Ledecky was born in 1958 in
New York City, the son of a
Czechoslovak immigrant who came to America eleven years prior to study English at
Rutgers University. Growing up in
Queens and
Brooklyn, he became a
New York Yankees fan. After moving in 1972 to
Greenwich, Connecticut, Ledecky attended
Greenwich High School. After high school, Ledecky studied business administration at
Harvard University, continuing his reporter work at
The Harvard Crimson and college radio station
WHRB. Ledecky earned his bachelor's degree in 1979 and completed a
Master of Business Administration in 1983, which was followed by a series of venture capital-type jobs. After being dismissed from
Steelcase in 1994, Ledecky decided to open his own company in the office supplies business. Backed by a number of Harvard alumni, U.S. Office Products was founded in 1994, and had its
initial public offering one year later. By the time Ledecky left U.S. Office Products in 1998, his fortune was estimated at $200 million.
Sports ownership In 1998, Ledecky nearly purchased a share of the
Cincinnati Reds before getting his bid matched by
Carl Lindner, and also bid on the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Eventually he partnered with
America Online executive
Ted Leonsis to found Lincoln Holdings, who purchased the
National Hockey League's
Washington Capitals and a minor share of the
National Basketball Association's
Washington Wizards. In 2001, Ledecky sold his 24-percent stake in Lincoln Holdings, originally worth $58 million, back to Leonsis for more than $70 million. Ledecky headed one of the groups intent on purchasing the
Washington Nationals from
Major League Baseball, eventually losing to
Ted Lerner. In October 2014, Ledecky and former Harvard roommate
Scott D. Malkin entered a deal to purchase the
New York Islanders from
Charles Wang. They became minority owners during a two-year transition period before getting majority shares by 2016. ==References==