Mets owner Steve Cohen is making moves beyond the
baseball diamond. The billionaire hedge-funder has recently made investments in the world of
golf , something he thinks will become even more popular as we shift toward a four-day workweek, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Cohen explained his thinking in his first interview with CNBC, a rarity given his relative press-shyness. “My belief is that a four-day workweek is coming,” Cohen said. “That fits into a theme of more leisure for people.” Cohen, himself an avid golfer, is part of a group that plans to invest $3 billion in a PGA Tour–related entity. The deal also includes billionaire Marc Lasry and the Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, and it would give some golfers an equity stake. Cohen is also an owner of a team in a simulator-based golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. As far as the shorter workweek goes, Cohen explained that he thinks several factors are leading in that direction: the use of
Artificial intelligence, for one, as well as a hybrid work structure that means “people are not as productive on Fridays.” While he does believe in the larger trend, he won’t be implementing it himself, though. At his Point72 Asset Management, Cohen said he’d keep traders and portfolio managers working five days a week. “Taking off Friday when you have a portfolio—that would be a problem,” he added. Elsewhere in the CNBC interview, Cohen discussed his plans for the Mets and the $8 billion casino he’s hoping to build next to Citi Field. After spending millions to bulk up the Mets roster with less-than-stellar results, Cohen has received some flak for his decision making. Now he’s looking instead to bet on younger players who may be the next big-name stars, saying, “You really want to develop talent; it’s no different than what I do at my hedge fund.” In the meantime, the proposed casino and entertainment complex—which would also include athletic fields, a renovated mass-transit station, a food hall, and public park space—would help bring in money. But that venture needs several different layers of approval, and
New York is only giving out three casino licenses. If Cohen’s plan does move forward, though, his prediction of a four-day workweek would mean people would have more time for gambling and baseball games, too. Tori Latham is a digital staff writer at Robb Report. She was previously a copy editor at The Atlantic, and has written for publications including The Cut and The
Hollywood Reporter. When not…