“Make yourself not be missed. We hope Oklahoma City enjoys their team, and that they don’t so much as utter a peep with this sh-t happens to them in 15 years,” wrote Deadspin reporter ‘Leitch’ back in 2008 in an article that criticized and called out Clay Bennett. Known as ‘the Villain of Seattle’, the businessman began his 2nd NBA ownership career with a bang.Two years after purchasing the Seattle Supersonics from former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Bennett sent shockwaves after announcing his decision to relocate the team from Seattle, Washington, to Oklahoma City. While a shift had been done by 2 other teams in the past, the fact that Bennett’s investment group had added a ‘good-faith effort’ condition to secure a suitable arena in the Seattle area for the team, as part of the sale, made Bennett infamous.Now, 17 years later, the Oklahoma City Thunder graced the NBA Finals. All while having spent the 6th least amount on salaries out of all 30 NBA teams. While Seattle residents might continue cursing Bennett, Oklahoma City fans are by his side. So, here’s a little more about the businessman.Who is Clay Bennett? What does he do?Clay Bennett was born back in 1959, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Not much is known about his early life, but Mabumbe reported that Bennett was raised in a family deeply rooted in the region’s business and civic life. His father was a prominent businessman who instilled in him a sense of community responsibility. The Bennett family reportedly owned Public Supply, a door and window manufacturing company. Clay Bennett eventually went on to marry his high school sweetheart, Louise Gaylord.Interestingly, Gaylord’s family themselves had ties in the local business community— they owned The Oklahoma Publishing Company, which published The Oklahoman.Clay Bennett first attended Casady, the affluent private school located in the northern part of Oklahoma City. He was pretty big in sports, which allowed him to receive a football scholarship offer from Boston University. However, Bennett instead went to study at the University of Oklahoma. Though he abandoned his career as a player, sports still followed him. Thunder – Clay Bennet – Paid $350MAmerican businessman who has a net worth of 1 Billion+ dollars. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Clay Bennett is the Chairman of Dorchester Capital (22/31) pic.twitter.com/6pre4tfhuq— Buster (@BusterScher) August 11, 2023After he became the Chairman of Dorchester Capital Corporation, Bennett first entered the sports world by becoming one of the owners of the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1990s. One of his primary duties was to represent the team on the NBA Board of Governors. The businessman then made headlines after he made efforts to ensure the New Orleans Hornets could be temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina. The team practiced in Bennett’s hometown for the next two years.The experience he gained from his time allowed him to later enact his plans with the Seattle Supersonics. Plus, the temporary relocation informed him that Oklahoma City was ready to have its own NBA franchise. Currently, Bennett is the Chairman of the Professional Basketball Club, which owns the Thunder. What is the net worth of Clay Bennett?According to Celebrity Net Worth, Clay Bennett is currently worth $400 million. This was the same listed net worth he had back in 2022. Back then, Bennett was listed as the 2nd poorest NBA owner, with San Antonio Spurs’ Peter Holt beating him for the final spot with his $200 million. From the looks of it, that ranking still holds.Clay Bennett has earned the majority of his wealth from revenues generated through the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his role as a venture capitalist who invested quite a bit in Oklahoma-based companies.When did Clay Bennett purchase the Oklahoma City Thunder?Bennett used his Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), to purchase the Seattle Supersonics from Howard Schultz, in 2006, for approximately $350 million.The decision by Schultz was reportedly taken after the team’s ownership group had sought to persuade Washington state government officials to provide $220 million in public funding to update the KeyArena (now known as Climate Pledge Arena) in Seattle. Those efforts failed, leaving it up to Bennett to negotiate for the improvement to the arena. Instead, in February 2007, he proposed using public money to pay for a new $500 million arena in Renton, Washington, which was a suburb of Seattle. Once that effort failed, too, Bennett gave up.On November 2, 2007, the Supersonics announced it would move to Oklahoma City as soon as they could get out of the lease with KeyArena. In order to first shift, however, they had to relinquish all rights to the team’s name, logo, or colors. Thus, the Oklahoma City Thunder was born and, 17 years later, it is set to leave a memorable mark in the NBA Finals.The post Who Is Clay Bennett? All About OKC Thunder Owner’s Net Worth & Other Details Revealed appeared first on EssentiallySports.