Moroccan-American financier Marc Lasry has been included in Forbes’ 250 Greatest Self-Made Americans list, which recognises business leaders, athletes and entertainers who built large fortunes from modest backgrounds.
The list, published earlier this month, ranks Lasry at 154. Forbes uses a “self-made score” to assess whether individuals began with little wealth or came from working-class families. Only those scoring 9 or 10 qualify.
Lasry appears alongside figures such as Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, Dr. Dre, Cher and David Steward.
Forbes points to his early life in a cramped apartment as part of his story. His current net worth is estimated at $2.2bn as of 22 April, placing him around 1,913 on the global billionaire rankings.
Lasry was born in Marrakesh, Morocco, and moved to the United States when he was seven. He grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, where his father worked as a computer programmer and his mother as a schoolteacher. He has often spoken about sharing a single bedroom with his siblings for years.
He later studied law at New York Law School and worked in bankruptcy law under judge Edward Ryan. That experience led him into distressed debt investing, where investors buy debt in struggling companies at low prices and make returns if those firms recover.
In 1995, Lasry co-founded Avenue Capital Group with his sister Sonia Gardner, raising about $7m from friends and family. The firm has since grown into a global asset manager overseeing roughly $9.5bn to $12bn and operating across major financial centres including New York, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The firm completed a $2.2bn asset sale in early 2025 to Partners Group, marking a significant restructuring of its portfolio. Recent updates suggest it has been cautious on expensive technology stocks, particularly amid uncertainty linked to artificial intelligence, and has instead focused on sectors such as energy and infrastructure.
Lasry entered sport ownership in 2014 when he and Wes Edens bought the NBA team Milwaukee Bucks for $550m. Under their ownership, the club built a new arena and won the NBA Championship in 2021. In 2023, Lasry sold his stake at a valuation of $3.5bn.
After leaving direct ownership, he launched the Avenue Sports Fund, which has raised more than $1bn. It invests in emerging sports properties and related technology. His portfolio includes the Bay Golf Club in the TGL golf league with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the women’s basketball league Unrivaled alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and stakes in Ipswich Town FC, NASCAR’s Trackhouse Entertainment, Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and pickleball venture CityPickle.
Beyond sport, Lasry has invested in gaming and consumer technology, including Lucra Sports, Skillz and SponsorUnited.
He has also expressed caution about what he sees as potential risks in private credit markets, while maintaining a long-term focus on energy and infrastructure. He continues to back investment in China through his Avenue Asia strategy, despite wider geopolitical tensions, arguing that growth opportunities remain significant.
