Marc Lasry | $1B+
Get in touch with Marc Lasry | Marc Lasry, cofounder and CEO of Avenue Capital Group, is one of the most recognized figures in distressed-debt investing, building a multibillion-dollar platform focused on undervalued and special-situation assets around the world. After early success at Amroc Investments, Lasry launched Avenue in 1995 with his sister Sonia, developing a global reputation for navigating complex restructurings and capitalizing on market dislocations. Beyond finance, he is known for his high-profile role in professional sports as former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, helping oversee the team’s rise to NBA championship status. Lasry’s mix of investment discipline, global perspective, and civic engagement has made him a defining voice in alternative assets.
Marc Lasry is a Moroccan-born American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager who co-founded Avenue Capital Group in 1995 with his sister Sonia Gardner, building it into a firm managing roughly $13 billion in assets focused on distressed debt and credit strategies.[1][2]
Career Foundations
Lasry began his professional path in bankruptcy and restructuring law after earning a J.D. from New York Law School in 1984, accumulating over four decades of experience in credit investing before launching Avenue as an independent distressed debt specialist with initial seed capital of $7 million from personal networks.[2][3][1]
Sports Investments
He expanded into sports ownership by acquiring a 25% stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks in 2014 alongside Wesley Edens, retaining it until 2023 when he sold to Jimmy and Dee Haslam amid a team valuation exceeding $3 billion; during this period, the Bucks secured the 2021 NBA championship.[4][5] Lasry has since pursued broader sports-related opportunities, including closing the $1 billion Avenue Sports Fund in 2025 for investments in franchises and related assets.[6]
Financial Standing and Recent Developments
As of 2025, Lasry's net worth stands at an estimated $1.9 billion, derived primarily from hedge fund management and equity sales.[7][8] In May 2025, he was named in a $100 million civil lawsuit by a former associate alleging sexual misconduct, retaliation, and defamation, which remains unresolved and unadjudicated.[9]
Early Life and Education
Immigration and Family Background
Marc Lasry was born in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1961 to a Jewish family originating from the longstanding Moroccan Jewish community.[1][10] At the age of seven, in 1968, Lasry immigrated to the United States with his parents and two siblings, settling in West Hartford, Connecticut, amid the modest immigrant enclaves of the area.[1][11] The family's move reflected broader patterns of Moroccan Jewish emigration during the mid-20th century, driven by economic opportunities and geopolitical tensions in North Africa, though specific motivations for the Lasrys remain undocumented in primary accounts.[10]
Upon arrival, the family resided in a small apartment, where Lasry shared a single bedroom with his siblings for approximately a decade, underscoring their initial financial constraints.[1] His father secured employment as a driver for United Parcel Service (UPS), providing the primary income in a household adapting to American life while maintaining ties to Moroccan Jewish traditions.[12] Lasry's sister, Sonia Gardner (née Lasry), shared this upbringing and later pursued parallel paths in finance, highlighting the family's emphasis on education and self-reliance despite humble origins.[7] This background of immigration from a Sephardic-influenced North African Jewish milieu shaped Lasry's early exposure to multilingualism and cultural adaptability, though he has described it primarily in terms of economic aspiration rather than religious or ethnic challenges.[10]
Academic and Early Professional Training
Lasry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, graduating in 1981.[1][13] He subsequently attended New York Law School, where he obtained a Juris Doctor in 1984.[1][14]
During his time at New York Law School, Lasry clerked for the Honorable Edward Ryan, who served as Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York.[2][13] This clerkship provided hands-on exposure to bankruptcy proceedings and judicial decision-making in complex financial restructurings.
