John Henry

John W. Henry became a multi-millionaire in commodities trading, but is best known for his ventures into ownership of Major League Baseball franchises. Henry originally owned a minor league franchise in the late 1980s, but broke into MLB by purchasing a share of ownership of the New York Yankees in 1991. In 1999, Henry became the sole owner of the Florida Marlins, a team which he owned for three years before selling off to Jeffrey Loria, who in 2002 was divesting himself of ownership of the Montreal Expos (now known as the Washington Nationals). In 2002, Henry put together a team headed up by himself and California media magnate Tom Werner, and several minor partners which included former Senator George Mitchell (D-Maine), to attempt to purchase the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were at the time owned by the JRY Corporation, the continuation of ownership by the Yawkey family since 1933, when Thomas Yawkey purchased the Red Sox. John Harrington was the trustee of the JRY Corporation at t