John W. Henry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John W. Henry
Henry in 2008
Born	John William Henry II (1949-09-13) September 13, 1949 (age 76) Quincy, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Victor Valley College (dropped out) University of California (dropped out)
Occupation	Principal owner of Boston Red Sox Pittsburgh Penguins Liverpool F.C. The Boston Globe Co-owner of RFK Racing
Spouse(s)	Linda Pizzuti Henry ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	John W. Henry Sr. Lois Henry

John William Henry II, born on September 13, 1949, is a successful American businessman. He started his own investment company, John W. Henry & Company. Today, he is best known as the main owner of several major sports teams. These include the famous Liverpool Football Club in England and the Boston Red Sox baseball team in the U.S. He also owns the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. Beyond sports, he owns The Boston Globe newspaper and is a co-owner of RFK Racing, a stock car racing team. In October 2024, his wealth was estimated to be around $6 billion.

Early Life and Education

John Henry was born in Quincy, Illinois. His parents, John William Henry Sr. and Lois Henry, were soybean farmers. He spent his childhood living in both Illinois and Arkansas.

When he was 15, his family moved to Apple Valley, California. This move was because of his asthma. He finished high school at Victor Valley High School.

After high school, Henry went to four different colleges. These included Victor Valley College, University of California, Riverside, University of California, Irvine, and UCLA. He studied philosophy but did not finish his degrees. He has said that playing and touring with two bands, Elysian Fields and Hillary, took up a lot of his time.

Building a Business Career

John Henry began his career by trading corn and soybean futures. This helped him learn how to manage the risk of changing prices for these crops. In 1981, he started his own company, John W. Henry & Company. He opened a small office in Irvine, California.

His company grew quickly. By 1983, he moved to a much larger office in Newport Beach. Later, he moved his main office to Westport, Connecticut, in 1989. Two years after that, he opened a second office in Boca Raton. His company used a special method to make trading decisions. This method was based on market changes, not on human feelings or opinions.

By 2006, his company managed $2.5 billion for clients. However, by late 2012, this amount had dropped. On November 9, 2012, the company announced it would stop managing money for clients by the end of that year.

Sports Team Ownership

John Henry has always loved sports. He was a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team when he was young. His first step into owning professional sports teams was in 1989. He bought a Minor League Baseball team called the Tucson Toros. He also helped start a winter baseball league for retired players in Florida.

He later tried to buy other sports teams. These included the Orlando Magic (basketball), the Colorado Rockies (baseball), and the Florida National Hockey League team. He also looked into buying the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets basketball teams.

In 1991, Henry bought a small share of the New York Yankees. Then, in 1999, he became the full owner of the Florida Marlins baseball team. He sold the Marlins in 2002.

Fenway Sports Group

In 2001, John Henry teamed up with Tom Werner and other investors. They created a group called New England Sports Ventures (NESV). This group successfully bought the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Henry became the main owner of the Red Sox.

NESV later changed its name to Fenway Sports Group in March 2011. This group now owns many sports assets. These include the Liverpool Football Club, the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, and the New England Sports Network. They also own Fenway Park, the Red Sox's home stadium.

Boston Red Sox Success

When Henry bought the Red Sox, he decided not to tear down their historic stadium, Fenway Park. Instead, he spent money to make it better. He even added seats above the famous Green Monster wall. This allowed Fenway Park to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2012.

Henry wanted to help the Red Sox win a championship. The team had not won a World Series in a very long time. He hired a strong team to help manage the club. He also brought in Bill James, a person known for using statistics to understand baseball.

Henry's goal came true in the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox won, beating his childhood favorite team, the Cardinals. The team won again in the 2007 World Series and the 2013 World Series. They also won the 2018 World Series.

In 2017, Henry supported changing the name of Yawkey Way, a street near Fenway Park. The Red Sox were the last team in Major League Baseball to allow Black players. Henry felt that the old name reminded people of a difficult past. The street name was changed back to Jersey Street in 2018.

Liverpool Football Club

In October 2010, Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool F.C., a famous English soccer club. The previous owners were not popular with fans. They had put the club in debt and made promises they did not keep.

After the takeover, Liverpool won the 2012 Football League Cup Final in February 2012. This was their first major trophy in six years. In May 2012, Henry made a tough decision to fire the team's coach, Kenny Dalglish. He said it was because of the team's poor league results.

In July 2012, Henry hired Brendan Rodgers as the new coach. Rodgers almost led Liverpool to win the Premier League title in the 2013–14 season. However, after some difficult seasons, Henry fired Rodgers in October 2015.

On October 8, 2015, Henry appointed Jürgen Klopp as the new coach. This decision was very popular with Liverpool fans. Klopp led Liverpool to two finals in the 2015–16 season. In 2019, Liverpool won the Champions League Final, a huge European competition. They beat another English team, Tottenham Hotspur. Then, in the 2019–20 season, Liverpool won the Premier League title. This was their first league title in 30 years!

In April 2021, Liverpool was announced as a founding member of the European Super League. This new league would have changed European soccer a lot. However, after many fans protested, Liverpool and the other English clubs pulled out within two days. Henry then apologized to the fans for the decision.

NASCAR Racing

In 2007, Henry's Fenway Sports Group bought half of Roush Racing, a stock car racing team. Driver Matt Kenseth won a race in February 2007, which was Henry's first win as an owner. In February 2009, the team won the Daytona 500, a very famous race. Henry is currently listed as an owner for the #17 Ford car driven by Chris Buescher.

Racing Simulations

In 2004, John Henry and David Kaemmer started iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations. This company creates realistic racing simulation games. These games are for both real race car drivers and people who love racing games. The service officially started in August 2008.

Newspaper Ownership

In August 2013, John Henry agreed to buy The Boston Globe newspaper. He also bought the Telegram & Gazette newspaper and other media properties in New England. He bought them for $70 million in cash. The New York Times Company had owned The Globe since 1993.

Henry was initially part of a group trying to buy The Globe. But he ended up buying them by himself. In 2014, Henry sold the Telegram & Gazette newspaper.

Awards and Honors

• Four-time World Series champion as the main owner of the Boston Red Sox.
• 2024 Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. This award was given to him by Jimmy Page, a famous guitarist from the band Led Zeppelin.

Personal Life

John Henry enjoys playing baseball simulation games. One of his favorites is Out of the Park Baseball.

See also

• Elysian (yacht)