"If Obama called me, hell yeah, I'm buying in" - Charles Barkley open to becoming owner of Phoenix Suns with former POTUS
Charles Barkley is open to becoming part of the new Phoenix Suns ownership group with former United States president Barack Obama. Barkley was initially hesitant about being a minority owner but is now excited that Obama could be part of a group trying to buy the Suns.
On "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Bill Simmons asked Barkley about his interest in becoming part of the new Suns ownership. Barkley admitted that he does not have the ego to be a minority owner, as he prefers having real money rather than an ownership stake.
"I'm not gonna waste a lot of money for 5%, so I can say, 'I'm one of the owners of a team,'" Barkley said. "I'd rather have that money. My ego's not like, 'Yeah, I'm one of the owners of the Suns. I got like $20 million in it, I own a percentage.' I'd probably rather have the $20 million, personally."
However, Simmons threw a curveball at Barkley. The Ringer founder said that Barack Obama might be part of a group that could try to buy the Suns. Barkley changed his tune about the possibility of becoming a part of an ownership group.
"If Obama called me, hell yeah, I'm buying in," Barkley said. "If President Obama calls me and says, 'Hey, would you to be part owner of the team? Hell yeah.' I got so much love and admiration for that guy."
The former POTUS is a huge fan of basketball and supports the Chicago Bulls. Obama is not a billionaire but knows a lot of people who have the money to buy the Suns. Obama will likely be the face of the ownership group, if the reports are true.
Who will be the next Phoenix Suns owner?
Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was forced to sell the franchise after backlash for his workplace misconduct. Sarver has started the process of selling the team that could probably fetch around $4 billion, as per Marc Stein on Substack.
Not a lot of people have that kind of money, but there are interested parties. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne revealed a shortlist of potential buyers of the Suns that include former CEOs and billionaires.
"There's gonna be a few names you'll hear," Shelburne said. "Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon. Robert Iger, former CEO of Disney. Lorraine Jobs, who is a minority owner of the Washington Wizards, Larry Ellison. These are big names out there, and there's gonna be a lot more."
Bezos has a net worth of $139.1 billion and is the third-richest man in the world. Lorraine Jobs is the widow of Apple founder, Steve Jobs, while Ellison is the former CEO of Oracle.
It will be interesting to see who will be the next owner of the Phoenix Suns, who are building to contend for the championship. Moving on from the Sarver controversy will be good for the franchise looking to win their first NBA championship.