Billy Beane Net Worth (Money & Salary)

Billy Beane’s Net Worth and Salary: What Are They?

An American baseball General Manager, Billy Beane boasts a net worth of $20 million, alongside an annual income of $3 million. Transitioning from a professional baseball player to a pivotal figure within the sports industry, Beane currently holds several roles with the Oakland Athletics, including front office executive, vice president of baseball operations, and minority owner. His journey began with the team as a scout, progressing through the ranks to general manager and ultimately executive vice president.

Despite a professional baseball career that many viewed as disappointing, Beane established a formidable reputation as an executive. He has adopted innovative strategies in baseball management, particularly through the use of technological advancements like player statistical analysis. In 2003, author Michael Lewis published a book titled “Moneyball,” chronicling Beane’s approach, which later inspired a film featuring Brad Pitt.

Beyond baseball, Billy has extended his interests to other sports as well, such as soccer. He is a minority stakeholder in Barnsley FC, an English club competing in the EFL Championship. Additionally, Beane co-owns AZ Alkmaar, a Dutch soccer club in the Eredivisie. His interests span beyond sports; he has also found substantial success in the software field and various other ventures.

Early Life

Born on March 29, 1962, in Orlando, Florida, William Lamar Beane III was raised in both Mayport, Florida, and San Diego, California, within a military family. Early on, he learned pitching skills playing baseball with his father, a naval officer. In high school in San Diego, Billy excelled as an athlete across baseball, football, and basketball, ultimately choosing to focus predominantly on baseball during his senior year. By graduation, his talent had garnered significant attention from scouts.

Baseball Career

Launching his professional career with the Mets, Beane was awarded a $125,000 signing bonus. Although he initially intended to attend Stanford, he later revealed that financial reasons motivated his choice to pursue professional baseball. Through various minor leagues, he struggled, seeing his batting average decline, but he still reached the MLB in 1984. After several games with the Mets, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins.

Once again, Billy’s performance didn’t meet expectations, leading to another trade to the Detroit Tigers in 1988. Following just six appearances with the Tigers, he signed on as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics. By the conclusion of the 1990 season, he was demoted to the minors. Disheartened by the setbacks he faced, Beane opted to transition to scouting instead.

Front Office Career

From 1990 until 1993, Beane held the role of advance scout after being hired by the Athletics. He was subsequently promoted to Assistant General Manager, focusing primarily on scouting minor-league talent. Following the death of former owner Walter A. Haas, Jr. in 1995, the Athletics’ new ownership tasked Beane with identifying cost-cutting measures.

During this period, Billy Beane collaborated with General Manager Sandy Alderson in implementing their renowned sabermetric approach to assess the real potential of overlooked players. Thanks to this analytical framework, the Athletics thrived even while adhering to a limited budget. Despite offering some of the league’s lowest salaries, the Athletics consistently ranked in the top 5 overall. In 1997, Beane took over as the team’s General Manager.

Regular playoff appearances marked the Athletics’ performance, culminating in a historic achievement in 2002 when they won 20 consecutive games. That same year, Billy declined a highly lucrative offer from the Boston Red Sox, choosing to remain loyal to the Athletics. As a gesture of appreciation, the team’s new owner granted Beane partial ownership of the franchise. In subsequent years, numerous other teams began to adopt sabermetrics. In 2015, Billy was elevated to the role of vice president of baseball operations.

Further Ventures

Following the Athletics’ acquisition of a stake in the San Jose Earthquakes, Billy started to apply his analytical methods to soccer players. Throughout his career, Beane has forged relationships with some prominent managers in English football. In 2015, he took on the role of advisor to general director Robert Eenhoorn at AZ Alkmaar. Two years later, he joined a consortium that bought the English club Barnsley. Beane is also a board member for NetSuite, a software firm, in addition to consulting during the creation of the video game “MLB Front Office Manager.”

Baseball Salary

Billy Beane famously declined a five-year contract worth $12.5 million from the Red Sox, which would have made him the highest-paid General Manager in sports history at that time. Instead, he chose to maintain his $1 million salary with the Athletics. In 2015, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, while David Forst assumed the General Manager position.

Netsuite Salary

Serving on the Board of Directors of NetSuite from 2007 until its $9 billion acquisition by Oracle in 2016, Billy earned approximately $4 million for his role during his tenure at the cloud computing company between 2007 and 2014.

Real Estate

Billy purchased a property in Danville, California, in 2002 for $1.735 million. Although the house has been described by some as a “McMansion,” it boasts several luxury features, including an outdoor pool. In 2013, reports revealed that Beane and his wife were putting this property on the market for $1.895 million.