Upon completing his legal education, Lasry joined the law firm Angel & Frankel, where he focused on bankruptcy cases and corporate reorganization matters.[15][2] His work at the firm honed expertise in distressed assets and insolvency law, skills that directly informed his transition into investment management.[15]
Financial Career
Entry into Law and Distressed Debt
After earning a Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1984, Lasry clerked for the Honorable Edward Ryan, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York.[16] He subsequently spent one year at the New York-based law firm Angel & Frankel, specializing in bankruptcy matters, which provided foundational exposure to corporate restructurings and distressed situations.[17]
Lasry then transitioned from legal practice to finance by joining Cowen & Company as director of its private debt department, where he initially engaged with distressed debt markets by analyzing and acquiring underperforming securities.[18] This role honed his ability to identify value in troubled assets, shifting his focus from advisory bankruptcy work to direct investment opportunities amid the late 1980s economic environment, characterized by increasing corporate defaults.[16]
In 1989, Lasry co-founded Amroc Investments with his sister, attorney Sonia Gardner, establishing his primary involvement in distressed debt as a dedicated investment strategy.[7] Amroc targeted trade claims and bank debt from bankrupt or distressed vendors, capitalizing on discounted purchases that offered potential recoveries through restructurings or liquidations; the firm began operations with approximately $100 million in seed capital, laying the groundwork for Lasry's reputation as an early practitioner in what would become a specialized asset class.[15] This venture represented a causal pivot from legal representation—where outcomes depended on client advocacy—to investor positioning, where returns derived from asymmetric risk-reward in undervalued claims, often yielding multiples on principal in successful turnarounds.[18]
Founding and Growth of Avenue Capital Group
Marc Lasry and his sister Sonia Gardner co-founded Avenue Capital Group in 1995, investing $7 million of their personal capital to establish the firm in New York City with an initial focus on distressed debt opportunities.[15][19] The siblings, drawing on prior experience in credit investing from their work at firms like Cowen & Company and Garrett & Co., positioned Avenue as a pioneer in acquiring undervalued debt from struggling companies, often restructuring it for value recovery.[20] This approach capitalized on market dislocations, such as those in the early 1990s recession, enabling early returns through opportunistic buys at deep discounts.[17]
By the mid-2000s, Avenue had expanded significantly, managing approximately $12 billion in assets under management (AUM) after a decade of operations, fueled by successful deployments in corporate turnarounds and international credit markets.[17] The firm grew its team and infrastructure, opening offices across Europe and Asia to pursue global distressed opportunities, while evolving its strategies beyond pure distressed debt to include special situations and opportunistic credit investments.[21] This international footprint, now encompassing multiple locations in London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Silicon Valley, and Abu Dhabi, supported over $100 billion in total capital deployed historically.[19] By 2011, AUM peaked at around $13.7 billion, reflecting strong performance amid post-financial crisis restructuring plays.[22]
Avenue's growth continued through disciplined risk management and adaptation to shifting markets, incorporating elements of private credit and specialty lending while maintaining a core emphasis on undervalued assets.[23] As of 2021, the firm oversaw about $11.6 billion in AUM, with substantial allocations to Asia exceeding $1.8 billion in investments since inception.[24] More recently, with over 175 staff across its global offices, Avenue has sustained AUM above $10 billion, demonstrating resilience through economic cycles via a focus on high-conviction, event-driven trades rather than broad market beta.[19][25] This trajectory underscores the firm's transition from a boutique distressed player to a multinational asset manager, prioritizing empirical analysis of balance sheet weaknesses over speculative trends.[17]
Investment Approach and Performance Metrics
Avenue Capital Group's core investment approach revolves around opportunistic credit strategies, with a primary emphasis on distressed and stressed debt securities, specialty lending, and event-driven opportunities in dislocated markets. The firm targets undervalued assets of companies facing financial challenges, acquiring them at significant discounts during periods of market stress to capitalize on potential recoveries through restructurings, liquidations, or operational turnarounds. This value-oriented methodology requires extensive due diligence, patience in holding positions—often for years—and active engagement in influencing outcomes, such as creditor committees or bankruptcy processes, to extract maximum value. Lasry's philosophy prioritizes asymmetric risk-reward profiles, buying when fear drives prices low while avoiding overpayment in bull markets.[23][21][26]
