However, in November 2016, Wolff sold his share[2] in the Oakland Athletics to John J. Fisher, and currently serves as the team's Chairman Emeritus.
[3] Wolff is credited with the redevelopment and revitalization of downtown San Jose, California where he was the largest developer of offices, hotels, and parking for many years.
Lewis "Lew" Wolff was born on December 13, 1935[4] to a Jewish family[5] in St. Louis and was raised in the middle-class suburbs of University City, Missouri.
[6] In 1961, his company sent him to Los Angeles to open a regional office[6] and in 1963, he co-founded a real estate consulting firm.
[6] In the 1970s, he accepted a position with 20th Century Fox tasked with managing its worldwide real estate investments.
[12] On April 1, 2005, Wolff and an ownership group led by The Gap heir, John J. Fisher, purchased the Oakland Athletics baseball team for $180 million from Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann.
[4][13][14] In 2006, the A's ownership group purchased an option to revive the San Jose Earthquakes franchise of Major League Soccer.
[17] The San Jose Mercury-News ranked Wolff first in its annual listing of the Bay Area's 25 Most Powerful Sports Figures in both 2006 and 2007.