The game-on is on in real time Twitter: Two Titans Go at it BIG TIME
I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!
No boundaries and no fear
It was Monday morning when Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump tweeted that.
In a report on CBS Sports yesterday during Cubs' spring training in Mesa, Arizona, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts discussed the accusation, sounding a lot like Jeb Bush using the fog of "family values" in defense of mom [no apple pie though] . . Huh?
“It's a little surreal when Donald Trump threatens your mom,” Ricketts said (CBS Chicago). “The fact is whether it's my mom or my dad on his Ending Spending stuff or my sister on marriage equality issues or my brothers and what they do or what we do with the team, we are pretty much an open book. We stand up for what we believe in. We support the causes we think are important. That is what America should be. That is who we are.”
Super, right? An open book on dark money in politics? Well, check that out, dear readers...
So the Cubs' day-to-day operations guy is Tom and he's involved in none of this while some of his other family members have been spending anti-Trump money -- just not secretly.
As for the family having something to hide:
“If we had something to hide, you people would have found it by now,” Tom Ricketts said (CBS Chicago).
YOU PEOPLE?
[he alludes to the press and media, dear readers, who will no doubt find out more]
[he didn't choose to take the 5th Amendment defense]
Blogger's notes: There's always more to a story
1. The Ricketts spent $875 Million to buy the Chicago Cubs
2. Who is Tom Ricketts, the average looking sports exec jock in image to the right at the start of this post?
According to an entry in Wikipedia
Thomas S. "Tom" Ricketts is an owner of the Chicago Cubs, and the chief executive officer of Incapital LLC, a Chicago investment bank that packages corporate bonds for retail investors.
He is also a director of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation as well as the son of Ameritrade founder J. Joseph Ricketts.[1]
Forbes estimate of the Ricketts' family wealth ($1 Billion), consolidated under J. Joseph Ricketts name, placed them at #371/ 400 on the Forbes 400 list.[2]
In January 2009, a Ricketts family bid led by Thomas Ricketts was chosen as the winning bidder for the Chicago Cubs. The bid was estimated to total around $875 million for the team and related assets.[3] The sale was approved unanimously by the owners of the other 29 Major League Baseball teams that October.[4] Ricketts was introduced as the chairman of the Cubs on October 31, 2009. The transaction closed in late October 2009.
All four siblings (Pete, Tom, Laura, and Todd) and both parents share interest in the team through their family trust.
3. Sports, politics + media > here's how that works
On July 6, 2009, the Chicago Tribune reported that Tom Ricketts and family had reached an agreement with the Tribune Company to purchase the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and 25% of Comcast SportsNet Chicago for close to $900 million, as was originally reported. The contract was sent to commissioner Bud Selig for approval.[13] Final approval came by a unanimous vote of the other MLB owners in an October 6, 2009 conference call.[4] On October 27, 2009, the Ricketts family, with Thomas S. Ricketts as board chairman, officially took over 95% ownership of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, and 25% ownership of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Tribune opted to retain a 5% ownership stake in the team.[14]
4. Add money-trading with bonds as investments: that works even better!
Ricketts is credited with pioneering the idea of using the Internet and other technologies to help companies sell their investment-grade bonds directly to retail investors, as opposed to limiting sales only to institutions.[15][16] He helped launch the first successful version of this system while at ABN AMRO. In 1999 he left ABN AMRO to found Incapital.[1]
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