Padres' New Owners Send Clear Message on Spending: 'We Want to Win'

A new era began Monday in San Diego, as José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones were officially introduced as the new majority owners of the San Diego Padres.

Their purchase of the team, which was officially approved last week, set a record as the most expensive Major League Baseball purchase at $3.9 billion. Feliciano and Jones hope that's not the only record they set as the new owners of the Friars.

"We are competitive," Jones said at their introductory press conference on Monday. "We want to win. What does that look like? It may take a lot of different pictures and scenarios of what it could be, and we will see, but please understand how competitive we are."

Padres new owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones discuss their plans to financially invest into the team to be able to compete with other teams around baseball.

"We have been blessed with a team in a city that is supporting us in the way that is allowing us to invest back… pic.twitter.com/iq4E51rFyn
— Chase Izidoro (@chaseizi) August 24, 2026

Feliciano and Jones married in 2002 after meeting at Princeton University. Jones is an entrepreneur, investor and the CEO of SUPERCHARGED by Kwanza Jones, a motivational media, lifestyle and entertainment company. She also has a career as a musical artist.

In 2006, Feliciano co-founded Clearlake Capital Group, a private equity firm that focuses on tech, software, industrial and consumer companies.

The power couple made it clear that they intend on turning the Padres, which Feliciano called "one of the pillars of this city and this community," into a World Series contender.

“We’re going to be ambitious with our spending,” Feliciano told The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. “We are also going to be judicious and disciplined. We will be thoughtful how we deploy resources, but there should be no question about our ambition.”

The Padres were purchased by an ownership group led by Peter Seidler and Ron Fowler in 2012 for a mere $800 million. Seidler took over as the team's chairman and primary controlling stakeholder in 2020 and passed away in 2023. The Seidler family announced they were exploring a potential sale of the team in November 2025 before the initial announcement of Feliciano and Jones's acquisition of the Padres in 2026.

If there was any disruption in the mid-season ownership change, the Padres' performance on the diamond has not been any indication. After spending much of the season right at or around .500, the Padres have been dominant over the last month. Since July 24, the Padres are 21-7 and currently own a two-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL wild-card spot.

With the postseason within reach and a new ownership group, the end of summer is bringing about changes for a Padres team that has fought through a long, and at times disheartening, season.

“We share something important with San Diego — the willingness to dream big and the belief that the impossible can become possible,” Feliciano said.

Added both Jones and Feliciano: "We want to win."

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