Leslie Alexander

Leslie Lee Alexander (born June 30, 1943) is an American attorney, businessman and financier. He is a former bond trader from New Jersey. He formerly owned the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Houston Rockets for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017. Early life He was born in 1943, to a Jewish family in New York City. In 1965, he graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in economics and later earned his juris doctor from the San Diego campus of Western State University College of Law, now known as Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Career Alexander began his career as an attorney. From 1978 to 2009, he was a member of the California State Bar. His first job was trading options and bonds for the Wall Street firm, Lawrence Kotkin Associates. In 1980, he left to form his own investment company, The Alexander Group. He also owns an 18.5% stake in First Marblehead, a private student loan company. In the July before the 1993-94 NBA season, Alexander bought the Houston Rockets for $85 million. The Rockets won the NBA championship the next two years: one in the '93-94 season and another in the '94-95 season. In 2008, he was listed by Forbes magazine as the best owner in the NBA.