Mark Attanasio
01Overview
Mark Attanasio is worth an estimated $1.36 billion, in a range of $1.0 billion to $1.9 billion. The fortune comes from three decades in high-yield lending, most of it at Crescent Capital Group, the Los Angeles credit firm he co-founded in 1991, and from the Milwaukee Brewers, the team his group bought from the family of Bud Selig for $223 million in 2005.
The Brewers are now the biggest piece. Forbes valued the team at $1.9 billion in March 2026, and before a pitch of the 2026 World Series it had already won a franchise-record 103 games and its first pennant in 44 years. Forbes has estimated that Attanasio owns about 45% of the club; his exact share has never been disclosed.
Crescent turned into cash. Sun Life Financial bought 51% of the firm in January 2021 and the remaining 49% in March 2026, paying at least $884 million in all. How much of that went to Attanasio is not public. We assume about 40% before taxes.
| Full name | Mark L. Attanasio |
| Born | September 29, 1957, the Bronx, New York |
| Age | 69 |
| Residence | Los Angeles; also keeps a penthouse in Milwaukee |
| Family | Married to Debbie Attanasio; two sons. His brother is screenwriter Paul Attanasio |
| Education | BA, Brown University, 1979; JD, Columbia Law School, 1982 |
| Early career | Lawyer, then banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert |
| Source of wealth | Crescent Capital Group (co-founded 1991) and the Milwaukee Brewers (bought 2005) |
| Sports | Chairman and principal owner, Milwaukee Brewers; co-owner of Norwich City FC through Norfolk Holdings |
| Other roles | Chairman, MLB Investment Committee; trustee, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; board of LA28 |
02Published Estimates
| Source | Date | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| DaveManuel.com | October 22, 2026 | $1.36B (range $1.0-1.9B) |
| Forbes | October 9, 2026 | $1.9B (No. 2,221 in the world) |
| Forbes | 2026 billionaires list | No. 2,177 |
| Forbes | April 2025 | $1.9B (No. 1,850 on the 2025 billionaires list) |
| Forbes | April 2023 | Not on the billionaires list |
Forbes' real-time figure credits him with more outside the Brewers than we do. We land lower because the Crescent sale price was split among its partners and was taxed, and because his share of that money has never been disclosed. A 2023 fact check by Wisconsin Watch found that most estimates at the time put him near $700 million, before the Brewers' value climbed and the second Crescent payment arrived.
03Assets and Liabilities
The Brewers are valued from Forbes' March 2026 estimate, less the team's debt. Everything else is our estimate, because Attanasio is a private investor and almost none of his holdings are disclosed.
| Asset | Value |
|---|---|
| Sports | |
| Milwaukee BrewersEstimated 45% of the equity. Forbes values the team at $1.9 billion with debt equal to 13% of value, including stadium debt, leaving about $1.65 billion of equity | $743.9M |
| Norwich City FCThrough Norfolk Holdings, his company with Richard Ressler, which controls about 85% of the club; he is reported to be the majority shareholder, but the split is not public. Estimate | $40.0M |
| Crescent Capital and other investments | |
| Proceeds from the sale of Crescent CapitalSun Life paid $276 million up front for 51% in 2021 (plus up to $62 million more) and $608 million for the remaining 49% in 2026. We assume he held about 40% and paid about 37% in federal and California capital gains tax | $222.4M |
| Cash and other investmentsEstimate: fees and carried interest from three decades running Crescent and TCW's leveraged-finance business, plus stakes in Strategic Sports Group (the PGA Tour investor) and the biotech companies TORL BioTherapeutics and 1200 Pharma | $350.0M |
| Property | |
| Milwaukee penthouseUniversity Club Tower, 9,173 square feet over two floors; assessed at $7.03 million in 2013 | $7.0M |
| Los Angeles homeMain residence; purchase price not public | Not valued |
| Total assets | $1,363.3M |
| Estimated net worth | $1,363.3M |
We do not deduct taxes he would owe on the Brewers if he sold, as is standard for net worth estimates. The two biggest swing factors are his Brewers stake, where each 10 percentage points is worth about $165 million, and his share of the Crescent sale.
