How Tom built the fortune
Tom Gores founded Platinum Equity in 1995 with a strategy that set it apart from many buyout firms. Instead of competing for healthy companies in auctions, Platinum looked for divisions that large corporations considered non core and wanted to sell, often businesses that were underperforming or difficult to separate from their parents. The firm bought them at modest prices, built the systems they needed to operate on their own, cut costs and tried to restore growth before selling them or merging them with other holdings. Platinum often keeps managers in place but surrounds them with its own specialists during the transition.
This carve out approach requires heavy operational work, and Platinum built a large in house team of specialists in finance, technology, procurement and integration to handle it. Over time the firm completed hundreds of acquisitions across industries such as manufacturing, logistics, technology distribution, building products and business services. As the portfolio grew, so did the size of its funds, which attracted capital from pension funds and other institutional investors. Gores's fortune comes from his control of Platinum and his share of the profits on its deals.
Platinum's later transactions became much larger than its early purchases. In 2021 it bought Ingram Micro, one of the biggest distributors of technology products, from China's HNA Group in a deal worth about 7 billion dollars, and later took it back to the public market. The firm has also owned the steel distributor Ryerson, the packaging maker Multi-Color and the prison communications provider Securus Technologies, the last of which drew criticism from activists over the cost of calls for inmates and their families.
Companies and holdings
Alongside Platinum, Gores is best known as the owner of the Detroit Pistons, which he bought in 2011. Under his ownership the team moved from Auburn Hills back to downtown Detroit in 2017, sharing Little Caesars Arena with the Red Wings, and built a new practice facility and headquarters in the city's New Center area. He has also held stakes in media and entertainment ventures. Platinum is headquartered in Beverly Hills and has offices in other parts of the United States, Europe and Asia. Its portfolio companies employ large numbers of people across manufacturing and services.
- Platinum Equity, founder, chairman and CEO
- Detroit Pistons, owner
- Interests in entertainment and media ventures
- Personal real estate and investment holdings in California
Early life and career
Gores was born in Nazareth, in northern Israel, to a family of Greek and Lebanese heritage, and moved to the United States as a small child when his family settled in Flint, Michigan. His father ran a grocery store, and the children worked in the family business. Tom is one of several brothers who became prominent in business: Alec Gores founded the private equity firm The Gores Group, and Sam Gores runs the talent agency Paradigm.
He studied at Michigan State University and graduated in 1986. After college he moved to Los Angeles. There he made his first acquisitions of small technology and distribution businesses, experience that led directly to the founding of Platinum Equity. His early deals involved buying small, unloved technology and services businesses at low prices, an approach that he later scaled up at Platinum.
Philanthropy and public life
Gores has focused much of his giving on Flint and Detroit. During the Flint water crisis that began in 2014, he organised and funded relief efforts, brought in partners to deliver water and health services, and supported long term programs for children affected by lead exposure. The Pistons and their foundation run community initiatives in Detroit, including investments in basketball courts, education and job training in neighbourhoods near the team's facilities.
He has also supported causes in Los Angeles and has worked with organisations focused on criminal justice and opportunity. As a team owner he appears publicly more often than in his early career, though he still rarely discusses his personal life. The Pistons have also funded the Detroit Pistons Performance Center in the city's New Center area, a project presented as part of the team's commitment to Detroit.