Casey Wasserman (born Casey Myers; June 28, 1974)[1] is an American entertainment executive.
He is the founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Wasserman; Chairman of LA28, the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles; and president and chief executive officer of the Wasserman Foundation.
Family background and education
Casey Wasserman is the son of Jack Norman Myers (formerly Meyerowitz) and Los Angeles socialite and philanthropist Lynne Wasserman. His sister is actress/comedian Carol Ann Leif (born December 3, 1966).[2] Jack Myers and reputed mobster Chris Petti were convicted in 1990 of money-laundering.[3][4] Wasserman is Jewish. [5]
His parents were divorced and, in 1995, Casey took his mother's maiden name, which is also the last name of his famous grandfather, MCA studio executive Lew Wasserman, whom he credits as his greatest teacher. The two would have breakfast together every Saturday and Sunday from the time when Casey was a child until the elder Wasserman's death in 2002.[6] The younger Wasserman said, "He was my most valuable resource in terms of information. In broad terms he knew what he wanted to do and I followed in his footsteps."
According to a quote from an interview with his father, Jack Myers: "My son changed his name to Wasserman," Jack Myers told author Dennis McDougal, who wrote The Last Mogul, a biography of Lew Wasserman. "I said, 'Casey, first of all everyone will think you're a fool if you do that. You look like an idiot.'"[7]
Casey Wasserman obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).[8] After graduation from UCLA, he worked as an investment banker.[8]
He is married to movie music supervisor Laura Wasserman, whose grandfather, Paul Ziffren, was a Democratic Party leader and chaired the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics.[9][10][11][12] They have two children, Emmet and Stella.[13]
Sports and talent business
In 1998, he purchased the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL). He paid about $5 million for the franchise rights. Despite his youth, he was elected chairman of the league. In 2002 he negotiated a groundbreaking national television partnership between the league and NBC television, as well as the collective bargaining agreement with its players. On Saturday, April 18, 2009, Wasserman sent an email to AFL's de facto commissioner informing him of his decision to terminate the L.A. Avengers' membership in the Arena Football League.[14]
The same year he purchased the football team, Casey Wasserman started Wasserman (then-called Wasserman Media Group), a sports marketing and talent management company, of which he remains chief executive officer. In 2016, Wasserman Media Group rebranded as Wasserman and is frequently referred to as "Team Wass".[15]
In March 2021, Wasserman acquired Paradigm Talent Agency's North American music assets and within weeks launched Wasserman Music, a live music division of Wasserman.[16][17]
He was the chairman of the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee, which organized Super Bowl LVI in 2022.[18]
Olympic Games
In 2014, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed Casey Wasserman to head the Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[19][20][21] The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ultimately awarded the 2024 Summer Olympics to Paris in 2017 and chose Los Angeles as host for the 2028 Summer Olympics.[22]
On December 11, 2018, Wasserman and Garcetti were criticized by Larry Nassar survivors' attorney John Manly for their silence on the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal and continued partnership with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC, then-called United States Olympic Committee [USOC]).[23] Wasserman and Garcetti issued statements condemning Nassar's crimes and those who abetted him, and defending the response by Olympic leadership.[23]
On June 19, 2020, Wasserman reportedly wrote IOC President Thomas Bach to advocate for changes to be made to the controversial Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter which states: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."[24] In the letter, Wasserman urged the IOC to amend the guidelines that support Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter to allow anti-racist advocacy on the Olympic stage and stated “Being anti-racist is not political.”[25][26] President Bach refuted the suggestion in an op-ed for The Guardian titled "The Olympics are about diversity and unity, not politics and profit. Boycotts don't work."[27][28]
Critics of the 2028 Summer Olympics such as the NOlympics LA coalition have argued that Los Angeles' large homeless population will be removed from city streets in the lead-up to the Olympic Games Ceremony, which Casey Wasserman affirmed was "a difficult situation" but could take place.[29][30][31] In a November 18, 2021 KPCC interview, AirTalk host Larry Mantle asked Wasserman to expound on the concerns; Wasserman replied, "We're not responsible for solving homelessness. We're responsible for delivering the Olympic Games as a private enterprise in 2028."[32]
Philanthrophy
Casey Wasserman acts as president and chief executive officer of the Wasserman Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Lew and Edie Wasserman in 1952.[33]
The Wasserman Foundation is a major contributor to the Los Angeles Police Foundation.[34] In June 2020, the "Partners" page of the foundation's website featured Casey Wasserman's name and photo with a quote: “The Wasserman Foundation has been a proud supporter of the Los Angeles Police Foundation and will continue to provide funding for years to come. In the wake of government budget cuts, I hope my fellow philanthropists will join us in providing funds for additional equipment needs.”[35] The "Partners" page was removed from the foundation's website later that summer.[36]
Wasserman is a major Democratic Party donor, Clinton Foundation trustee, and LBJ Foundation trustee.[37][38][39][40] He donated to President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.[41]
In September 2002, Casey Wasserman went on a philanthropic tour of Africa hosted by financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.[42][43][44] Also on the trip were convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, President Bill Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey and others.[45][46] Wasserman also appears in Epstein's "little black book" address book published by Gawker in 2015.[47]
Casey Wasserman is on the Prize Advisory Board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a venture philanthropy organization founded by Paul Tudor Jones, Peter Borish and Glenn Dubin.[48][49][50]
Wasserman is a member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) board of trustees.[51]
Other activities
Casey Wasserman sits on boards of directors at the Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) and Vox Media.[52][53]
Since 2015 Wasserman has been on the Activision Blizzard board of directors, where he serves as one of three members on the board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.[54] The board has faced criticism for its support of chief executive officer Bobby Kotick following a sexual abuse scandal reported by The Wall Street Journal in November 2021, in which Kotick buried allegations of sexual abuse, including alleged rapes.[55][56][57][58]
In June 2020, Casey Wasserman sold his Beverly Hills home to media mogul David Geffen for $68 million, and in August 2020, Wasserman purchased a new home in the Hollywood Hills for $23.6 million.[59]
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