Estee Lauder cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder is the
"latest potential entry into the bidding" for the Jets,
according to Gary Myers of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS, who examines
the sale of the team in a front-page story and writes that a
"growing roster of megamillionaires is in the hunt to buy
the Jets, which could send the cost of the [team] soaring."
A source close to Lauder revealed yesterday that he has "had
one conversation so far [with the Jets] and expects to have
further conversations" about buying the team. Myers also
lists other potential bidders, which include N.Y. real
estate developer Sam LeFrak, Mets co-Owner Fred Wilpon, MGM
Grand Owner Kirk Kerkorian, Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan,
real estate magnate Steve Ross, Johnson & Johnson heir
Robert Wood Johnson and AZ developer Sam Grossman. A
spokesperson for LeFrak said yesterday that he has
"expressed an interest in purchasing" the Jets. Myers
writes that the price of the Jets "could top" $500M, but the
Bonham Group President Dean Bonham says that the team will
not be a money-maker. Bonham: "If you pay $500 million for
a team like the Jets, you'll do much worse than break even.
At this price, this is purely a toy, something for ego
gratification" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/24).
