Tom Gores

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Tom Gores's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the Detroit Pistons. From 2015 to now the net worth went from $3.2B to $10.6B, about 3 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Platinum raises money from pension funds and other investors and adds borrowed money. It buys whole companies, often unwanted divisions of large corporations, and works on how they run. It then sells them, aiming for a higher price. The firm earns annual management fees plus a share of the gains. It does not publish revenue or profit.

Biggest deals.

• First deal after founding in 1995: Litigation Services Inc., bought for $200,000.
• 2009-11: bought the San Diego Union-Tribune for about $30M and sold it for $110M.
• 2011: bought the Pistons and two venues for $325M. The full story is on the Detroit Pistons page.
• 2016: bought Emerson's network power arm for over $4B and renamed it Vertiv.
• October 2024: he and wife Holly bought 27% of the Chargers for a reported $750M.
• 22 September 2026: Platinum completed the $6.6B sale of Urbaser, a Spanish waste company, to Blackstone and EQT.

Career path

1. 1986

   Graduates from Michigan State; helps start Ventech, a lumber-logistics software firm

2. 1989

   Moves to Los Angeles; learns buyouts with brother Alec

3. 1995

   Splits from Alec and founds Platinum Equity at his home in Sherman Oaks

4. 2011

   Buys the Pistons with Platinum Equity; the deal closes on 1 June

5. 2015

   Buys Platinum's 49% to own the whole team

6. 2017

   Moves the Pistons to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit

7. 2024

   Replaces the basketball leadership after a 14-win season; buys into the Chargers

8. 2025

   Wins a Detroit WNBA team on 30 June

9. 2026

   Pistons finish 60-22, top seed in the East

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 5

• teamDetroit PistonsNBA · basketball · USSince 2011 · 100% since 2015 (51% personally in 2011, Platinum Equity 49%) · $325M with Platinum Equity for the team and two venues
• arenaDTE Energy Music Theatreconcert venue · USSince 2011 · 100%, with the team · included in the $325M
• teamLos Angeles ChargersNFL · American football · USSince 2024 · 27%, no path to control · $750M (CNBC; the AP says undisclosed)
• teamDetroit WNBA team (starts 2029)WNBA · basketball · USSince 2025 · leads a large local investor group · $250M expansion fee
• sports business313 Presentsvenue booking · USSince 2017 · joint venture with the Ilitch family's Olympia Entertainment

Owned before 1

• arenaThe Palace of Auburn Hillsbasketball · USSince 2011 to 2019 · 100%, with the team · included in the $325M

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: Platinum Equity is his main holding; Forbes counts more than 60 companies in its portfolio. In 2026 it formed Peranel, a $5.6B drinks business, with Nestlé and raised $2.28B for its small-company fund. On 19 October 2026 the Federal Trade Commission and 12 states sued Platinum and its company PlayPower. They seek to block PlayPower's purchase of BCI Burke, a rival playground-equipment maker. The case, in federal court in northern California, is pending.
• Property: Numerous Los Angeles properties and a condo in Birmingham, Michigan.
• Family in the business: Wife Holly co-invests in the Chargers and the WNBA team. Brother Alec runs a separate buyout firm.

Giving and politics

• FlintNOW (2016), a campaign to raise up to $10M for Flint water-crisis relief.
• $20M in 2022 for a community centre in Detroit's Rouge Park.
• $5M in 2016 to Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

How they run their teams

• He lives in Los Angeles but says he is involved almost daily in a crisis.
• He is slow to change, then sweeping. He backed his general manager in February 2024, then replaced the whole basketball leadership.
• He keeps sport outside his firm: the Chargers stake is personal, with no role in daily business.
• The Pistons went from 14 wins to 60 in two seasons and won a first playoff series since 2008.

What they have said

• He credits the turnaround to refusing to accept limits and warned against easing up after the first playoff trip.
• Strategy is worthless without execution, which is why he hired a business president from outside sports.
• With the team at 8-44, he said the organisation had to own its mistakes before it could move on.
• He told the team the community work was largely done and the job now was to win.
• A successful franchise starts with strong ownership and the right partners, he said of the WNBA bid.

Little-known facts

• His birth name is Tewfiq Georgious.
• The Chargers deal valued that team at about $4B, more than 30% below CNBC's $5.83B figure.
• His WNBA group includes Grant Hill, Chris Webber and Ethan Davidson, son of former Pistons owner Bill Davidson.
• A 2016 proposal with Dan Gilbert for a Detroit soccer franchise did not proceed.