Michael G. Rubin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael G. Rubin
Born 1972
Ethnicity Jewish
Citizenship United States
Occupation entrepreneur
Known for founder of Kynetic
Net worth Increase US$ 2.6 billion (Sept 2013)[1]
Spouse(s) Meegan Rubin (divorced)
Children one

Michael G. Rubin (born 1972) is the founder and CEO of Kynetic, an e-commerce services company. The company was recently valued at $1 billion.[2]

Early life and education

Rubin was born to a Jewish family, the son of Paulette and Ken Rubin.[3] His mother is a psychiatrist and his father a veterinarian.[4] He grew up in West Philadelphia where he started a ski-tuning shop in his parents’ basement when he was 12[5] and two years later - using $2,500 in bar mitzvah gifts as seed capital and a lease signed by his father - he opened a formal ski shop in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.[3] By the age of 16, he was some $200,000 in debt and was able to settle with his creditors using a $37,000 loan from his father under the condition he attend college.[3] Rubin agreed, continuing to operate the business, which grew to five ski shops before he entered college.[3] He attended Villanova University[4] for a semester before dropping out after realizing a large gain on an opportunistic transaction (buying $200,000 in overstock equipment with $17,000 borrowed from a friend and re-selling it for $75,000).[3]

Career

Using the proceeds from his serendipitous overstock transaction and after selling his ski shops, he went on to found the athletic equipment closeout company KPR sports - named after his parents initials - which bought and sold over-stock name brand merchandise.[3] In 1993, the year Rubin turned 21, KPR reached $1 million in annual sales;[4] by 1995, KPR reached $50 million in sales.[3] In 1995, Rubin purchased 40% of the women's athletic shoe manufacturer Ryka.[3]

In 1998, Rubin created Global Sports, which would later turn into GSI Commerce, a multi-billion dollar e-commerce company.[6] At 38, Rubin sold his company GSI Commerce to eBay for $2.4 billion[2] reaping a $150 million windfall.[7] As eBay just wanted the order fulfillment business for large retailers so it could better compete with Amazon.com, Rubin was able to buy back the consumer businesses of GSI at a fire sale price.[7] He repurchased: Fanatics, a licensed sports merchandiser; Rue La La, a flash seller, and Shop Runner, a retail benefits program, merging the three companies into a new entity named Kynetic.[7] Rubin serves as executive chairman on each of his companies’ boards.[7]

Rubin played a role in the CBS television show Undercover Boss.[8] He has been mentioned in The New York Times,[9] and People Magazine.[3] Forbes named him one of 2011’s “20 Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under.”[10]

Philadelphia 76er ownership

In October 2011, Rubin bought a minority share in the Philadelphia 76ers.[11] Rubin is a member of the investment group that won a $280 million bid for the team. The other members of the investment group are: Joshua Harris of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, portfolio manager Art Wrubel, former NBA agent and Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien,[12] former Vail Resorts CEO Adam Aron, Martin Geller, David Heller, Travis Hennings, James Lassiter, David S. Blitzer, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Indonesian businessmen Handy Soetedjo & Erick Thohir.[13] Comcast-Spectacor began talks with the investment group in the summer of 2011. The deal was announced on July 13, 2011.[14] The NBA formally approved the deal on October 13, 2011.[15]

Personal life

Rubin is divorced from dancer Meegan Rubin. They have one daughter Kylie.[16][17] He lives with his girlfriend CNN and CNBC anchor Nicole Lapin.[18]

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Michael Rubin September 2013
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 DiStefano, Joseph N. (2011-09-12). "Facebook, Groupon...and Philly's Kynetic". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Neil, Michael (1995-10-02). "Sneaker Stud". People. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 AOL: "Very Different Kind of Undercover Boss" By Lisa Johnson Mandell March 20, 2010
  5. ↑ Huang, Patricia (2006-07-06). "America's Youngest CEOs". Forbes. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  6. ↑ Liberman, Noah (2001-11-05). "Michael Rubin Profile". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Forbes: "Newly-Minted Billionaire Is Spinning eBay Scraps Into Gold" November 19, 2012
  8. ↑ "CBS' Undercover Boss". CBS. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
  9. ↑ Zipkin, Amy (2010-08-07). "Trust Your Instincts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  10. ↑ "20 Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under". Forbes. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  11. ↑ "Indonesian businessman first Asian to own NBA team". The Star. 2011-10-20. 
  12. ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer: "Those who know him say Joshua Harris, soon-to-be Sixers owner, lives for competition and success" By Kate Fagan August 02, 2011
  13. ↑ ESPN: "Group led by Joshua Harris completes purchase of Sixers" October 18, 2011
  14. ↑ Sale of 76ers to Joshua Harris finished. ESPN, 2011-07-13.
  15. ↑ Group led by Joshua Harris completes purchase of 76ers. Philadelphia 76ers, 2011-10-13.
  16. ↑ Main Line Today: "LibertyMe Dance Studio in Bryn Mawr Teaches Dance Technique and Charity for Kids" By J. F. Pirro February 12, 2013
  17. ↑ Philly Style magazine: "The Secrets to Michael Rubin's Success" retrieved July 21, 2013
  18. ↑ "Lapin’s ‘Undercover’ love". New York Post. 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-05-26. 
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