The strategy extends across the United States, Europe, and Asia, blending liquid credit with illiquid private investments to achieve diversified, risk-adjusted returns. Avenue employs a bottom-up analysis, focusing on sectors like energy, retail, and telecommunications where distress is prevalent, while leveraging macroeconomic cycles to time entries. This approach has evolved from early distressed debt focus to include hybrid strategies, such as combining debt holdings with equity stakes for upside participation.[23][27][15]
Performance metrics reflect steady growth and deployment scale rather than consistently publicized returns, given the private nature of hedge fund data. Founded in 1995 with $7 million, Avenue expanded to approximately $13 billion in assets under management by December 31, 2023, having deployed over $100 billion in capital across market cycles. Notable historical returns include the Credit Strategies Fund's total return exceeding 23% for the one-year period ended June 1, 2013, and the Avenue Income Credit Strategies Fund's 6.19% return for the year ended October 31, 2014. The firm's ability to raise successive funds, such as its fifth European special situations fund closing at over $1 billion in May 2024, underscores sustained investor confidence in its track record amid varying credit environments.[1][19][28][29][30]
Sports Investments
Milwaukee Bucks Ownership
In April 2014, Marc Lasry, alongside Wesley Edens, acquired the Milwaukee Bucks from longtime owner Herb Kohl for $550 million, with the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approving the transaction the following month.[31][32] Lasry held approximately a 25% stake in the franchise and served as co-chairman, later assuming the role of the team's controlling governor for the final three and a half years of his tenure.[33][34]
During Lasry's ownership, the Bucks secured public and private financing for a new arena, Fiserv Forum, which opened in 2018 after a 2016 referendum approved $250 million in public funding matched by an equal private investment from the ownership group, averting relocation threats and stabilizing the franchise in Milwaukee.[4] The team achieved on-court success, including drafting and developing Giannis Antetokounmpo into a superstar and winning the NBA championship in 2021 against the Phoenix Suns.[35] Lasry's involvement extended to business operations, with his son Alex Lasry serving as senior vice president, though the ownership emphasized Edens' focus on arena development.[36]
Lasry agreed in February 2023 to sell his 25% stake to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, owners of the Cleveland Browns, at a franchise valuation of $3.5 billion—implying approximately $875 million for his share—and the deal closed in April 2023 after NBA approval, with Wes Edens succeeding him as governor.[35][33][5] This transaction marked a substantial return on the 2014 investment, reflecting the team's valuation growth amid league expansion and market dynamics.[37]
Post-Bucks Ventures and Strategies
Following the April 2023 sale of his 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks to Jimmy and Dee Haslam for approximately $875 million (based on a $3.5 billion franchise valuation), Marc Lasry redirected focus toward broader sports investment opportunities through Avenue Capital Group, the distressed debt firm he co-founded and leads as CEO.[35][6] This transaction, approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 14, 2023, freed capital and strategic bandwidth, enabling Lasry to capitalize on emerging sectors like women's professional sports, which he viewed as undervalued relative to their growth potential.[35]
In mid-2023, Avenue Capital launched the Avenue Sports Fund, targeting minority and controlling stakes in sports franchises, teams, and related assets across leagues including the NBA, NFL, and emerging women's circuits.[6] The fund closed in September 2025 with over $1 billion in commitments, surpassing initial targets and drawing institutional investors seeking exposure to sports as an asset class amid rising media rights values and league expansions.[6][38] Lasry's strategy emphasized opportunistic entry into less mature markets, leveraging his Bucks experience—where the franchise value quadrupled from $550 million in 2014 to over $3 billion by sale—to identify assets with scalable revenue from broadcasting, sponsorships, and fan engagement.[6]
Lasry pursued women's soccer aggressively starting in 2024, bidding for a controlling interest in Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), though the deal was outbid by Disney CEO Bob Iger and Willow Bay.[39] He then advanced negotiations for a majority stake in the North Carolina Courage, but the agreement collapsed in December 2024 over valuation and ownership terms.[40][41] As of June 2025, Lasry expressed continued intent to acquire an NWSL franchise, citing the league's rapid valuation growth (from $2 million per team in 2021 to $50-100 million by 2025) driven by increased viewership and corporate partnerships as a core element of his portfolio diversification.[41][42]
This approach mirrors Lasry's distressed investing playbook at Avenue Capital—exploiting temporary market inefficiencies for long-term appreciation—applied to sports, where he anticipates further private equity inflows as ownership rules liberalize and global leagues professionalize.[42] In October 2025, he described sports investing as "only in the first inning," underscoring a patient, value-oriented strategy amid projected industry growth to $200 billion annually by 2030.[43]