04Current Positions
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | Chairman and principal ownerSince January 2005 |
| Crescent Capital Group | Co-founder and managing partnerCo-founded 1991; majority owned by Sun Life since 2021 and wholly owned since March 2026 |
| Norwich City FC (Norfolk Holdings) | Majority shareholderWith Richard Ressler; majority control of the club since 2024 |
| Major League Baseball | Chairman, Investment Committee |
| Los Angeles County Museum of Art | Trustee; co-chair, investment committee |
| LA28 | Board memberThe organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics |
05How the Fortune Was Built
| 1957 | Born September 29 in the Bronx. | |
| 1982 | Graduates from Columbia Law School after Brown and practices law, before joining Drexel Burnham Lambert in the mid-1980s. | |
| 1991 | Co-founds Crescent Capital Group in Los Angeles with Jean-Marc Chapus and Robert Beyer. | |
| 1995 | Crescent is sold to Trust Company of the West; he runs TCW's leveraged-finance group. | |
| 2005 | His group closes its purchase of the Brewers from the Selig family in January. | $223M |
| 2011 | Crescent spins back out of TCW as an independent firm. | |
| 2021 | Sun Life completes its purchase of 51% of Crescent on January 5. | $276M up front |
| 2022 | Buys about 16% of Norwich City FC. | |
| 2023 | Wisconsin approves public money to keep the Brewers at American Family Field through 2050. | About $500M public |
| 2024 | Norfolk Holdings takes majority control of Norwich City. | |
| 2026 | Sun Life buys the rest of Crescent in March. The Brewers win 103 games and the National League pennant. | $608M |
06From Drexel to Crescent
The high-yield years
Attanasio grew up in the Bronx and in Tenafly, New Jersey, graduated from Brown in 1979 and Columbia Law School in 1982, and practiced law before joining Drexel Burnham Lambert, the firm that built the junk-bond market, in the mid-1980s. In 1991 he, Jean-Marc Chapus and Robert Beyer, all Drexel alumni, started Crescent Capital Group in Los Angeles to lend to and invest in companies below investment grade.
Sixteen years inside TCW
In 1995 Crescent was sold to Trust Company of the West, and Attanasio stayed on to run TCW's leveraged-finance business. The team spun back out as an independent Crescent in 2011, and over the next decade it grew into one of the larger private-credit managers in the country, with about $29 billion of assets by 2020 and close to $50 billion by the end of 2025. His title there today is co-founder and managing partner.
07Selling Crescent to Sun Life
Two payments
In October 2020 Sun Life Financial agreed to buy 51% of Crescent for $276 million up front, plus up to $62 million more depending on results, and to commit up to $750 million of its own money to Crescent's funds. The deal closed on January 5, 2021, with options for Sun Life to buy the other 49% after about five years. In March 2026 it did, paying $608 million.
Who got the money
Neither payment was split out by partner, and Sun Life's announcements do not name Attanasio. He co-founded the firm with Chapus and Beyer, and Crescent had other partners and employee owners by then. We assume he held about 40% of the firm before the sale, which after taxes leaves about $222 million, and we treat that as one of the biggest uncertainties in this estimate.
08Buying the Brewers
A $223 million team
Attanasio agreed to buy the Brewers from the family of former commissioner Bud Selig in September 2004, and the sale closed in January 2005 at $223 million. Forbes has estimated that Attanasio himself bought about 45%, with partners holding the rest.
Keeping the team in Milwaukee
In December 2023 Wisconsin approved about $500 million of public money for repairs and upgrades at American Family Field, about $366 million from the state and $135 million from the city and county, with the team contributing $110 million and committing to stay through 2050. The deal was contested because public money was going to a team with a wealthy owner, and Attanasio's net worth became part of the debate.
Twenty years of value
Forbes valued the Brewers at $1.7 billion in 2025 and $1.9 billion in March 2026, more than eight times what his group paid. The club has done it with one of the smaller payrolls in baseball, about $142 million in 2025, 20th in the majors. Attanasio said in March 2026 that the collapse of the team's regional TV deal would cost it about $20 million.
2026
The 2026 Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games, beat San Diego in the division series and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series for the club's first pennant since 1982. Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays is on October 23 at American Family Field.
09Norwich City
From minority to control
In September 2022 Attanasio bought about 16% of Norwich City, the English club then controlled by television cook Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones. His stake in the holding company grew to about 40% by April 2024. In August 2024 Norfolk Holdings, his vehicle with fellow American investor Richard Ressler, agreed to convert about £59 million of loans into shares, leaving it with roughly 85% of the club and Smith and Wynn-Jones with about 10%. How Norfolk Holdings is split between the two partners is not public.
