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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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J. Albert "Tripp" Smith (born 1965 or 1966) is an American investment executive who was the co-founder of GSO Capital Partners, the credit investment platform of The Blackstone Group.[1][2] Since 2017, he has been part owner of the English football club West Ham United F.C..

Early life and education

Smith attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis[3] and graduated in 1987 from the University of Notre Dame.[4]

Career

With two colleagues from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and subsequently Credit Suisse First Boston, Bennett Goodman and Doug Ostrover, Smith founded GSO Capital Partners in 2005;[5][6] its name derives from their initials.[7] He continued at GSO after its acquisition by Blackstone in 2008, serving as managing director[2] and leaving in 2018.[1] In 2019, he started Iron Park Capital Partners.[7][8]

He is a non-executive director of English football club West Ham United F.C. since purchasing a 10% stake in 2017.[2][9][10][11] In 2020, there were rumors that he was forming a consortium to purchase a controlling interest in the club.[12] In 2021, following Daniel Křetínský's purchase of a 27% stake in West Ham, Smith's shares were reduced to 8%.[13]

Personal life

Tripp and his wife, Sheila, have four children.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Natarajan, Sridhar; Mittelman, Melissa (March 22, 2018). "Tripp Smith, Co-Founder of Blackstone's GSO, to Leave Firm". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "West Ham stake bought by American billionaire Albert 'Tripp' Smith". Sky Sports. September 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "Portrait: Tripp Smith". Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (with audio file, 5 mins 14 secs). Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "Notre Dame receives $15 million gift for campus recreation facility". South Bend Tribune. September 2, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  5. ^ "Dealbook: Merrill Lynch Takes Hedge Fund Stake". The New York Times (press release). May 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Sahloul, Fareed (August 29, 2019). "Founder of Blackstone credit unit to stand down". Financial News London. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Gottfried, Miriam (April 14, 2020). "General Atlantic, Tripp Smith to Launch Roughly $5 Billion Distressed-Investing Fund". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  8. ^ Tan, Gillian (July 6, 2021). "Atlantic Park Nabs $2.2 Billion for Debut Strategic-Capital Fund". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Ahmed, Murad; Massoudi, Arash (September 29, 2017). "Blackstone's Tripp Smith buys in to English football at West Ham". Financial Times. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Slater, Matt (August 6, 2021). "West Ham takeover bid: The legal dispute surrounding PAI Capital". The Athletic. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Who owns your Premier League football club?". The Athletic. October 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Martin, Antony (July 4, 2020). "West Ham fans react to ExWHUemployee's Tripp Smith claims". Hammers News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  13. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (10 November 2021). "Daniel Kretinsky completes purchase of 27% stake in West Ham". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  14. ^ Brown, Dennis (September 1, 2017). "Smith family makes $15 million gift to Notre Dame for recreation center" (press release). Notre Dame University. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
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