Political Engagement
Fundraising for Democratic Candidates
Marc Lasry has served as a key fundraiser for multiple Democratic presidential campaigns, leveraging his Wall Street connections to bundle contributions from high-net-worth individuals. In 2012, he hosted an exclusive reelection fundraiser for President Barack Obama at his Upper East Side residence, where Obama criticized Republican regulatory views, and Lasry personally raised at least $500,000 for the campaign that year.[44][45]
For Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid, Lasry acted as a top advisor and bundler, targeting $270,000 in pledges during the campaign's first week following her April 2015 announcement and maintaining close ties through family investments and policy discussions.[46][47] He contributed personally as well, including $400 to her Senate campaign in 2007, amid broader efforts that positioned him among Clinton's elite Wall Street supporters.[48]
Lasry shifted support to Joe Biden in the 2020 cycle, endorsing him in December 2019 alongside banker Blair Effron and co-hosting Manhattan fundraisers with corporate elites shortly thereafter; as a listed bundler, he helped mobilize over 30 Wall Street executives to raise substantial sums for Biden post-Super Tuesday, emphasizing the "next couple days" as pivotal for momentum.[49][50][51]
After Biden's July 2024 withdrawal, Lasry quickly backed Kamala Harris, joining Wall Street figures like Effron in rallying donors and hosting events to channel funds into her campaign, amid a surge that saw Harris's operation inherit Biden's war chest and attract fresh big-money commitments.[52][53][54] Beyond presidential races, Lasry has bundled for other Democrats, such as $75,000 for Terry McAuliffe's 2013 gubernatorial campaign and smaller amounts like $3,300 to Senator Bob Casey in 2023, reflecting consistent engagement with party figures.[55][56]
Influence and Policy Advocacy
Marc Lasry has offered informal advisory input on economic policy to Democratic leaders. In December 2020, following Joe Biden's presidential election victory, Lasry stated he was open to advising the incoming administration on economic matters, emphasizing participation in panels and committees rather than formal appointments like ambassadorships, drawing on his experience as a hedge fund manager.[57]
Lasry publicly advocated for tax increases to reduce the U.S. federal deficit during the Biden transition period, arguing in a December 2020 interview that higher taxes on high earners would help stabilize fiscal policy amid post-pandemic recovery efforts.[58] Despite his support for Democratic candidates, Lasry warned in August 2020 that a full Democratic control of Congress and the White House could introduce excessive regulation and tax hikes detrimental to equity markets, reflecting his market-oriented perspective on policy impacts.[59]
In social policy domains, Lasry leveraged his position as Milwaukee Bucks co-owner to advance criminal justice initiatives. As a Bucks governor, he joined the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, formed by the NBA and NBPA on November 20, 2020, to promote reforms in the criminal justice system at federal, state, and local levels, including efforts to address sentencing disparities and reentry barriers for former inmates.[60] The coalition, under Lasry's involvement, endorsed specific policing reform measures, such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, issuing statements in May 2021 urging congressional passage to enhance accountability and reduce excessive force incidents.[61] These activities aligned with broader NBA commitments, including $300 million in collective pledges by team owners over a decade for economic empowerment in Black communities, though Lasry's direct policy influence remained tied to coalition advocacy rather than legislative drafting.[62]
Philanthropy and Public Service
Key Charitable Commitments
Marc Lasry and his wife, Cathy Lasry, donated $5 million to Clark University in 2005 to fund the construction of the Cathy '83 and Marc '81 Lasry Center for Bioscience, supporting bioscience research and education at the institution where both attended as undergraduates.[63][64] Their contributions to Clark University have extended beyond this gift, enabling the establishment of the Lasry Writing Center and the Cohen-Lasry Study Abroad Program, which facilitate writing instruction and international educational opportunities for students.[65]
Lasry co-manages the Lasry Family Foundation, a private grantmaking entity he established with his wife, where he serves as president and treasurer alongside family members including his sister Sonia Gardner and wife Cathy Lasry as directors.[66] The foundation, focused on philanthropy in education and related areas, has maintained modest assets—totaling approximately $5,307 as of its most recent filing—and issued small charitable disbursements, such as $2,047 in 2024, primarily to support targeted educational and community initiatives.[66] These efforts reflect Lasry's personal ties to educational institutions, though no large-scale pledges or multi-million-dollar commitments beyond the Clark University donations have been publicly documented in recent years.
