While headlines buzzed with the name of Bill Chisholm—the private equity executive and lifelong fan leading the $6.1 billion bid for the Boston Celtics—another powerful figure joined the deal largely out of public view: Bruce Beal Jr.
A Boston Celtics native and partner at real estate titan Related Companies, Bruce Beal is no stranger to building big. His signature isn’t on the front page—it’s on the skyline.
Now, with his stake in the Celtics deal alongside telecom billionaire Robert Hale, Bruce Beal adds a storied sports franchise to a portfolio that already includes NFL ownership and more than $70 billion in real estate developments.
“I grew up in Boston, loving the Celtics,” Bruce Beal said in a statement. Recalling the 1984 NBA Finals, he added, “It was the best day ever. Fast-forward to today, it’s come full circle.”
Bruce Beal joined Related Companies in 1995, just two years out of Harvard. By 2012, he was named president. Over the next decade, he helped transform the firm from a housing-focused developer into one of the most dominant players in global urban real estate.
Working alongside Related founder Stephen Ross and current CEO Jeff Blau, Beal was instrumental in the company’s aggressive expansion into high-end residential, office, retail, and data infrastructure across the U.S., London, and Abu Dhabi.
He summed up the firm’s evolution in a 2023 interview: “The company started in affordable housing, then we did market-rate rentals, and we built offices for companies like Nestlé and MasterCard… We’re very customer-driven, so we’re constantly thinking about what our customers want.”
That mindset shaped projects like Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in U.S. history. Located on Manhattan’s West Side, the $25 billion megaproject includes more than 12 million square feet of office, residential, retail, and public space. It opened in 2019 after more than a decade of construction and planning.
“From a developer standpoint, you have to execute every day,” Beal said in a Forbes interview. “We not only have to get the buildings built; we have to run them. So we’re constantly thinking about what we can do better and evolve as the markets change.”
Despite early pandemic-era concerns about New York’s commercial property market, Beal remains confident in the city’s long-term strength. “People still want to be in New York. It’ll cycle through, and it always comes back,” he told Forbes. “We felt like if we did our job and put our heads down and executed, people would not only want to be in New York, but be in Hudson Yards.”
Beal’s roots in real estate run generations deep. His father, Bruce Beal Sr., led Boston-based Beal Companies, a family-run developer dating back to 1878. In 2003, the younger Beal orchestrated a joint venture between Related and Beal Companies to develop The Clarendon and One Back Bay—two luxury towers in Boston’s Back Bay. That collaboration eventually gave rise to Related Beal, Related’s Boston-based development arm.
Today, Related Beal is behind a growing list of Boston projects spanning life sciences, residential, and mixed-use properties. Though now a longtime New York resident, Beal continues to maintain strong personal and professional ties to the Boston Celtics. He owns property in the city and has one child enrolled in school there.
He’s also never let go of his Boston Celtics fandom.
“When I was 16, the Boston Celtics were going public, and I proudly used the money I made from summer landscaping to buy about 20 shares,” Beal said. “It was the first stock purchase I ever made.”
That early investment was symbolic. His latest one is far more substantial.
This isn’t Beal’s first venture into pro sports. He owns a minority stake in the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, where he also serves as vice chairman. He was once viewed as the heir apparent to majority owner Stephen Ross before succession plans changed in 2022.
Still, his influence across the Dolphins’ broader sports empire—which includes Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Open, and Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix—is well established. His Celtics move builds on that track record, this time with more personal meaning.
“[Boston] still feels like home,” Bruce Beal said. “I love the Celtics, and I am honored to be a part of this incredible organization that means so much to Boston Celtics and fans like me, who grew up loving this team.”
Pending league approval, Bruce Beal will now help steer one of the NBA’s most valuable and iconic franchises. For a man who’s built cities, reimagined neighborhoods, and played the long game in every sector he’s entered, buying into the Celtics may not be the final act—but it’s certainly a full-circle moment.
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