Talk:Josh Harris (businessman)

Updates to the article

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Hello,

With the exciting and dynamic nature of this page, and the new nomination for a WP:GA, I would like to suggest the following further additions:

In the Finance and investments section:

  • Add the following to the sentence about 26North:
In September 2022, Harris announced the launch of his new alternative asset manager, 26North. Harris and 26North, with $9.5B in assets, recruited senior executives from financial firms, such as Centerbridge Partners and Goldman Sachs.[1][2]
  • Add the following to the paragraph beginning with "Harris is on the board of Mount Sinai Hospital:"
In January 2022, Harris invested $10M in Mosaic Development Partners, a real estate development company based in Philadelphia, to help the Black-owned firm diversify the workforce and support development in disenfranchised communities. His investment in Mosaic aimed to create the largest minority-owned development platform in the eastern US.[3][4] The investment also contributed to Mosaic building a supermarket in the Sharswood section of North Philly for the first time in 50 years.[5]

In the Philanthropy section:

  • Add the following at the end of the first paragraph:
Since 2016, Harris Philanthropies has partnered with After-School All-Stars and supported schools including those in Newark, Philadelphia and Camden. Part of that support included a seven-figure grant.[6]
  • Add the following at the end of the second paragraph:
That same year, Harris Philanthropies invested $1M in "Fund for Health", a social initiative by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania-Wharton School to improve social support systems surrounding the health and well-being of economically-disadvantaged Philadelphians,[7] and donated over $1M to Penn Med to promote the medical school’s endeavors in recruiting applicants from diverse backgrounds.[8]


References

  1. ^ Perlberg, Heather (1 December 2022). "Harris Taps Ex-Citi CEO for $9.5 Billion Investment Firm". bloomberg.com.
  2. ^ Perlberg, Heather (9 September 2022). "Billionaire Sports Owner Harris Builds New $5 billion Investment Firm". bloomberg.com.
  3. ^ Adelman, Jacob (20 January 2022). "Sixers owner invests $10M into Philly's Mosaic in bid to build firm into Black-owned real estate juggernaut". inquirer.com.
  4. ^ Breer, Albert (22 May 2023). "Introducing Josh Harris, the Right Owner to Revive the Commanders". si.com.
  5. ^ Moselle, Aaron (5 August 2022). "Shoppers line up to welcome Sharswood's first supermarket in decades". whyy.org.
  6. ^ "Harris Family Charitable Foundation Shows Support For After-School All-Stars". CBS News. 7 January 2020.
  7. ^ Ravindran, Harsha (6 July 2022). "76ers' Josh and Marjorie Harris invest $1M in startups backed by Penn Medicine - Wharton Fund for Health". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  8. ^ George, John (8 December 2022). "Penn Medicine gets $1M gift from 76ers owner Josh Harris and his wife to increase student diversity". bizjournals.com.

Dissident93 has been working on this article for a while - any thoughts? Thank you! Calesci2 (talk) 20:08, 13 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Birthday

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His exact birthday would certainly be on some government record or financial document, right? He's been notable for over 30 years but the closest I've been able to find are gov.uk records that just list December 1964. ~ Dissident93 (talk) 13:41, 21 July 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hi Dissident93, thanks for looking into this. Unfortunately, I don't have any official source or document with his birthday
Thanks Calesci2 (talk) 19:37, 30 August 2023 (UTC)Reply
An anonymous IP added an unsourced date of December 18. ~ Dissident93 (talk) 10:02, 30 October 2023 (UTC)Reply

A few additional requests

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Hi Dissident93, thank you for your help with my requested additions and for continuing to work on updating and improving this page.

In the Finance and private equity section, please tweak the following sentence to reflect the language of the Business Insider article: "In May 2021, Harris announced he was stepping down from his day-to-day responsibilities at Apollo after being passed over as CEO for Marc Rowan, with his large personal focus on sports investments also becoming an alleged source of tension within the company, according to Business Insider.

  • I personally avoid the use of "according to...", but I can add a "reportedly" since it hasn't been proven as fact.

Please add to the second paragraph of the Sports and entertainment section that in 2020, Harris organized $7 million in donations for COVID-19 relief [1] and that HBSE pledged $20 million to fighting racial injustice [2].

  • I added both.

In the last paragraph of the Sports and entertainment section, please add the following language following Harris facing criticism for attempting to cut salaries during the pandemic, based on the CNBC source in the article:

"Harris reversed the decision and issued an apology. Harris and Blitzer were some of the original sports team owners who openly pledged to compensating part-time workers for any games or concerts that were postponed or canceled during the season."
  • I incorporated it.

Finally, in the Philanthropy and community endeavors section, please add that in March 2020, Harris donated 10,000 laptops for Philadelphia students, to help with their distance learning during the pandemic.[3] [4].

