Dodgers Suitor Steven Cohen Has Been Through His Own Bitter Divorce

By Gene Maddaus Wed., Dec. 28 2011 at 1:54 PM

Hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen, who is bidding for the L.A. Dodgers, has at least one thing in common with Frank McCourt: Both have been through an ugly divorce.

Cohen divorced his first wife, Patricia, more than 20 years ago. But the two have been locked in a bitter struggle ever since, according to this 2010 New York magazine story. Patricia has accused him of insider trading and hiding assets during their divorce proceedings. (Her lawsuit was thrown out in March.) Cohen is quoted as describing her as "a terrorist on a mission to make my life a living hell."

Some other items of note for Dodger fans:

Cohen seems have a healthy ego. He's the founder of SAC Capital Advisers, a $14 billion fund. His management style seems to draw inspiration from Kim Jong-Il:

For years, Steve liked to sit at the head of a large table, a video camera broadcasting his every move and comment to his traders, each of the master's gestures important.

Of course, it's not easy being an Orwellian dictator, and Patricia says he would bring the stress home with him: "He could be demanding, hypercritical, and a screamer; if he had a bad day, he'd explode." But he's mellowed with age:

The market no longer beats him up emotionally--he can even lose $100 million of his personal money, as he did one day not long ago, and shake it off.

That's not something Frank McCourt could say. But if you're excited that Mr. Moneybags is going to load up the Dodgers with star contracts, be warned: Cohen hates to be asked for money.

For Steve, generosity is a complicated impulse. He likes to keep control... His daughter, a film student at the time, was warned not to buy movies if they could be rented... [A] letter states, "Mr. Cohen has previously requested and wishes to reiterate that requests should not come directly to him from the children."

On the positive side, it sounds like Cohen makes sports a priority in his life. He now lives with his second wife, Alex, in a 32,000 square foot mansion in Greenwich, Conn., which includes extravagant sports facilities:

Steve lives like a comfy king with his queen in a lavish compound with a fully loaded sports complex: hockey rink and basketball court, swimming pool, and, on the grounds, a two-hole golf course and a home for Alex's parents. "I don't need a house this big, but you know what? Why not?" Alex told The Wall Street Journal.

Sounds like they'll fit right in here.

Tags:

divorce, Dodgers, Frank McCourt, Jamie McCourt, Patricia Cohen, Steven Cohen

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Familylawcourts.com

Wow....so can LA learn, or will this guy be a repeat performance of McCourt with a couple more major league personality problems? Right now it seems as if Cohen's ego is too large for anyone else to fit in the ballpark...so good that he's in CT.

Guest

Forgot Valenzuela! L.A. has the biggest Latino population in the country that loves the Dodgers. A fat TV contract is coming as well. Angels aren't LA's team! They're in Orange County and the new Dodger TV deal will dwarf what Artie got.

Guest

Anthony are you high? Dodgers aren't going anywhere. Koufax,Drysdale,Lasorda. They've been LA's team for more than a generation. I could see the club moving out of Chavez Ravine and into a Downtown L.A. ballpark next to Staples Center/L.A. Live. Brooklyn is long forgotten.

Anthony Forkush

All of the earmarks are in place for Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenberg to detonate a baseball bombshell by moving the team back to New York, with Bud Selig's blessing at that. Cohen appears to have no intention of moving to Los Angeles, confesses his undying love for the city of New York, and has the economic means to make it happen. Baseball realignment is ongoing, with a team like the Royal potentially viable for the Los Angeles market, while the Braves move to the central to make up for Houston's recent vacancy. Spike Lee's Jackie Robinson movie is being made as we speak, which could be coordinated with an announced return to New York. LA would still have a team in the Angels, a superior one by every measure, and an ancient wrong would be righted.

All of these zeitgeist type fears seem perfectly reasonable at a time of such disarray within the brand as well as the city that currently brands it. It would be one of the biggest sport's stories of all time, and seem deeply plausible.