Joe Lacob is a successful business executive who took his love for basketball to a business level by creating his own team. The business mogul owns the majority of the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lacob was actively involved in the sport for several years, living out his childhood passion.
Apart from his sports establishment, he is also a partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and has also lived a lot in the health sector. Lacob’s success story is one that should be heard by any budding entrepreneur. Here are lesser-known facts about the business mogul.
Joe Lacob – Biography
He was born on January 10, 1956 in New York.Bedford Massachusetts to his parents; Sidney, her father and Marlene, her mother. He grew up in a middle-class Jewish family where the values of Jewish tradition were instilled in him. Growing up, Lacob was an avid basketball fan and lined up behind the Boston Celtics of the NBA, his favorite team. Joe and his entire family soon moved to Anaheim, California, and he supported the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Anaheim Los Angeles Angels.
Based in California, he continued his education in the big city. After high school, he attended the University of California at Irvine where he earned a degree in biological sciences. He then continued his studies in public health at the University of California, Los Angeles (ULCA). Lacob is also an alumnus of the Gradford School of Business.
It was in business school that his hidden passion for business and entrepreneurship began to reflect. He started his career at Cetus Corporation, a biotechnology company where he held a management position. He then worked as an executive in other companies such as Booz, Allen & Hamilton and FHP International, a healthcare organization.
In 1987, Lacob became a partner at KleinerPerkins Caufield & Byers (KPBC), where he gradually mastered the investment business. The business icon still works with the company and has overseen its investment in over 50 life science companies. He joined Corixa corporation in 1994 as a director and also worked as a director at TherOx, Inc. He also served on the advisory board of companies such as “Ordemanden Therapeutics, Inc.” and “Celladon Corporation”.
Despite his apparent dedication to health science, Joe’s undying love for basketball has always been his focus. At the beginning of his sporting adventure, he was the first investor in the American Basketball League, which was dissolved after the emergence of the WNBA, a national women’s basketball association. He was a part-owner of the Celtics before buying the Golden State Warriors with a group of investors in July 2010.
The Warriors were acquired from Chris Cohan for a whopping $450 million. Lacob’s acquisition of this team ended the NBA championship drought that had prevailed since 1975, with the Warriors winning two championships in seven seasons. The Warriors are floating on a valuation of over $2 billion.
Personal life – wife, girlfriend, son, daughter
Joe Lacob is not only sportscomponents, but also a lover and a father. The business mogul was previously married to Laurie Kraus. With his ex-wife, he has four children; two sons, Kirk and Kent and two daughters, Kelly and Kayci. Kirk also works with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant general manager.
After the couple divorced, Lacob began a relationship with Nicole Curran. Curran serves on the board of the Warriors Community Foundation. She is always remembered for her important role in the foundation’s donation of more than $6 million to the community. She also loves wine.
The couple have been dating for so many years. Curran has been with the Warriors owner even when he bought the prestigious NBA team. Neither Lacob nor Curran are tight-lipped about their relationship. She is always seen with him at games and several other public places.
Is he gay?
Joe Lacob made news for speculating about his sexuality in 2011, when he hired an openly gay man to serve as an executive for the Golden State Warriors. It must have been a noble gesture, especially for the LGBT community, but it also earned him some innuendo about his sexuality. From his relationships, however, it’s pretty obvious that the Warriors owner is straight.