“I will never stop being a Celtic,” said Steve Pagliuca when predicting that he might not be successful in securing a bid for the Boston-based franchise. Sure enough, the Grousbecks decided to ignore the former co-owner and instead sell the Celtics for a record $6.1 billion to Massachusetts native William Chisholm. Fortunately, Pagliuca continues to remain the team’s minority owner. Furthermore, it didn’t take long for him to move on to another team, as a consortium led by him recently reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun for a record $325 million and move the team to Boston! Shifting a team to another city always involves additional hefty costs. Pagliuca realizes this and is reportedly willing to contribute $100 million for a new practice facility in Boston.

You certainly are more than ‘financially sound’ if you can make a bid for an NBA franchise, purchase a WNBA team, and relocate it to another city all within the same year. So let’s find out how deep are Pagliuca’s pockets.

What is Steve Pagliuca’s Net Worth?

According to reports, Steve Pagliuca is currently worth $450 million.

Steve Pagliuca’s Career Earnings

The exact breakdown of Pagliuca’s career earnings is not available. However, we do know that a majority of his wealth has been secured thanks to his role as a private equity investor and co-chairman of Bain Capital. This Boston-based private investment firm reportedly manages over $185 billion worth of assets. Over the last 36 years, he has acquired substantial equity interests in major companies through the company. The same contributed to his portfolio in the form of dividends and stock appreciation.

The Boston Celtics isn’t the only sports team in which the millionaire holds a stake. Back in early 2022, Pagliuca, together with a group of investors, acquired a 55% stake in the Italian soccer team, Atalanta BC. Pagliuca was named the co-chairman of the club, ensuring that he has a revenue stream generated from the soccer club as well.

Steve Pagliuca has also held several management roles over the last couple of decades. He has previously served as a director of Warner Chilcott, Ltd., HCA Inc., Quintiles Transnational Corp., M/C Communications, FCI, S.A., and Burger King Holdings Inc.. He has also held a position on the boards of Gartner, Inc., The Weather Channel, LLC, and Physio-Control, Inc.

Steve Pagliuca’s Education and Career

According to the article by The Bernardsville News, which covered Pagliuca losing his bid for a Senate seat, he is a graduate of Ridge High School, located in New Jersey. He is a member of the Class of 1973. Eventually, he went on to receive a B.A. from Duke University in 1977 and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1982. We don’t know what effect the two schools had on him, but later in life, Pagliuca became a member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees. As highlighted by his official HCA profile, Steve Pagliuca began his career as a senior accountant and international tax specialist for Peat Marwick Mitchell & Company, located in the Netherlands. The firm later merged with KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) in 1987 and became ‘KPMG’ (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler).

Pagliuca joined Bain & Company in 1982. His primary role within the organization involved managing client relationships in the information services and healthcare industries, along with advising several Fortune 500 companies on strategies and growth initiatives. By 1989, he had joined Bain Capital and became instrumental in launching and managing major investments. After becoming co-chairman, he also took up the role of senior advisor.

Pagliuca was one of the many investors, who also included Irving and Wyc Grousbeck, who, back in 2003, worked together to form the Boston Basketball Partners. The group acquired the Boston Celtics for $360 million. Knowing the price at which it was sold, you could say that the investment was among the best the group could have made. Along with being the co-owner, Pagliuca also served as a managing partner and member of the executive committee of the team. He was also a member of the Board of Governors and the Competition Committee for the NBA league.

Now, after decades worth of experience in dealing with equity and roles as co-chairman, the millionaire is set to lead his own sports team. It will be interesting to see how his new venture progresses.