex-couple Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez’s led team. The duo was close to buying the Mets but in the end, couldn’t compete with Cohen’s bid of $2.4 billion. Thus, the billionaire became a 95% owner of Major League Baseball’s team, the New York Mets.

Do you think Cohen is the right owner for the Mets? Leave your comments below!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Rakshita Madan

1,412Articles

One take at a time

Rakshita Madan is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. She is an engineering graduate and is currently pursuing her MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai. Rakshita has experience in writing for more than four years now, with one of her writings even getting published in an anthology.
Show More>

Edited by:

Abhishek Kumar