A biographical look at pro sports owner Tom Hicks

A biographical look at pro sports owner Tom Hicks

A biographical look at pro sports owner Tom Hicks:

BORN: February 1946 in Dallas.

EXPERIENCE: Spent early part of his career working for venture capital banks in New York and Texas. … Formed private equity partnership in 1984 with Bobby Haas, a lawyer turned venture capitalist. Big-name deals included Dr Pepper and 7UP. … Co-founded private equity firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst in 1989 and ran the nationally prominent company until 2004. … Bought NHL’s Dallas Stars for $84 million in 1996 and MLB’s Texas Rangers for $250 million in 1998. … Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. bought English soccer club Liverpool for $431 million in 2007. Each owns half. … Hicks now runs Hicks Holdings LLC, a family firm that owns his pro sports teams and other interests.

EDUCATION: Business degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (bachelor’s) and the University of Southern California (master’s).

FAMILY: He and his wife, Cinda, have two children. Hicks has four children from a previous marriage.

NOTABLE: Hicks’ father owned several radio stations, and Hicks worked as a disc jockey in Port Arthur, Texas, when he was young. … Hicks is a former member of the UT Board of Regents and once managed the school’s lucrative Permanent University Fund. He played a role in luring football coach Mack Brown to Texas, which won a national championship in 2005.