Buy A Duplex, Own The Lakers

I must admit, never would have thought about using duplex investing as a way to buy a professional sports team.

I might have had I known the history of Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss.

Now I’m a long time Laker fan. But I just assumed he made his money as a doctor. You know, the kind that tells you to open your mouth and say “Aaahh.”

Turns out he made the money he used to buy the team as a real estate investor.

It seems when he was a chemistry professor at USC, he thought he needed something to supplement his income. So, in the 1960s he took $1000 and invested in a West Los Angeles apartment building.

Over time, he was doing so well as an investor that he gave up being a professor.

When it comes to professional sports team ownership, he’s not alone.

Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is known as a real estate developer. However, after a brief stint as a used car salesman, he and his brother Harry started buying apartment buildings.

Today, they own over 100 commercial properties and over 30,000 apartment units.

Owners of the Miami Dolphins, St Louis Rams and Denver Nuggets, among others, also made their fortunes investing in real estate.

In a down real estate market, with single family homes, duplexes, triplexes and apartment building selling at clearance sale prices, can you think of a better time to start investing?

Can you imagine owning the Lakers?