Gores is founder and chief executive officer of Platinum Equity, the private equity outfit whose investments have included air cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services and out-of-home advertiser Exterion Media. The billionaire, who founded the closely held Los Angeles-based firm in 1995, is the owner of basketball team Detroit Pistons.
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Gores is the majority owner of closely held Platinum Equity, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm he founded in 1995, whose holdings have included Exterion Media and Worldwide Flight Services, according to press releases. He's credited with a 75% stake based on a Bloomberg analysis of the firm's March 2019 ADV filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company is valued using the $7 billion valuation that peer firm Vista Equity Partners received when it sold a minority stake in July 2017, adjusted to account for the growth in AUM since and discounted to reflect the lower level of assets that Platinum Equity manages in comparison to Vista.
Gores also owns the Detroit Pistons NBA franchise, whose value is based on a Bloomberg analysis of recent transaction values for similar teams and discussions with sports valuation consultant Marc Ganis. Gores is the sole owner of the Pistons, according to a September 2015 article by Bloomberg News.
The billionaire has personally invested about $700 million into Platinum Equity buyout funds, according to disclosures made by Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System, a limited partner. His cash holdings are calculated by applying the cumulative internal rate of return of Platinum Equity's funds, as disclosed by LACERS, to his initial investments, and adjusted for typical market returns since June 25, 2019. The cost of buying the Pistons, his investments into Platinum Equity funds and the purchase price of other assets are netted off from this balance.
Mark Barnhill, a partner at Platinum Equity, declined to comment on Gores' net worth.
Gores was born to Catholic parents in Nazareth, Israel in 1964. At age four, he moved with his family to Flint, Michigan, where he worked alongside his father at a small grocery store, according to a January 2016 Michigan Live article.
Gores graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in 1986. Early in his career, he began investing in small businesses, according to his personal website. He founded private equity group Platinum Equity in 1995. The firm acquired Exterion Media from CBS Corp. in 2013, and bought Worldwide Flight Services from a French private equity firm in 2015.
Gores, along with Platinum Equity, bought the Detroit Pistons in 2011. The firm made its exit in 2015, with the billionaire taking full ownership.
Gores lives in Beverly Hills, California with his wife and children. His older brother, Alec Gores, is the billionaire founder and CEO of The Gores Group, a private equity firm also based in Beverly Hills. They often compete for deals though sometimes join forces, as with their joint acquisition of Alliance Entertainment in 2011.