See full version: From Dirt Poor Korean Orphan, To Billionaire Co-Owner Of The Buffalo Bills: The Inspirational Story Of Kim Pegula
Kim Pegula was wearing rags when she was left on that street corner in Seoul so long ago. Now she and her husband Terry Pegula co-own the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, are largely considered local heroes in Buffalo, and have a net worth of $4.6 billion. This is the literal rags to riches story of Kim Kerr Pegula.
Kim feels that this was what she and Terry were meant to do. Her adoptive parents taught her the importance of doing the right thing and giving back. Buffalo is a Rust Belt city that lost half of its population in from the first half of the 20 th century to the second half. Kim Pegula is among a handful that are at the forefront of bringing Buffalo back to life.
Pegula is a self-made businessman who founded a small natural gas and oil drilling company in the early 1980s and sold it in 2010 for $4.7 billion. The sale provided the seed money needed for his second career as a sports tycoon. Pegula Sports & Entertainment owns the NFL's Buffalo Bills, the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, the Rochester AHL team the Americans, the Buffalo Bandits indoor lacrosse team, a country music label and recording studio, and the HarborCenter complex in Buffalo. HarborCenter includes two hockey arenas, a hotel, and sports bar in downtown Buffalo across the street from the First Niagara Center, where the Sabres and Bandits play. here
Kim and Terry struck up a conversation. Terry gave Kim his business card and told her to call him if she was ever back in town. Kim called the following week and left a message and then pretty much forgot about him. A few weeks later she graduated from college. After that, she went back to Olean to interview at the local public television station and out of the blue, Terry called her. They went out a few times and he offered her a job in communications and marketing at East Resources. Kim called off the Alaska trip. more
One of Kim's coups while at East Resources was getting Terry the cover story of the American Express monthly magazine. The 1992 story covered Pegula's fast rising company and in it, Terry mentioned that one of his dreams was to own a pro sports team. here
Kim feels that this was what she and Terry were meant to do. Her adoptive parents taught her the importance of doing the right thing and giving back. Buffalo is a Rust Belt city that lost half of its population in from the first half of the 20 th century to the second half. Kim Pegula is among a handful that are at the forefront of bringing Buffalo back to life.
Kim was a cheerleader for the local youth football team. She continued cheering in high school as well as was a flag girl in the marching band and played bassoon in the performance band. She was a typical American teenager. Not once did she ever think about who her biological parents were, nor did she ever have a desire to look for them. more
Terry Pegula has a net worth of $5.7 billion. He presently owns Buffalo Sabres of the National Ice Hockey League, and Buffalo Bills of National Hockey League. Terry is a 68-year-old US businessman who holds a wide range of business interests in the field of professional sports, entertainment, natural gas development, and real estate.
David Tepper has a net worth of $12 billion. He is the wealthiest NFL owner in the US. He owns the Carolina Panthers of NFL. He is a 62-year-old US businessman and humanitarian. He completed his MBA in the year 1982 and got the first break in his career at Republic Steel in Ohio were handled all the operations of the treasury department.
Before coming into NFL, Terry has been a successful businessman and the owner of a multi-billion-dollar natural gas company named “East Resources.” From whatever he earned, along with his asset, he used some portion of them to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. He used the remaining assets to build a comprehensive collection of sports properties that included his teams in the NFL and the NHL. In a competitive bidding process, he purchased the franchise of the team, the NFL team named “Buffalo Bills” for a total of $1.4 billion in 2014.
Shahid Khan has a present net worth of $8.5 Billion. He owns the Jacksonville Jaguars of NFL. He is a 69-year-old businessman of Pakistani-American nationality. He bought his team in 2011 for a sum of $760 million. He was the first person to have become the ethnic minority owner of the NFL. here
In 2011, the couple founded Pegula Sports and Entertainment to oversee its interests in the industry. Kim Pegula serves as CEO and president of the holding company. [links]
The Pegulas have a net worth estimated at $5.1 billion, according to Forbes. The Bills were valued at an estimated $1.9 billion as of last fall. here
Other key Pegula Sports and Entertainment assets include the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks, and the Bills’ home stadium, which was known as New Era Field until earlier this summer. here
The couple bought the Bills for a then-record $1.4 billion. Other bidders for the franchise included Donald Trump prior to his presidential run as well as a group led by rock musician Jon Bon Jovi.
Terry Pegula built his fortune in the oil and natural gas sectors. He sold his company East Resources, known for its use of fracking, to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion in 2010.