| George Argyros | |||||||||||||||||
| Birthname: | George Leon Argyros | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 4 February 1937 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Alma Mater: | Chapman University | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Ambassador, real estate investor, and the former owner of the Seattle Mariners | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse: | Julia Argyros | ||||||||||||||||
| Children: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
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George Leon Argyros (born February 4, 1937) is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain. He is also a real estate investor and philanthropist. Argyros was the owner of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners from 1981 to 1989. He is the founder and CEO of property firm Arnel & Affiliates.[1]
George Argyros was born on February 4, 1937, in Detroit, Michigan,[2] but raised in Pasadena, California.[3] Argyros is a second-generation American citizen; his grandparents emigrated from Greece.[4] [5] Argyros graduated from Chapman University[6] in 1959 with a major in Business and Economics. He later served on Chapman University's board of trustees, including chairman of the board from 1976 to 2001.[7] The Chapman University, Argyros School of Business and Economics is named in his honor.
Argyros and his wife, Julia, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. His son George Argyros Jr. (b. 2/5/1965 - d. 8/28/2020) died of a heart attack at the age of 55[8]
Argyros made his fortune in real estate investments. He originally started his business career running a grocery store and moved on to buying and selling real estate to gas stations. He also was involved in buying and selling property in Southern California. From 1981 to 1989, he was the owner of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.[9]
Argyros has done business through the real estate company Arnel & Affiliates (DBA "Arnel Property Management Company"). Arnel & Affiliates does business primarily in Southern California. Argyros has a net worth around $2 billion and owns around 5,500 apartments in Orange County and nearly 2 million square feet of commercial real estate in Southern California.[6] [10]
In 1981, Argyros and fellow Orange County developer William Lyon bought Newport Beach-based airline AirCal, controlling it until its sale to American Airlines in 1987.[11] [12]
Argyros served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations for the U.S. Trade Ambassador. He resigned from that position in 1990, when President Bush appointed him to the board of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FreddieMac). He completed his term on the FreddieMac Board in March 1993.
In 2001 Argyros was appointed Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. He was sworn in on November 21, 2001.[13] Many viewed the appointment as a political reward for his fund raising efforts for the Republican Party.[14]
In 1981, Argyros bought the Seattle Mariners for $13 million. He proclaimed upon getting the team that "patience is for losers". In his tenure, the team never had a winning season or finish higher than 4th place in the American League West, with his lack of action to spending money being cited as the reason for the team never rising out of the cellar. A trade of pitcher Mark Langston had him described by one press reporter as the "miserly, mean-spirited owner of the Seattle Mariners". In 1986, now with a new tone of saying that patience is for winners, Argyros managed to come to an end of a two-year standoff with the Seattle community over the lease agreement for the Kingdome. It led to an addition of an escape clause that would let the Mariners try to break the lease if they do not average 1.4 million in attendance in the next two years or annually sell 10,000 season tickets (they had sold 3,950 in 1985). This clause would be cited in a battle of ownership sale of the team six years later.[15] In the 1987 MLB Draft, it was Argyros that had to be convinced to draft Ken Griffey Jr with the first pick, as he wanted California native Mike Harkey. Gradually, general management convinced him to go with Griffey, who ended up becoming the first Mariner star.[16]
Argyros sold the team to Jeff Smulyan in August of 1989, with the team now valued at $76.1 million. He cited the demands of his business in the Southland and the difficult commute between California and Washington as a reason to sell.[17] [18] Argyros had openly tried to purchase the San Diego Padres in 1987 and to sell the Mariners to local buyers, but a final deal was never consummated with Padres owner Joan Kroc.
In October 2013, George and Julia Argyros announced two $1 million donations benefiting the arts in Julia's hometown of Adrian, Michigan. One was to help kick off a $3.5 million capital campaign for the Croswell Opera House and another was to benefit a fine arts education endowment through the Adrian Schools Educational Foundation.[19]
The family foundation pledged $7.5 million in January 2018 for the purposes of renovating the Los Angeles Coliseum.[1] Argyros also donated money towards the construction of the Performing Arts Center, named after him, at the American School of Madrid.[20]
Argyros is on the board of directors of the Richard Nixon Foundation, which operates the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California; he is also a longtime trustee of his alma mater Chapman University. He is a trustee of California Institute of Technology,[21] and also a board-member for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.[22]
In September 2023, the Argyros Family announced a $10 Million Dollars donation to Chapman University's George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics.