In a shocking bit of news both personal and professional, Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip page, reports Friday that Joe and Clara Wu Tsai are divorcing after nearly 30 years of marriage. The two’s parting is not expected to effect their ownership or operation of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty or Barclays Center, the component pieces of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. That’s all according to a statement from the couple included in the Page Six report.
The partnership’s biggest success in their seven years as owners of the NBA and WNBA teams was the Liberty’s 2024 WNBA championship. The Nets are coming out of two-year tank. Financially, BSE has been hugely successful, more than doubling their original investment.
The spokesman for the couple laid out some details regarding the current and future relationship between the two aa well as the expectation that their sports assets would not be materially effected, It also noted that ultimately their three grown children will control them. Tsai has said in the past that he sees his holdings in the Nets, Liberty and Barclays Center as “generational,”, essentially the “family business.”
> “Clara Wu Tsai and Joe Tsai have decided to end their marriage, a decision they came to mutually and with great respect for one another.
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> “Over the years, their relationship evolved into more of a partnership, one of running their businesses and raising their children together. While they have grown apart, their divorce is amicable and their relationship remains a strong, professional partnership.
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> “Their decision will not affect the business operations of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, the Brooklyn Nets or the New York Liberty.
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> “Joe will remain Chairman and Clara will remain Vice Chair of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment. Joe will remain Governor of the Brooklyn Nets and Clara will remain Governor of the New York Liberty. They will continue to own and be stewards of the teams with professional management in place as they always have.
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> “In the long run, they also plan to involve their children.”
The Tsais have three children, a daughter Alex, the oldest, and two sons, Dash and Jacob. All three have been involved in competitive sports. Jacob was Yale’s back-up point guard last season.
NetsDaily reached out to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment for a comment, but as of 4:00 p.m. ET had not heard back.
While the statement discussed how management of the two teams and BSE will be divided, neither it nor Page Six discussed any division of assets. Joe Tsai’s net worth has been placed at between $9.5 billion and $12.5 billion. The statement did note that the divorce is also not expected to affect Alibaba, the giant Chinese e-commerce, AI and Cloud company Joe Tsai heads. Tsai is the second largest shareholder in the company.
> “There are no plans to sell any Alibaba shares and Joe’s role as Alibaba Chairman is not affected by this development.”
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> The statement concluded, “Joe and Clara remain deeply committed to continuing their existing philanthropic and community work. They are both driven by the best interests of their family, businesses, and communities, and are dedicated to continue working together as true partners.”
In addition to the BSE, Blue Pool Capital, the family office at the top of the Tsais’ pyramid, also owns a number of ther sports assets as [NetsDaily reported a year ago this week.](/2025/7/28/24452326/ambition-joe-tsai-talks-to-netsdaily-about-his-rising-sports-fortunes)
Quietly over the last decade, the 62-year-old co-founder and chairman of Alibaba and his wife have acquired control or pieces of teams in the NBA, WNBA, MLS, indoor and outdoor lacrosse leagues as well as things like esports, sports data and analysis, digital sports of all kinds … and the world’s third highest grossing venue in Brooklyn, N.Y., which increasingly looks like the center of where they are headed, toward a venue-based entertainment district. Outside of the Brooklyn assets, Blue Pool also owns two percent of the Miami Dolphins.
Indeed, Bloomberg reported at the time that the Tsais sports assets were nearly equal to their biggest asset, the Alibaba stock holdings.
The Tsais own 85% of BSE with the remainder held by the family of Julia Koch, the widow of controversial industrial David Koch Jr. The Koch family includes Julia and David Koch Sr.’s three children. The oldest, David Koch Jr. was recently named Special Assistant to GM Sean Marks after spending a little more than a year as a basketball operations assistant. The Kochs have no path to ownership but reportedly have the right of first refusal should BSE go up from sale. The Koch also own 10% of the New York Giants. In both cases, ownership is reportly passive. A small piece of the Liberty is separately owned by Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and several notable women investors including Robin Roberts, the host of Good Morning America.
Tsai has said that selling BSE or either of the teams would not be a smart business decision with rising valuations and profits across the NBA and WNBA. Moreover, valuations are likely to tick upward again next season with NBA expansion franchises, likely in Seattle and Las Vegas, going up for bid, and the league setting up shop in Europe. In addition to the increased valuations, current team owners would get to share in the proceeds from the expansion sales.
Estimates by news organizations have put the Nets/Barclays Center valuation at around six billion dollars and the Liberty’s about a tenth of that.
The history of such break-ups is mixed with some splits ultimately affecting the pro sports teams, although in each case circumstances differed widely. Frank and Jamie McCourt of Dodgers divorced in 2011. Jamie ultimately settled on a $30 million payout. Jeffrey and Christina Lurie of the Eagles in split 2012 with Christiana reportedly kept a small, non voting share.