OC’s Wealthiest 2024: ARTURO ‘ARTE’ R. MORENO

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ARTURO ‘ARTE’ R. MORENO
OWNER
ANGELS BASEBALL LP

THE MONEY: Owner of baseball team that Forbes now ranks as seventh most valuable in MLB, at nearly $2.7B, due to enviable regional TV market. That’s up from $2.2B a year ago. Last year, the team brought in some $388M in revenue, with operating income of $15M, Forbes’ data indicates.

THE NUMBERS: The club was acquired in 2003 from Walt Disney Co. for $184M; it is Moreno’s chief asset. When considering a possible sale of the team, a Forbes report said: “Before Arte Moreno pulled the plug on selling his Los Angeles Angels in January, he would have gotten at least $2.7B or $280M more than the MLB record $2.42B that Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020,” citing people familiar with the sale process. Some sources question that amount.

SETTLEMENT: Settled a claim with city of Anaheim over the 2022 ending of the proposed $320M sale of the stadium site to the Moreno-led SRB Management LLC. Originally sought $5M plus legal fees and is being settled for a credit of $2.75M pulled from portions of future stadium revenue shared with the city, which is estimated to be reached in two to three years.

CHANGE IN ROSTER: Angels’ roster currently includes one of MLB’s most recognizable and marketable players, Mike Trout. Former pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani was elected free agency in late 2023 and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December.

BIG BREAK: He’s on his second fortune—the first came from Outdoor Systems, a billboard company he founded with partner and Angels minority investor Bill Levine, taking it public in 1996 and selling to Viacom in 1999 for $8.7B in stock.

PHILANTHROPY: Moreno and his wife Carole, involved in local charities and other causes. The Angels Baseball Foundation has gifted nearly $9M to charitable programs throughout Southern California. In addition, they founded the Angels Scholars Program in 2016, which funds college scholarships.