Two home games in, and it’s official: Cowboys Stadium is a rousing success story. It’s gotten oceans of media coverage. Not a single punt has hit the video board. Attendance records have been set. The Cowboys got a victory in its cozy confines. The stadium stands as a new architectural landmark in America. It announces the city of Dallas (and Arlington) a new center for world arts and culture. People are so excited about the place, they’ve done it in the bathroom there. It is a gift to the people, the grandest of grand gestures.
Oh, and it’s already made Jerry Jones $400 million richer than you’ll ever be.
Yes, it’s time for Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 richest Americans. And, surprise surprise, Jerry Jones is one of only 28 people on the list to increase his net worth over the past year. Charging $60 for pizza will do that for you.
The financial magazine estimates Jones’ fortune at $1.8 billion, up 29 percent from $1.4 billion last year. That puts him at No. 196, up from No. 355 a year ago. With the NFL franchise pocketing millions of dollars from the sale of personal seat licenses, which cost $2,000 to $150,000, Jones has used the proceeds to pay down $425 million in debt, Forbes said.
And the tale of Cowboys Stadium already has a warm, happy ending. Boy buys team. Boy wants new stadium. Boy borrows $425 million and hundreds of millions more in public funding to build said stadium. Boy can now light his cigars with flaming lobster tails. Who doesn’t love a scrappy underdog story like that?
