Jeffrey Lurie is by no means the most wealthy of NFL owners. The Boston, Massachusetts born billionaire holds a Bachelor of Arts/Science from Clark University, a Master's Degree from Boston University, and a Doctorate from Brandeis University, all Massachusetts based institutions. Brandeis has a reputation for being a predominantly Jewish school. And, while born to Jewish parents, as an adult he is non-practicing. And while the net worth of the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles is sky-high, his move to NFL ownership in 1994 shocked his family and friends.
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Jeffrey Lurie's Unlikely Path to NFL Ownership
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One may have thought that when current Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie borrowed over $180 million from a bank to buy an NFL team in 1994, it would be the New England Patriots. And while the Pats did change ownership that year, it wasn't the hometown team he bought. Jeffrey Robert Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles from Norman Braman, who had only owned the team for less than a decade.
The former social policy professor certainly has a different path to ownership isn't the same as that of other football teams who have stepped onto the field to compete for a Super Bowl. Prior to taking a chance on an NFL team, Lurie was trying to make his way in another true American dream - Hollywood.
His grandfather, Philip Smith, had founded the General Cinema Corporation, and Lurie joined the business to help the production company. He eventually founded his own film company, Chestnut Hill Productions. However Lurie-produced work wasn't exactly taking Hollywood Boulevard by storm. They ended up working closely with TriStar Pictures, who ultimately helped them produce films like I Love You To Death in the early 90s.
It was during that film that Lurie met his future wife, Christina Weiss Lurie. Together they have two children, Julian and Milena. However, they divorced in 2012, before Lurie married his second wife, Tina Lai. They are still together today and have a home on Martha's Vineyard.
Jeffrey Lurie's Net Worth is Large, But He's Building a Larger Trophy Case
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Despite what was likely a difficult time personally, Lurie's work as a film producer landed in Oscar conversation in 2011. His film, Inside Job, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film. Two years later, Inocente won Best Documentary short. Then, in 2022, he won another Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for Summer of Soul. Other notable films, though not Academy Award Winners, are V.I. Warshawski, Sweet Hearts Dance, and Foxfire.
A rabid Eagles fan, Philly native Rob McElhenney recently purchased AFC Wrexham, a soccer team in Wales. On their FX docu-series, the actor was looking for advice and who did he go to? The owner of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. Who better to be able to relate to but someone who has a hand in the worlds of both sport and film?
While his team marches out to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jeffery Lurie will be looking to add another Lombardi to his Oscar-laded trophy case.After all, as Jeffrey Lurie's net worth reaches $4.4 billion it's all about adding to the trophy case.
