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George Argyros
Born
George Leon Argyros

(1937-02-04) February 4, 1937 (age 87)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Chapman University
Occupation(s)Ambassador, real estate investor, and the former owner of the Seattle Mariners
SpouseJulia Argyros
Children3
United States Ambassador to Spain
In office
November 21, 2001 – November 21, 2004
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Edward L. Romero
Succeeded by Eduardo Aguirre

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]

Early and personal life

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. [3] 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. [3]

Argyros and his wife, Julia, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. [8] His son George Argyros Jr. (b. 2/5/1965 - d. 8/28/2020) died of a heart attack at the age of 55 [9]

Business

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. [10]

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] [11]

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. [12] [13]

Politics

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. [8]

In 2001 Argyros was appointed Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. He was sworn in on November 21, 2001. [8] Many[ who?] viewed the appointment as a political reward for his fund raising efforts for the Republican Party. [14]

Baseball

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. [19]

Philanthropy

In October 2013, George and Julia Argyros announced two $1 million donations benefiting the arts in Julia's hometown of Adrian, Michigan. [20] 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. [20]

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. [21]

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, [22] and also a board-member for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. [23]

In September 2023, the Argyros Family announced a $10 Million Dollars donation to Chapman University's George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "George Argyros & family". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  2. ^ Ronald Reagan, Book 2. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. 1991. p. 1393. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Amb. George L. Argyros". www.thenationalherald.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  4. ^ "#559 George Argyros - The World's Billionaires 2009 - Forbes.com". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  5. ^ "George Argyros - Real estate mogul in U.S. | ellines.com". www.ellines.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  6. ^ a b "George Argyros & family". Forbes. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Argyros Family Foundation names peristyle plaza at renovated Coliseum". USC News. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  8. ^ a b c "Former Ambassador George L. Argyros". madrid.usembassy.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  9. ^ "George Argyros Jr., son of former ambassador, dies of cardiac arrest at 55". 29 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Scoring Profit in the Big Leagues : Though his Seattle Mariners haven't won a World Series, Newport Beach owner George Argyros stands to more than quadruple his investment in the team". Los Angeles Times. 1989-08-24. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  11. ^ "George Argyros & family". Forbes. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  12. ^ AirCal Gets More Financial Muscle but Faces Stiffer Competition, Too, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1981
  13. ^ Granelli, James S. (July 2, 1987). "County's one and only lasted 21 years : AirCal vanishes - absorbed by American". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2021.,
  14. ^ Granelli, James S.; Scott Martelle (October 8, 2001). "The Region; Argyros Moves Closer to OK for Spain Post; Inquiry: Senate hearing on developer's appointment as ambassador is expected soon now that a state probe into his apartment firm has been settled". L.A. Times.
  15. ^ "Seattle Mariners owner George Argyros, who once proclaimed 'patience..." UPI. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  16. ^ "That Time the Mariners Almost Didn't Draft Ken Griffey Jr". www.lookoutlanding.com. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  17. ^ "Scoring Profit in the Big Leagues : Though his Seattle Mariners haven't won a World Series, Newport Beach owner George Argyros stands to more than quadruple his investment in the team". Los Angeles Times. 1989-08-24. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  18. ^ Zumsteg, Derek. Baseball in Seattle. Baseball Prospectus, 2002-03-28.
  19. ^ "Sports People: Argyros Switches", The New York Times, May 30, 1987
  20. ^ a b The Daily Telegram Two $1 million gifts boost Croswell, Adrian Schools Educational Foundation Arts Endowment
  21. ^ "American School of Madrid".
  22. ^ "Trustee List". Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  23. ^ "Duo Bring Personalities to Bear on O.C. Base Issue : Politics: Buck Johns is brash and George Argyros is private--but neither likes losing. Both want new airport". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-17. Retrieved 2019-10-22.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Spain
2001–2004
Also accredited to Andorra. 		Succeeded by
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