New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is beloved by nearly all Mets fans. The lifelong fan of the team and very, very, rich man bought the club before the 2021 season from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme victim Wilpon family, freeing Mets fans from years of cost-cutting.
And, all Cohen has done since he bought the team is spend his money. The team has handed out monster contracts to players like Francisco Lindor, Max Scherzer, Brandon Nimmo, Justin Verlander, and Edwin Diaz, among others in just the past two years.
Cohen, who grew up on Long Island going to Mets games, worked his way from modest means to one of the biggest players in the financial sector. Cohen founded SAC Capital Advisors in 1992, and grew it into one of the world’s largest hedge funds that managed over $14 billion dollars at its peak. After some law enforcement investigations, he founded Point 72 Ventures, and his wealth has continued to grow to over $17.4 billion, according to Forbes. So, when he spends money on big-time players for the Mets, it’s a very small drop in the bucket for Cohen.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has spent almost $400 million on new player contracts this offseason, or a little more than 2 percent of his reported net worth.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) December 9, 2022
And, that has made him a favorite among fans. Last year, the Mets won 101 games, but fell short of the Braves due to a tiebreaker in the division and lost in the Wild Card Round to the Padres, 2-1. Still, that’s huge progress to where the franchise was under the Wilpon’s.
Many Mets fan call Cohen “Uncle Steve” because he often mingles with fans. And, during the Mets’ opening day 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins, Cohen was slumming it with a Mets fan group in Loan Depot Park in Miami.
Here’s Steve Cohen cheering on the Mets. pic.twitter.com/vqoZkIFif5
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 30, 2023
“Uncle Steve” is standing with members of the Mets fan group The 7 Line, named after the famed Subway route that drops off fans right outside the stadium, dating back to Shea Stadium prior to Citi Field being built. Over 2000 group members made the trip to Miami to see the Mets win again on opening day. That makes them 41-23 on opening day in history, by far the best percentage of any team.