Wes Edens
Wes Edens is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who is best known as the co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, a global investment management firm. Edens was born on October 30, 1961, in Montana and graduated from Oregon State University in 1984 with a degree in Finance and Business Administration.
After graduation, Edens began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he worked as a partner and managing director until 1993. He then joined BlackRock’s private equity division, where he served as a partner and managing director until 1997. In 1998, Edens and four others founded Fortress Investment Group, which quickly became one of the largest and most successful alternative asset management firms in the world.
Under Edens’ leadership, Fortress Investment Group diversified its investment portfolio to include real estate, transportation, infrastructure, and healthcare, among other industries. Wes Edens also played a key role in taking Fortress public in 2007, making it the first private equity firm to be publicly traded in the United States. In 2018, Edens and his partners sold Fortress to SoftBank Group for $3.3 billion, but Edens remained with the company as co-CEO.
Edens is also the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Edens purchased the team in 2014 with Marc Lasry, and they have since led the team to significant success, including winning the NBA championship in 2021.
Edens is also a well-known philanthropist and has donated millions of dollars to various causes over the years. In 2018, he donated $2.7 million to the University of Montana to help fund a new business school. He has also donated to various environmental causes and was a founding partner of the League of Conservation Voters’ New York chapter.