Bill Foley has continued to expand his sports ownership portfolio, awarded a full A-Leagues licence.
The move confirms Auckland’s entry into the top flight of Australian football.
The Sporting News takes a look at who Foley is and all of his sports teams.
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Who is Bill Foley?
Foley was born in Austin, Texas in 1944. He spent the majority of his childhood in Texas with his family, who were ranchers.
However, he did have a brief spell in Ottawa, Ontario when his father, a member of the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in Canada's capital. He played shinny, or street hockey as it's sometimes called, which was the first time he was introduced to the sport of hockey.
Foley attended the United States Military Academy and joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating from West Point. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, helping negotiate multi-million dollar deals with Boeing.
After the Air Force, Foley earned his J.D. from the University of Washington in 1974 and moved into corporate law. He later bought Fidelity National Financial, helping turn around the struggling title insurance company into one of the largest American corporations. Foley still serves as the chairman for Fidelity National Financial.
He also serves as chairman of Black Knight, Inc., a software and data provider for the mortgage industry, Fidelity National Information Services and Cannae Holdings. In addition, Foley invested in a number of businesses throughout the years, including wineries, hotels, ski resorts and golf courses.
What sports teams does Bill Foley own?
Vegas Golden Knights
Foley has been the owner of the Golden Knights since he purchased the team in 2016. He is the lead investor, chairman and CEO of Black Knight Sports & Entertainment group, the consortium that owns the team.
Since the Golden Knights joined the National Hockey League (NHL), they have been one of the premier clubs in each of the six seasons in the league. The club has the chance to become the fastest expansion team to win a Stanley Cup in NHL history and has already been to two Stanley Cup Finals. They've made the playoffs five out of the six seasons they've been in the league.
AFC Bournemouth
Foley's teams aren't just limited to the United States. In 2022, Foley and a group of investors purchased AFC Bournemouth, a soccer club in England's Premier League, from former owner Maxim Demin.
It was reported that Foley bought the team for £120 million with his company, Black Knight Football and Entertainment.
Henderson Silver Knights
Foley and Black Knight Sports & Entertainment also purchased an AHL hockey team in order to act as a development club for the Golden Knights. The deal came in 2020, four years after buying the NHL club, and the team was named the Henderson Silver Knights.
The team originally played out of Orleans Arena but moved to Dollar Loan Center in 2022, which is owned and operated by Foley's Black Knight Sports & Entertainment.
In their first season, the Silver Knights made it to the final of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs, losing to the Bakersfield Condors in 2020. The club lost in the first round last season and did not make the postseason this year.
Vegas Knight Hawks
Not only does Foley have a stake in the two professional hockey teams in Nevada, but he also owns the indoor American football team in Las Vegas.
In 2021, Foley and Black Knight Sports & Entertainment purchased an expansion team in the Indoor Football League. The team was named the Vegas Knight Hawks.
The club joined the league in 2022, going 6-10 in its first season.
FC Lorient
Earlier this year, Foley acquired a minority stake in FC Lorient, a football club in France's Ligue 1.
It was reported that Foley purchased a 33 per cent slice of the organisation.
Auckland
In Foley's latest venture, the American was awarded a full A-Leagues licence.
He will now become the owner of a football club in the New Zealand city of Auckland and will enter the Australian top flight in 2024-25 (men) and 2025-26 (women).
Bill Foley net worth
According to Forbes, Foley has a net worth of roughly $1.6 billion.
He is ranked as the 1,859th wealthiest person in the world.
