Donald Sterling
| Donald Sterling | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Donald Tokowitz April 26, 1934 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Donald T. Sterling |
| Alma mater |
California State University, Los Angeles (B.A.) Southwestern Law School (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Attorney, businessman |
| Known for | Former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers |
| Net worth |
 US$3.1 billion (September 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Shelly Sterling (m. 1955) |
| Children | 3 |
Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American businessman and attorney. He was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers professional basketball franchise of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 2014.
In April 2014, Sterling was banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million by the league after private recordings of him making racist comments were made public. In May, Sterling's wife, Shelly, reached an agreement to sell the Clippers for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer, which Sterling has contested in court. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer on August 12, 2014.
Donald Sterling was born Donald Tokowitz on April 26, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. His family moved to the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles when he was two years old. His parents, Susan and Mickey, were Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, where he was on the school's gymnastics team and served as class president; he graduated in 1952. He next attended California State University, Los Angeles (Class of 1956) and Southwestern University School of Law (Class of 1960) in Los Angeles.
When he was 25 (after he was married), he and his wife Shelly changed their surname to "Sterling", filing a formal petition to do so on December 9, 1959. They cited the difficulty among his peers to pronounce "Tokowitz" and the belief that there would be financial benefits for the change.
Starting in 1961, Sterling began to make his career as a divorce and personal injury attorney building an independent practice when Jews had few opportunities at prestigious law firms. His biggest ventures were in real estate, which he began when he purchased a 26-unit apartment building in Beverly Hills.
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