Former UFC owners, Frank Fertitta and Lorenzo Fertitta, pocket nearly $1 billion each after recent sale

After selling their mixed martial arts (MMA) league to WME-IMG for a whopping $4 billion earlier this year, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) owners Frank Fertitta and Lorenzo Fertitta — who are also casino and real estate magnates in Las Vegas, Nevada — added a whole lot of liquid to their overall net worth. According to Forbes.com (via Bloody Elbow), once taxes are deducted and the rest of the pie is divided up, each Fertitta brother stands to bank $870 million in cold, hard cash.

The article explains:

Following the sale, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta — who purchased the nearly bankrupt organization for $2 million in 2001 — are worth an estimated $1.9 billion apiece after netting out estimated taxes. The whopping buyout has helped boost each brother’s net worth by a half-billion dollars since March of this year. In a press release announcing the deal in July, WME|IMG confirmed that it had brought in private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake Partners as strategic investors, and that MSD Capital, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. (owned by billionaire Michael Dell) would provide preferred equity financing. WME also stated that Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta would retain a “passive minority interest in the organization,” though representatives have declined to elaborate on the brothers’ new equity stakes. FORBES estimates that they will retain 8 percent apiece, and that they will each walk away with nearly $870 million in post-tax cash.”

In addition to the Fertitta brothers, Uncle Sam has to be thrilled, too. Current company president Dana White — who alerted and nudged his childhood friends to purchase the struggling promotion back in 2001 for $2 million — also has to be grinning ear-to-ear with his $360 million haul. However, admittedly, it did “freak him out” a bit when the deal was first struck.

Nonetheless, White agreed to remain in his current position, signing a five-year deal and teasing “mind blowing” future announcements that will continue to grow the sport well into the future. No rest for the weary, apparently.

After selling their mixed martial arts (MMA) league to WME-IMG for a whopping $4 billion earlier this year, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) owners Frank Fertitta and Lorenzo Fertitta — who are also casino and real estate magnates in Las Vegas, Nevada — added a whole lot of liquid to their overall net worth. According to Forbes.com (via Bloody Elbow), once taxes are deducted and the rest of the pie is divided up, each Fertitta brother stands to bank $870 million in cold, hard cash.

The article explains:

Following the sale, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta — who purchased the nearly bankrupt organization for $2 million in 2001 — are worth an estimated $1.9 billion apiece after netting out estimated taxes. The whopping buyout has helped boost each brother’s net worth by a half-billion dollars since March of this year. In a press release announcing the deal in July, WME|IMG confirmed that it had brought in private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake Partners as strategic investors, and that MSD Capital, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. (owned by billionaire Michael Dell) would provide preferred equity financing. WME also stated that Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta would retain a “passive minority interest in the organization,” though representatives have declined to elaborate on the brothers’ new equity stakes. FORBES estimates that they will retain 8 percent apiece, and that they will each walk away with nearly $870 million in post-tax cash.”

In addition to the Fertitta brothers, Uncle Sam has to be thrilled, too. Current company president Dana White — who alerted and nudged his childhood friends to purchase the struggling promotion back in 2001 for $2 million — also has to be grinning ear-to-ear with his $360 million haul. However, admittedly, it did “freak him out” a bit when the deal was first struck.

Nonetheless, White agreed to remain in his current position, signing a five-year deal and teasing “mind blowing” future announcements that will continue to grow the sport well into the future. No rest for the weary, apparently.