MLB Gets Its First Black Woman Majority Owner
Jé Tania
May 7, 2026
The San Diego Padres are reportedly being sold for $3.9 billion, but the biggest part of the story might be who is leading the ownership group. Kwanza Jones, singer, philanthropist, and angel investor, is set to become the first Black woman and African American to be a majority owner in Major League Baseball history.
The Padres selling for $3.9 billion after being purchased for $800 million in 2012 is a story in and of itself. The cost of franchise ownership has skyrocketed over the last 10 years with individual owners going by the wayside in favor of larger ownership groups.
The owners box has never looked like this before.
Image from Jomboy Media via Instagram
At the center of the deal is Jones and her husband José F. Feliciano, co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital. While Clearlake is no stranger to sports ownership after being part of the ownership group that purchased Chelsea FC in May of 2022, it’s important to distinguish that this purchase is not through Clearlake, but with Jones and Feliciano’s private holdings as part of a bigger group.
In an April 17th article from the New York Times, the paper reported that “the couple [who met while attending Princeton in the mid-90s] outbid three other groups, led by Dan Friedkin, the owner of EPL club Everton; Tom Gores, the owner of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons; and Joe Lacob, the owner of the Golden State Warriors.”
Jones stands on the shoulders of very few Black owners in the Big Four of American professional sports. This includes Robert L. Johnson, who became the NBA’s first Black majority owner with the Charlotte Bobcats (which was later purchased by Michael Jordan and renamed the Hornets), and Sheila Johnson (Robert’s former wife) who is currently the principal owner of the Washington Mystics.
There’s a difference between being invited into the room and owning it.
Jones stands on the shoulders of very few Black owners in the Big Four of American professional sports. This includes Robert L. Johnson, who became the NBA’s first Black majority owner with the Charlotte Bobcats (which was later purchased by Michael Jordan and renamed the Hornets), and Sheila Johnson (Robert’s former wife) who is currently the principal owner of the Washington Mystics.
Being one of four Black owners becomes an even more noticeable feat when considering that only approximately 6.8% of MLB players identify as African American, and roughly 30% of the league is Hispanic or Latino, a number that includes Afro-Latino players who continue to shape the culture and identity of the sport.
Ownership shapes everything.
Jones has already invested more than $150 million over the years, saying on her website that she sees value in “wome & diverse founders, businesses, and fund managers.” That mindset could lead to a team prioritizing diversity in spending, hiring, long-term vision, and community connection. With a small-market team that routinely sells out and already has a winning culture, that organizational zeitgeist could shift the Padres into a different cultural stratosphere.
The Final Cut
For a long time, baseball ownership felt inherited. Not accessible. Baseball has spent a long time dedicated to tradition and unwritten rules, both on the field and at the ownership level. This deal not only changes who owns a team.
But who people can picture owning a team.
It’s always a thing when kids can not only see themselves getting big checks... but writing them too.
Discover more from The Women's Cut Sports Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.