1. George Leon Argyros was born on February 4,1937 and is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain.
20 Facts About George Argyros
1. 2.
George Argyros was born on February 4,1937, in Detroit, Michigan, but raised in Pasadena, California.
3.
George Argyros is a second-generation American citizen; his grandparents emigrated from Greece.
4.
George Argyros graduated from Chapman University in 1959 with a major in Business and Economics.
5.
George Argyros later served on Chapman University's board of trustees, including chairman of the board from 1976 to 2001.
6.
George Argyros originally started his business career running a grocery store and moved on to buying and selling real estate to gas stations.
7.
George Argyros was involved in buying and selling property in Southern California.
8.
George Argyros served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations for the US Trade Ambassador.
9.
George Argyros resigned from that position in 1990, when President Bush appointed him to the board of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
10.
George Argyros completed his term on the FreddieMac Board in March 1993.
11.
In 2001 George Argyros was appointed Ambassador to Spain and Andorra.
12.
In 1981, George Argyros bought the Seattle Mariners for $13 million.
13.
George Argyros proclaimed upon getting the team that "patience is for losers".
14.
In 1986, now with a new tone of saying that patience is for winners, George Argyros managed to come to an end of a two-year standoff with the Seattle community over the lease agreement for the Kingdome.
15.
George Argyros sold the team to Jeff Smulyan in August of 1989, with the team now valued at $76.1 million.
16.
George Argyros cited the demands of his business in the Southland and the difficult commute between California and Washington as a reason to sell.
17.
George Argyros had openly tried to purchase the San Diego Padres in 1987 and to sell the Mariners to local buyers, but a final deal was never consummated with Padres owner Joan Kroc.
18.
George Argyros donated money towards the construction of the Performing Arts Center, named after him, at the American School of Madrid.
19.
George Argyros is on the board of directors of the Richard Nixon Foundation, which operates the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California; he is a longtime trustee of his alma mater Chapman University.
20.
George Argyros is a trustee of California Institute of Technology, and a board-member for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.