What is Arturo Moreno's Net Worth?
Arturo Moreno is an American businessman who has a net worth of $5 billion. Arturo Moreno is perhaps best known for being the first Mexican-American to own a major American sports team. A long-time owner of a minor league team, in 2001, Arte began to use his newfound wealth to buy a major league team. In 2003, he finally hit pay dirt after striking a deal to acquire The Anaheim Angels from Walt Disney for $180 million. He then rebranded the team as the Los Angeles Angels. Before the start of the 2006 season, Arte landed a lucrative broadcasting deal with Fox Sports. It was reportedly a 10-year deal worth north of $1 billion. That same year, just three years after acquiring the team, the Angels were valued at $380 million. Today, the team is worth $3 billion.
A Vietnam veteran, he launched his career in outdoor advertising when he was hired by Eller Outdoor in the early 1980s. In 1984, he moved to Arizona, where he went to work for a company called Outdoor Systems. By 1996, he was running the company and was a major shareholder. That same year he took the company public. The IPO was extremely successful. In 1998, Infinity Broadcasting acquired Outdoor Systems for $8 billion in stock.
Early Life
Moreno was born on August 14, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona. He is the oldest of 11 children. His parents, Maria and Arturo Moreno, immigrated from Mexico before Arte was born.
In 1966, Moreno was drafted into the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War. After his two years of service, in 1968, Moreno enrolled at the University of Arizona. He graduated in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in marketing.
Advertising Career
After graduating from the University of Arizona, Moreno was hired at the advertising company Eller Outdoor, where he was employed for the next seven years.
In 1984, he moved to Phoenix where he was hired by Outdoor Systems, a company providing outdoor advertising and billboard services. That same year, Moreno and his friend Wally Kelly tried to buy the firm from owner William S. Levine. The two's plan did not work initially, yet Moreno and Kelly were still able to partner with Levine for the time being.
A few years later, Moreno became Outdoor Systems's President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1996, Moreno took Outdoor Systems public. As a result, the company's stock skyrocketed. In 1998, Outdoor Systems was purchased by Infinity Broadcasting for $8 billion.
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Baseball Ownership
As Moreno grew more business savvy and successful, he chose to invest in his passions and hobbies. One of those was baseball. In 1986, Moreno purchased the Salt Lake Trappers along with 17 other investors. He had partial ownership of the team until 1992, and his role in the deal proved his capabilities to handle business in the sports realm.
This success made him want more than just a minor-league team. In 2001, Moreno began his long-term plan to own a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. He began with the Arizona Diamondbacks, wanting to connect with his home state. However, his offer was rejected. In 2002, he found that the Anaheim Angels would be a worthy investment, as they had just recently won the World Series. Just one year later, in April 2003, Moreno made a deal with The Walt Disney Company (the owner of the Anaheim Angels) that he would acquire the team for $180 million. The deal was made official on May 15, 2003.
Moreno made himself known as a leader who was willing to invest in premium players to ensure that he would have a star-studded team. He was also recognized for his approachability, as he would regularly attend the games and shake hands with spectators in the stadium. Fans loved how he ran the team, causing more than 3 million fans to buy Angels tickets for Moreno's first year there. This was 750,000 more tickets sold than their championship season.
As time went on, Moreno faced controversy for the big changes he made to the team and the City of Anaheim's governing leaders. In 2005, Moreno chose to change the name of the team from the "Anaheim Angels" to the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim." Anaheim and Orange County locals felt that the decision diminished their sense of pride in the team itself. They identified as separate from Los Angeles and felt proud of their community. This decision made the fan base feel "betrayed" and that the decision was purely a "money grab." City officials responded by suing the team, however, the Angels won the lawsuit. When it came to the MLB overall, because the "Anaheim" suffix felt so unnatural, it caused the team to become "the subject of national ridicule."
Despite the backlash, Moreno stuck with his choice. For Moreno, the change was part of a strategy to increase the team's revenue. He saw that, by advertising it to both the Los Angeles metropolitan area and Orange County, the Angels could get almost double the participation. Because of its marketability, the San Diego Zoo and Los Angeles Times became sponsors for the team. These two companies were their most valuable patrons yet.
Beyond the finances, the first few seasons the Angels played with Moreno as owner were very successful. The team had three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in club history (2007–2009).
Just before the start of the 2006 season, Moreno signed a valuable contract with Fox Sports Net. In the 10-year deal, Moreno and Fox agreed that all of the regular season Angels games would be broadcast on the network. Now that Fox had broadcast rights, the team's television revenue soared. In April 2006, the Angels were worth about $368 million (twice the amount Moreno paid for the team three years earlier).
However, from 2010 to 2022, the Angels failed to win a postseason game despite a massive deal for Trout for over $400 million and high-priced signings of other premium players. A losing season in 2022 tied a franchise record for the seventh straight losing season. This became the longest-win "drought" in Angels' history.
On August 23, 2022, in a public statement, Moreno announced that he was looking to sell the Angels franchise. At that time, the team was estimated to be worth $2.2 billion. However, later that year, he rescinded his statement and said he would continue to own and serve the Angels due to "unfinished business."
Radio Business
On February 26, 2006, Moreno and a group of buyers acquired Radio 830 KMXE, the nation's largest Spanish-language AM radio station. For the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Radio 830 KMXE was the main Spanish-language radio broadcast outlet for Angels' regular season games.
Before the 2008 season began for the Angels, the station changed to AM830 KLAA (AM) and became an all-English language channel. The channel still included the Angels game broadcasts. The station now features morning and afternoon sports talk shows.
Personal Life
Moreno has been married twice. His first marriage, with Mary Moreno, only lasted a few years. With his second wife, Carole, he had three children named Nikki, Rico, and Bryan Moreno.
Arturo and Carole established the Moreno Family Foundation in 1997. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations benefitting children and educational scholarships in K-8, high school, and college. It has also donated money to the athletic programs at the University of Arizona.
