Is Arthur Blank in financial trouble ?

[Swift Is a Die Hard]

I dont think Blank is poor by any means just like the Mets owners(Wilpons) arent poor Im just wondering with him looking for investors on Falcons franchise from Bon Jovi to everyone else and I know the market has been shit and he has probably taken a beaten on his home depot stock options also just read he is slashing his house in half I really hope not Blank has been probably the best thing to happen to this franchise

Quote:The Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has dropped the price of his home in Atlanta’s Buckhead community from $10.9 million to $4.9 million, 55 percent of the original asking price three years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read more: Arthur Blank home at $4.9M, was $11.9M | Atlanta Business Chronicle

[Swift Is a Die Hard]

Just google if Blank was involved in that Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme and by reports they escaped it ..Kind of odd when you think a lot of prominent Jewish people were involved in the ponzi scheme

Quote:Madoff scheme skipped Atlanta
‘No exposure’ here: Jewish organizations elsewhere hard hit by ‘Ponzi’ of the century.

By Rachel Pomerance

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, December 22, 2008

What’s being called the “Ponzi scheme” of the century targeted several Jewish philanthropists and charities, but it has apparently left Atlanta investors largely unscathed.

Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion scam has led to staggering losses among investors from New York to Palm Beach including several Jewish organizations, with Yeshiva University and Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America reportedly losing $110 million and $90 million respectively.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, however, a fund-raising body for social service agencies in Atlanta and abroad, “had no exposure to Madoff indebtments,” said president Steve Rakitt. Officials with two significant Jewish-owned foundations in Atlanta —- those of Home Depot founders Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus —- said they were not affected.

In fact, despite some severe losses in the Jewish community, most Jewish charities were not harmed, said Gary Tobin, president of the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research.

It’s likely too soon to measure the full impact of the scandal, which is sure not only to affect Jewish communities, but also reach far beyond them.

That’s because Jewish philanthropists give considerably to general causes. Although Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, they donate 25 percent of the most significant gifts to higher education, Tobin said.

Of their charitable gifts totaling $1 million or more, 95 percent are allocated to general causes; and 70 percent of major grants from Jewish foundations go to the general community, he said.

It’s “nothing short of a devastating blow to the philanthropic world,” said Eric Robbins, executive director of Camp Twin Lakes, a facility for children with disabilities that he said is “supported largely by the philanthropic Jewish community of Atlanta” but was not hurt by the Madoff scam.

Robbins added many Jewish organizations serve general community needs.

“I went to Yeshiva, and my class was not just Jewish.”

Hadassah’s local chapter in Atlanta referred questions to its New York headquarters, which did not return calls seeking comment.

At Yeshiva Atlanta, a feeder high school for Yeshiva University, some families are worried whether their children will get scholarship funds for college.

It’s a “destination school for us,” with a handful of the 25 to 30 kids in a class attending Yeshiva University for its “combination of quality religious studies and general studies,” said Rabbi Elisha Paul, the headmaster. “It’s not like there’s tons of other options.”

Even if the local financial fallout is not intense, the issue has Atlanta’s Jewish community all abuzz and, in some cases, concerned about broader issues.

“Even before Madoff, the financial crisis was doing what it always does,” which is “firing up anti-Semitic activity,” said Bill Nigut, Southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. “The irony of all of this is that the most visible victims at least of Madoff are Jewish and yet it is the anti-Semitic extremists out there who will hold up Madoff as another example of why you can’t trust the Jewish business community which, of course, is an outrageous accusation.”

[UCSBDirtyBird]

I doubt he is. The fact that the asking price for his home dropped that much since early 2008 is likely due to something else. But I can't for the life of me figure out what that is.




















And he is not looking for a majority share investor, but what seems to be considering small buy ins.

Then again, you weren't looking for serious responses were you?

[Swift Is a Die Hard]

Housing market has gone to shit or really has it ? there was a good article about this in Wall St Journal ..link

Most people with Blank $$ will hold onto real estate cause most experts believe housing market always come back but especially since Blank does own the Atlanta Falcons and he is in the city and not slash his home in half if he wasnt that desperate to get rid of it



As for investors could mean he might need a cash infusion cause there really isnt another reason to bring on a investor is there

[phocis850]

He could slash the price just to get rid of the place.
Yes, he has plenty of money and the Home Depot isn't doing THAT bad.

Also, bringing in an investor allows the ability to pursue more advertising and such. Use their money and not his own. Plus with the word of an eventual new stadium, money would need to start going into savings.

[The Falcon Jedi]

That bastard wrote me a $10 check that bounced

[Swift Is a Die Hard]

(03-22-2011 07:53 PM)phocis850 Wrote:  He could slash the price just to get rid of the place.
Yes, he has plenty of money and the Home Depot isn't doing THAT bad.

Also, bringing in an investor allows the ability to pursue more advertising and such. Use their money and not his own. Plus with the word of an eventual new stadium, money would need to start going into savings.

I wonder how close we are to getting a new stadium ..Im sure there will be tax payers paying a portion by either bond buying and what not or Blank getting a major break somewhere along the lines.. I do believe we need a new stadium but not sure how close we really are

[Drathdon]

In these uncertain times (both regular and NFL season-less years), having a $10 Mil house that is costing more in Taxes and Upkeep than you would loose in the sell to cut the cost is the real bad business decision.

That said, Arthur has said he is amounting capital for a stadium (He will need to pay some of the cost to get what he wants from the deal), so dead-end houses are probably wood that can be trimmed in that arena.

[Sporkdevil]

(03-22-2011 07:03 PM)UCSBDirtyBird Wrote:  And he is not looking for a majority share investor, but what seems to be considering small buy ins.

Yeah, I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as he has a majority. Plus with Bon Jovi (or whoever it was), I think it could be like Miami where to a point you bring in a bunch of celebrities to cough up a couple million for a share and you get lots of advertisement and good will.

[ChrisD]

Pretty sure Arthur is just getting more investors together so he can build his new stadium and/or dome.