  • This is already covered by "other equipment". I don't see the need to specifically point out laptops when other things were donated/provided.

Thank you very much! Calesci2 (talk) 19:36, 30 August 2023 (UTC) Calesci2 (talk) 19:36, 30 August 2023 (UTC)Reply

References

GA Review

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


This review is transcluded from Talk:Josh Harris (businessman)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Averageuntitleduser (talk · contribs) 15:38, 8 March 2024 (UTC)Reply

Howdy! I'll be getting to this soon! Averageuntitleduser (talk) 15:38, 8 March 2024 (UTC)Reply

Good Article review progress box
Criteria: 1a. prose ( ) 1b. MoS ( ) 2a. ref layout ( ) 2b. cites WP:RS ( ) 2c. no WP:OR ( ) 2d. no WP:CV ( )
3a. broadness ( ) 3b. focus ( ) 4. neutral ( ) 5. stable ( ) 6a. free or tagged images ( ) 6b. pics relevant ( )
Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked   are unassessed

Well-written

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Okay, these comments may seem a bit lowsy, but I really have read the article fully. The prose is just so smooth. On another note, I'm gonna be lenient towards the NBA, NFL, and NHL acronyms in the lead; they'd be a pain to spell out.

  • Penn's — this feels a tad too informal, perhaps "the university's"
  • Drexel had filed for bankruptcy earlier that year... — this one's a bit of a run on sentence.
  • He was among several businessmen in 2017 that met with the Trump administration — this is a bit of a jump from 2009 in the previous sentence. I would move it to the beginning of the next paragraph.
  • Harris was included on Sports Business Journal's "Most Influential: Dealmakers & Disrupters" list in 2022. — because of how small the publication is, I don't see the relevance. Has he been put on other similar lists?

Verifiable with no original research

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Earwig shows a low score of 22%, a lot of which are long names or ideas that are hard to rephrase. The CiteHighlighter script has most sources green. The Forbes articles in yellow are written by staff members. The three refs in orange, two being press releases, are fine as primary sources. Most of the refs that aren't highlighted at all either pass reliability, are fine as primary sources, and/or are attributed in-text. However, I have some quibbles:

  • Consider bundling refs 106—109, or removing one of them if they aren't critical.
  • As there is no consensus to its reliability, five Business Insider sources is a fair amount. I would remove or recite most of them.
  • I don't see the reliability of PhillyVoice
  • Ditto for Buyouts Insider
  • Same for the Commercial Observer
  • As well as C-Suite Spotlight
  • And finally, Front Office Sports. I would remove or recite most of the above. Of course, feel free to contest me on these.

Spot-check

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Randomly generated these citations:

Broad in its coverage

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A wide variety of sources across a long timeframe are used proportionally. Looks good.

Neutral

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Looks good on this front. I haven't found much explicitly negative reporting. Only two comments:

  • with diversity, equity, and inclusion, and employee empowerment being promoted within his workplace culture. — the "employee empowerment" bit is teetering on WP:EXCEPTIONAL. Please find some other sources that support it. As well, the "diversity, equity, and inclusion" bit should be attributed to him.
  • Due to public criticism, he would reverse a decision to reduce the salaries of HBSE, 76ers, and Devils employees making under $100,000 by 20% during the hiatus. — I feel like this is phrased too positively? Of course, Harris wouldn't be the only one behind the initial decision, but looking at the news coverage, he seems to have gotten a lot of criticism. Perhaps: "In/on [insert date], HBSE announced [insert what happened]. After receiving public criticism, Harris [blah blah blah]."

Stable

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No recent edit wars or content disputes.

Illustrated

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Images are all creative commons or own works. They all give a better understanding of the topic; I like how the 76ers and Devils pictures correspond with their paragraphs.

Summary

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Great (and very diligent) work on this article! I believe it's close to the finish line. Averageuntitleduser (talk) 23:51, 10 March 2024 (UTC)Reply

Let me know if I've missed something in the spot-check, but considering its status, I'm gonna ask you to skim through the article for source-text integrity, especially with months/years and just making sure that citations are not too early or late. I don't expect it to be thorough, however, a lot of my comments were minor. Averageuntitleduser (talk) 03:09, 11 March 2024 (UTC)Reply
All listed comments have been addressed. ~ Dissident93 (talk) 09:57, 12 March 2024 (UTC)Reply
I would agree! I think that's all I got! Averageuntitleduser (talk) 13:36, 12 March 2024 (UTC)Reply
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Congrats on the GA status and some further updates

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As 26North gains more press coverage, I would like to suggest adding the following to the Private Equity and Finance section:

  • Harris founded the alternative asset management firm 26North in September 2022[1] to focus on private equity, credit and insurance.[2] By the end of the first year, it held $9.5 billion in assets.[3] In September 2023, the firm named seven new partners and launched a direct-lending business. In 2024, 26North announced a $4.9 billion insurance deal with Life Insurance Co of the Southwest. 26North AUM stands at $22 billion as of May 2024.[4]
  • In the Sports Business Section, please add the following:
Harris' stated priority after taking ownership of the Commanders was to establish positive relationships with the current and former players. He reengaged former players who helped win three Super Bowls and build the franchise by honoring them at Commanders Field in October 2023.[5]

In the same section, please add the following in addition to changing the sentence regarding HBSE planning to reduce salaries of employees making under $100,000 by 20% to over $100,000 by 20%, according to the CNBC source:

In March 2020, Harris and Blitzer were among the first NHL owners to publicly commit to paying part-time, hourly and event employees for any postponed or canceled concerts or games.[6] HBSE initially introduced plans, which were quickly shelved by Harris and his partner David Blitzer, to reduce salaries of HBSE, 76ers, and Devils employees making over $100,000 by 20%, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, which saw the NBA and NHL suspend operations for most of 2020.[7] Harris and Blitzer quickly reversed the decision after it was announced, after receiving public criticism, including an effort by 76ers All-Star player Joel Embiid to cover the losses of those affected.

References

  1. ^ Vandevelde, Mark (9 September 2022). "Apollo veteran Josh Harris launches $5bn investment group". ft.com.
  2. ^ Sage, John (7 May 2024). "Harris' 26North Inks $5 Billion Insurance Deal, Growing Assets". bloomberg.com.
  3. ^ Perlberg, Heather (1 December 2022). "Harris Taps Ex-Citi CEO for $9.5 Billion Investment Firm". bloomberg.com.
  4. ^ Sage, John (7 May 2024). "Harris' 26North Inks $5 Billion Insurance Deal, Growing Assets". bloomberg.com.
  5. ^ Jackson, Eric (29 October 2023). "100 Days in Washington: Josh Harris Turns the Page on Snyder Era". sportico.com.
  6. ^ Nieto-Munoz, Sophie (20 March 2020). "Here are the retail stores that are paying their workers during coronavirus shutdown". nj.com.
  7. ^ Golden, Jessica (24 March 2020). "76ers, Devils reverse decision to cut salaries up to 20% due to coronavirus hiatus". cnbc.com.

Dissident93, thank you for your continued work on this article and congratulations on achieving GA status - would you mind looking over these suggestions and consider updating the article accordingly? Thank you very much! Calesci2 (talk) 20:17, 25 July 2024 (UTC)Reply

Most of the 26North stuff is leaning on being WP:UNDUE, as we don't need to note partnerships with non-notable (by Wikipedia standards) companies or have yearly AUM updates (typically the most recent one suffices unless previous numbers were notable). Are there any people at the firm or companies under management that have currently have Wikipedia articles? That would establish some notability for some of the partners. I'm also unsure how important launching a direct-lending business is and this part doesn't seem to be cited either. For now, I'll go with "Harris founded the alternative asset management firm 26North in September 2022, investing primarily in private equity, credit, and insurance companies. The firm had $22 billion of assets under management as of May 2024".
The proposed Commanders statement I also disagree with adding, as connecting with fans and former players is pretty much what any decent owner of a sports team should be doing. I corrected the "under" typo but the addition of "which were quickly shelved by Harris and his partner David Blitzer" is redundant to "Harris and Blitzer quickly reversed the decision after it was announced" below. I also previously removed "Harris and Blitzer were among the first NHL owners to publicly commit to paying part-time, hourly and event employees for any postponed or canceled concerts or games" for leaning on having a positive bias, as it's not like this was a groundbreaking decision or that they were the only ones to do this during the pandemic. Maybe it could be written into the paycut sentence? ~ Dissident93 (talk) 23:41, 25 July 2024 (UTC)Reply
Hi Dissident93, thank you for your prompt and thoughtful response. I want to address some of your points:
In March 2020, Harris and Blitzer were among the first NHL owners to commit to paying employees for any postponed or canceled events. That month, Harris also introduced plans to reduce salaries of HBSE, 76ers, and Devils employees making over $100,000 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, which saw the NBA and NHL suspend operations for most of 2020. They reversed the decision within a week of receiving public criticism, including an effort by 76-ers All-Star player Joel Embiid to cover the losses of those affected. Thank you! Calesci2 (talk) 18:28, 31 July 2024 (UTC)Reply
Hi Dissident93, I'm reaching out in case you missed my response to some of the points you raised with my latest edit request. I appreciate our ongoing discussion. Thanks in advance for taking a look. Calesci2 (talk) 18:09, 14 August 2024 (UTC)Reply
Sorry for the late response. I incorporated the above suggestions, with slight tweaks to both. ~ Dissident93 (talk) 20:31, 14 August 2024 (UTC)Reply