Criticisms and Effectiveness Assessments
Lasry's philanthropic efforts, primarily channeled through the Lasry Family Foundation established in 2006, have demonstrated limited scale and measurable impact. Tax filings indicate the foundation's revenue dropped to $53 in 2024, with expenses of $4,090 and assets of $5,310, reflecting minimal operational activity in recent years compared to earlier periods of higher contributions, such as support to the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.[66] These figures suggest the foundation's grants, often directed toward education and Jewish causes, have not achieved broad systemic effects, though specific outcomes remain undocumented in public records.
In public service roles, Lasry's 2013 nomination by President Obama as U.S. ambassador to France was withdrawn amid scrutiny over his associations with a gambling ring, including questions from the FBI about potential conflicts with his hedge fund operations.[67] Critics argued the ties undermined his suitability for diplomatic oversight of financial regulations, highlighting risks of personal business interests intersecting with government positions.[67]
Lasry's advisory involvement with the Obama Foundation, including planning for post-presidency initiatives like the presidential library, drew indirect criticism for potential donor influence on policy priorities. As a major Obama fundraiser who raised over $500,000 in 2012, his distressed debt investments, including in Puerto Rico's bonds, were seen by some as conflicting with administration efforts for debtor relief, prioritizing creditor recoveries over public welfare.[45][45] This perspective, advanced in progressive outlets, posits that such engagements may favor financial elites' interests, though Lasry has not publicly responded to these claims. No peer-reviewed analyses quantify the net effectiveness of his foundation's contributions against comparable donor efforts.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
Marc Lasry is married to Cathy Lasry (née Cohen), a philanthropist and trustee of Clark University.[17] [68] The couple has five children: sons Alex and Zach Lasry, and daughters Sophie, Emma, and Samantha Lasry.[1] [7] Sophie and Emma are twins.[7]
Alex Lasry, the eldest son, worked as a senior adviser to Valerie Jarrett in the Obama White House and ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin in 2022.[69] In August 2018, Marc and Cathy Lasry hosted a circus-themed wedding for their son Zach and Arianna Lyons at a Connecticut estate previously owned by Harvey Weinstein; the event was attended by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[70]
Lasry co-founded Avenue Capital Group in 1995 with his sister, Sonia Gardner, with whom he shared a childhood bedroom after their family immigrated from Morocco to the United States when he was seven years old.[7] The Lasry family maintains some Moroccan Jewish customs, reflecting their Sephardic heritage.[71]
Residences, Lifestyle, and Net Worth
Marc Lasry's net worth is estimated at $1.9 billion as of 2025, primarily derived from his hedge fund management at Avenue Capital Group and investments in distressed debt.[1][7]
Lasry maintains residences in New York City and Connecticut. In Manhattan, he owns a penthouse at 55 Central Park West, listed for sale at $42 million in October 2025, and a Beaux-Arts townhouse purchased for $11 million in 2001, later listed for $39 million.[72][73] In Westport, Connecticut, he owns the waterfront estate "Casa Blanca," a 14,000-square-foot Georgian Colonial mansion on 7.4 acres along Long Island Sound, acquired in 2021 for $17.5 million and featuring a Tudor-style boathouse.[74][75]
Lasry's lifestyle reflects his interests in sports and collecting. He is an avid basketball enthusiast, having co-owned the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to 2023, and enjoys tennis. Additionally, he collects comics as a hobby.[64] Despite his wealth, Lasry maintains a relatively private personal profile focused on family and professional pursuits rather than public extravagance.[6
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