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Larry Tanenbaum

Born:1945Status: Owner (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Hometown:Toronto, ON, CANKnown For:Chairman and CEO of the Kilmer Group

Larry Tanenbaum (born in 1945) is a Canadian businessman who is the chairman and CEO of the Kilmer Group. The company focuses on investments in three sectors: private equity, infrastructure and real estate, and sports and media. He and the company have investments in everything from Coca-Cola to restaurants, numerous construction companies to high-profile real estate, sports teams to television stations.

MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum Toronto Maple Leafs
MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

As a part of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, Tanenbaum also owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC of the MLS, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and Scotiabank Arena. He is very involved with all of these leagues, is on the board of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Toronto 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Maple Leafs Under Ownership

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a large ownership group, with BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications owning the majority. Tanenbaum actually only owns 25 percent of the team, but since he’s the chairman of MLSE, he’s the face of the ownership.

Tanenbaum purchased his first portion of shares in 1996 for $21 million, buying more in 2008 for $100 million and when BCE and Rogers purchased the majority shares in 2011 for $1.32 billion, his share was bumped up to 25 percent to secure his approval of the sale. The Maple Leafs are the second-most valuable team in the league at $1.5 billion (2020).

Since Tanenbaum came into the fold in 1996, the Maple Leafs have just one division title. They have yet to win a Conference title or make the Stanley Cup Final. They even had a stretch of 11 seasons where they missed the playoffs 10 times. With superstar Auston Matthews leading the team now, they hope times will be changing soon.

Deeper Dive

Staff History

  • Toronto Maple Leafs (Franchise Owner) 1996-current
  • Toronto Maple Leafs (Chairman) 2003-current

Sources