Updated: Feb. 16, 2023, at 10:03 a.m.
Theodore “Ted” Lerner, an alumnus, the former principal owner of the Washington Nationals and the namesake of the Lerner Health and Wellness Center, died in his Maryland home Sunday. He was 97.
Nationals spokesperson Jennifer Mastin Giglio said Lerner died after complications from pneumonia. A D.C. native, Lerner enrolled at GW after serving as an Army typist in World War II, graduating with an associate’s degree in 1948 and a bachelor of law in 1950.
“As an alumnus, trustee, philanthropic leader and friend of the George Washington University, Mr. Lerner provided unparalleled support, generosity and wisdom to our University—enhancing our campuses and improving the lives of countless individuals in our university and District communities,” interim University President Mark Wrighton said in a Tuesday release. “The legacy he leaves will shape our University’s trajectory for years to come.”
Lerner graduated from D.C.’s Roosevelt High School in 1944, according to the Washington Post. After graduating from GW, Lerner founded a real estate company, Lerner Enterprises, with $250 he borrowed from his wife, Annette.
His company constructed more than 22,000 houses and 7,000 apartments in the Washington area, according to the Washington Post. Forbes estimated Lerner’s net worth to be $6.6 billion as of Monday.
As the principal owner of the Nationals, Lerner supervised the 2008 opening of Nationals Park and passed principal ownership of the team to his son in 2018, one year before the Nationals won their first World Series.
“The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved — and with it, bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924,” the Nationals said in a statement announcing Lerner’s death. “He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown.”
Lerner, who served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 1986 to 2001, donated $550,000 to build Lerner Hall at GW Law and $5 million to build the Lerner Health and Wellness Center. The Lerner Family Hall on the first floor of the GW Hillel building is also named for Lerner’s family.
His son, Mark Lerner, graduated from GW’s School of Business and Public Management with a bachelor’s degree in 1975. His daughter, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, graduated from GW Law in 1983.
The Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals in 2004, and Lerner purchased the team two years later for $450 million. The Lerner family invested more than $600 million into the construction of Nationals Park, helping to revitalize the waterfront.
“I have great appreciation for Ted’s impact on his hometown and the game he loved,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a Monday statement.
This post has been updated to include the following:
This post was updated to include a statement from Wrighton.
