How Michael built the fortune
Michael Rubin started selling things as a child and never really stopped. His first major company grew out of a sporting goods business he built as a teenager, which became Global Sports in the 1990s. As online shopping took off, he shifted the company's focus from selling products itself to running e-commerce operations for other retailers and brands, handling their websites, warehouses and customer service. Renamed GSI Commerce, it became a leading provider of outsourced online retail services for major chains.
In 2011 eBay agreed to buy GSI Commerce for about 2.4 billion dollars. Shortly before the deal, GSI had acquired Fanatics, an online seller of licensed sports apparel founded in Florida, and as part of the transaction Rubin bought back Fanatics along with the flash sale site Rue La La and the ShopRunner membership service. He became chief executive of Fanatics and turned it into the main business of his career. The deal turned Rubin from the head of a services company serving many retailers into the owner of a single, focused business with direct relationships with leagues and teams.
Under Rubin, Fanatics built long term licensing and e-commerce partnerships with the major American sports leagues, college programs and European football clubs, running their online stores and manufacturing much of their merchandise. Later it expanded into trading cards, signing exclusive deals with leagues and buying Topps in 2022, and into sports betting and online gaming through Fanatics Betting and Gaming, which entered the market in 2023 after acquiring the US operations of PointsBet. Outside investors in Fanatics have included large private equity and sovereign funds. Fanatics also manufactures on demand, producing jerseys and other items quickly when a player is traded or a team wins a title, a capability that has given it an edge in licensed merchandise.
Companies and holdings
Fanatics is organised in three main divisions: commerce, which sells and makes licensed merchandise; collectibles, which includes Topps and the live shopping platform Fanatics Live; and betting and gaming. Rubin holds a large stake in the parent company and has also invested in other sports and consumer businesses. Fanatics remains privately held, and its valuation has been set through funding rounds rather than a public listing.
- Fanatics Holdings, founder of the modern company and chief executive
- Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles and Fanatics Betting and Gaming
- Former founder and CEO of GSI Commerce
- Former minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils
Early life and career
Rubin grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs. As a young teenager he began selling ski equipment from his parents' basement and soon moved into a small shop of his own, and by his mid teens he was running a growing retail operation. He enrolled at Villanova University but left after a short time to focus on the business.
His early ventures included buying closeout inventory and reselling it, a trade that taught him how merchandise moves through supply chains. That knowledge underpinned Global Sports and later GSI Commerce, which he took public while still in his twenties. Philadelphia has remained central to his life, and he has been a familiar presence at the city's professional sports events.
Philanthropy and public life
Rubin is a co-founder of the REFORM Alliance, launched in 2019 with rapper Meek Mill, Jay-Z, Robert Kraft and other business and entertainment figures. The organisation campaigns to change probation and parole laws in US states, and it has backed legislation in several states to shorten supervision terms and reduce reimprisonment for technical violations. Rubin became involved after following Meek Mill's own legal case.
He is also known for large social gatherings, including an annual summer party in the Hamptons attended by athletes and entertainers, and for Fanatics Fest, a fan event launched in New York in 2024. He has supported children's health and educational causes in Philadelphia and other cities. His public profile has grown as Fanatics expanded, and he frequently appears alongside athletes and league executives.