(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Steve Cohen said he expects that more businesses will move to a four-day work week, one of the reasons he's made investments in golf.ย
โMy belief is that a four-day work week is coming,โ Cohen, the founder of Point72 Asset Management and owner of the New York Mets, said in his first-ever interview on CNBC. โThat fits into a theme of more leisure for people.โย
Cohen, an avid golfer, said multiple forces were pushing the world toward fewer work days, including the advent of artificial intelligence. More companies allowing hybrid working means that โpeople are not as productive on Fridays.โย
Cohen is part of a consortium that recently agreed to invest up to $3 billion in an entity controlled by the PGA Tour. The deal, with a slew of investors including fellow billionaire Marc Lasry and Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, is in a new commercial entity that will give some players an equity stake. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is in ongoing discussions to potentially invest.ย
Read More: PGA Tour Inks $3 Billion Deal With Fenway, Steve Cohen Group
Cohen is also a team owner in a new simulator-based golf league funded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Cohen said he'd keep his own traders and portfolio managers working five days a week. โTaking off Friday when you have a portfolio โ that would be a problem,โ he said.ย
Civic Duty
In the wide-ranging interview, Cohen, who has historically avoided press interviews, spoke about the future of the Mets, his plans for a casino and entertainment center next to the team's Citi Field and his outlook on investments.
He compared running the team with operating his $32 billion hedge fund, saying in both cases that he gives his employees โa lot of ropeโ to make decisions.
In Cohen's first three years as Mets owner, the team spent big to sign veteran free-agents such as Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor and Justin Verlander, pushing its payroll to a record-high $375 million last season. That didn't translate into success, with the team missing the playoffs after a 75-87 season.ย
He now says he's focusing on building talent rather than buying, a method he says has worked for him at Point72. Cohen's new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, took the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs four seasons in a row while general manager despite a relatively modest budget.
โYou really want to develop talent; it's no different than what I do at my hedge fund,โ Cohen said.
He sees owning the Mets โas a civic responsibility.โ A money maker could be the casino and entertainment center. The project would cost about $8 billion, with most of the money coming from private sources.
On the investment side, Cohen called AI an enduring theme.
--With assistance from Tom Maloney and Erin Fuchs.
(Updates with additional details on Mets players starting with third paragraph after subheading. An earlier version of this story corrected details in fourth paragraph to clarify that PIF is in ongoing talks to invest.)
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