Generation of family ownership: Third.
Our company: We own Maloof Sports & Entertainment (NBA’s Sacramento Kings and Arco Arena), Maloof Productions and Maloof Music. We’re also involved in hotels, casinos, banking, food and beverage, and transportation, and we’re distributors for Coors and Miller in New Mexico.
Number of employees: Approximately 3,000.
Years with the company: 40.
First job at this company: Loading beer trucks and sweeping floors.
At what age? Ten.
Most memorable thing I learned from my father: Treat people the way you want to be treated. Cater to the customer and give him the best service possible.
Most memorable thing I learned from my mother: Stand up for yourself.
Best thing about this job: Every single male on earth would want my job. I own a basketball team, a beer distributor and a casino.
Worst thing about this job: Seeing the Kings lose.
One of our greatest successes: Building the Palms Hotel. It was a large investment, and we took a big risk. We built it two months after 9/11. Las Vegas was not getting a lot of visitors, and to see it do well was very rewarding. A second success was taking the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games at the Western Conference finals [in 2002].
Quote from our company’s mission statement: Catering to customers the Maloofian way, where everyone is a [potential] customer.
Artwork on my office wall: A photo of my father.
One of my greatest accomplishments: Taking what my father gave us and increasing it 20-fold. I’m also proud of how close my family is. (I have three brothers and one sister.) That’s been most satisfying for me personally.
Best thing about working in a family business: We all get along. We have a creed: When we’re thinking of starting a new venture, we only do it if we all agree.
Advice I’d give someone wishing to enter this business: I’d tell the person three things. You have to have the right product, one that people want. You have to give better service than your competitors. You also have to be passionate about what you do.
On a day off I like to… watch more basketball.
Philanthropic causes our family supports: We’ve given to Little League, community schools, Hurricane Katrina survivors, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the SPCA and organizations involved in children’s well-being.
I realized I had emerged from my parents’ shadow when… I was running the Houston Rockets at age 24. I was the youngest owner and operator in major professional sports history. (The Maloof family owned the Houston Rockets NBA team from 1979 to 1982.)