George Steinbrenner's purchase of the New York Yankees paid off big time for his family

In 1973, George Steinbrenner led a group that purchased the New York Yankees from CBS for $8.7 million. Forty-two years later, the franchise is now worth $3.2 billion according to the latest valuations from Forbes.com.

Steinbrenner's initial investment in the purchase of the team was just $168,000 (about $890,000 in today's dollars) according to the L.A. Times, or about 1.9% of the total sale price. By the time Steinbrenner passed away in 2010, his stake in the team had grown to 57%. That share was passed on to his family, led by his sons Hank and Hal.

If the Steinbrenner family still owns 57% of the team, it is now worth more than $1.8 billion, or about 200,000% more than the elder Steinbrenner's initial investment (considering inflation).

That's pretty good.

(BusinessInsider.com)

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