The report shows a would‑be NBA team owner built wealth via subprime auto lending that Oregon and other states alleged was predatory, then used that fortune to bid $4B for the Trail Blazers while local officials pledged support for an arena overhaul. It spotlights how profits from consumer‑harmful finance can flow into ownership of civic institutions that often seek public subsidies. The story implies a due‑diligence gap when governments promise deals without weighing owners’ regulatory histories.
— It reframes sports‑subsidy and public‑private partnership debates around vetting owners’ conduct, not just project economics, to protect public legitimacy and welfare.
Roberto “Bear” Guerra
2025.12.02
86% relevant
Both stories document how concentrated private wealth generated by broader policy or market arrangements flows into high‑profile assets while relying on public subsidies or lax oversight. ProPublica names Kroenke benefiting from low grazing fees on public lands — paralleling the earlier piece’s claim that profits from predatory finance were used to buy civic institutions; this article extends that pattern to land‑use subsidies and Trump‑era policy changes.
by Tony Schick and Conrad Wilson, Oregon Public Broadcasting
2025.10.03
100% relevant
Oregon’s 2020 role in a $550M multistate settlement with Santander Consumer USA (founded by Tom Dundon) and Oregon’s participation in an ongoing multistate probe of Exeter Finance, alongside the state and city’s public pledge to back arena upgrades for the Blazers sale.
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