10The Two World Series Owners
Attanasio and Patrick Zalupski of the Tampa Bay Rays meet in the 2026 World Series. Both estimates are DaveManuel.com's.
| Mark Attanasio | Patrick Zalupski | |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Milwaukee Brewers | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Bought | 2005 | 2025 |
| Price paid | $223M | About $1.7B |
| Forbes team value, 2026 | $1.9B | $1.7B |
| Estimated stake | About 45% | About 50% |
| Estimated net worth | $1.36B | $1.16B |
Zalupski estimate as of October 21, 2026, on his net worth page.
11What the Brewers Have Been Worth
From the 2005 purchase to the 2026 pennant.
| Moment | Team value | His estimated 45% |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase, January 2005 | $223M | $100M |
| Forbes, 2025 | $1.7B | $765M |
| Forbes, March 2026 | $1.9B | $855M |
Gross team value, before debt. The asset table above uses equity after debt.
12Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mark Attanasio's net worth?
We estimate about $1.36 billion as of October 22, 2026, in a range of $1.0 billion to $1.9 billion. About $744 million is an estimated 45% share of the Milwaukee Brewers' equity, about $222 million is his estimated after-tax share of the Crescent Capital sale, and the rest is other investments, his stake in Norwich City and property. Forbes put him at $1.9 billion in October 2026.
Is Mark Attanasio a billionaire?
Probably. Forbes included him on its billionaires lists in 2025 and 2026, after leaving him off in 2023. Our estimate is also above $1 billion, but his Brewers stake and his share of the Crescent sale are not public, and the low end of our range sits at $1 billion.
How much did Mark Attanasio pay for the Brewers?
His group paid $223 million to the Selig family, with the sale closing in January 2005. Forbes valued the team at $1.9 billion in March 2026.
How did Mark Attanasio make his money?
In high-yield and private credit. He started at Drexel Burnham Lambert, co-founded Crescent Capital Group in 1991, ran leveraged finance at TCW after Crescent was sold to it in 1995, and sold Crescent to Sun Life Financial in two steps in 2021 and 2026.
Does Mark Attanasio own Norwich City?
Largely, yes. Norfolk Holdings, his company with Richard Ressler, has controlled about 85% of the club since 2024, and Attanasio is reported to be its majority shareholder.
13Sources and Method
The Brewers are valued from Forbes' March 2026 team valuation of $1.9 billion less debt of 13% of value, and we assume Attanasio owns 45%, the share Forbes has reported. The Crescent figure assumes he held about 40% of the firm and counts only the $884 million Sun Life is known to have paid, before up to $62 million of contingent payments, taxed at about 37%. Cash and other investments, the Norwich City stake and the ownership shares are our estimates and are labeled as such. We do not deduct taxes he would owe on unsold assets. The figure will be updated as new information is disclosed.
- Crescent and Sun Life: Sun Life announcement, October 21, 2020 (Sun Life); closing, January 5, 2021 (Newswire); remaining 49%, March 30, 2026 (Newswire); history (Bloomberg); biography (Crescent Capital; Los Angeles Business Journal).
- Brewers: Forbes team valuation, 2026 (Forbes; Patch); 2005 purchase (Marquette Wire); stadium funding (PBS Wisconsin; WSAW; Wisconsin Watch); payroll (Front Office Sports); TV revenue (Awful Announcing); 2026 pennant (MLB.com).
- Norwich City: 2022 stake (Planet Sport); majority control (Norwich City FC; FC Business).
- Personal and estimates: Forbes profile; Wikipedia; Forbes 2025 list (BizTimes); Crescent founders (Crescent Capital); Milwaukee penthouse (Urban Milwaukee).
1 Our estimate: 45% of the Brewers' equity, valued at Forbes' $1.9 billion less 13% debt. His actual stake is not public.
2 $276 million up front for 51% in 2021 plus $608 million for 49% in 2026, before up to $62 million of contingent payments. His share is not public.
Last updated: October 22, 2026. Net worth figures are estimates built from public filings and reporting; private holdings are valued conservatively and may differ from what the person would report.