Tom Gores (born Tewfiq Georgious, Arabic: توفيق جورجيوس; July 31, 1964) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Platinum Equity, a private equity firm headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In June 2011, Gores and Platinum Equity became the owners of the National Basketball Association‘s Detroit Pistons. He became the sole owner in 2015. As of March 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$6.0 billion.
Gores was born in Nazareth, Israel on July 31, 1964. He was the fifth of six children in a practicing Catholic family with a father of Greek descent and a mother of Lebanese descent. When he was around five years old, he and his family left Nazareth and settled in Genesee, Michigan located 10 miles northeast of Flint. His first job involved stocking shelves at his uncle’s grocery store in Genesee. While a student at Genesee High School, Gores played defensive back in football, middle infielder in baseball, and guard in basketball.
After high school, he attended Michigan State University, where he worked as a janitor and telemarketer to make ends meet. He graduated in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in construction management
He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Platinum Equity
- Tom Gores oversees more than 40 companies with some $36 billion in assets through his Los Angeles-based private equity firm, Platinum Equity.
- The Gores family moved from Israel to Michigan when Tom was four. In his youth, he stocked shelves at his father’s small grocery store in Flint.
- Net worth: $6.2 billion
- His brother, Alec, is also a private equity billionaire. Tom and Alec spent their 20s learning the buyout business together before splitting in 1995.
- In January 2020, Platinum closed on its largest fund to date, raising a higher-than-expected $10 billion from investors.
- In 2011 Gores and Platinum bought the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. In August 2015 he purchased Platinum’s stake, giving him 100% of the team’s equity.
- Gores bankrolled a new $90 million headquarters and training center for the Pistons. It opened in September 2019.
