Abe Pollin

Abraham Pollin (December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was an American real estate developer, sports team owner, and philanthropist based in the Washington, D.C. area. Born in Philadelphia to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Pollin moved to Washington at age eight and later graduated from George Washington University before entering the construction business.

Pollin entered professional sports in 1964 by purchasing the NBA's Baltimore Bullets franchise, which he relocated to Washington in 1973 and owned for 46 years until his death, making him the league's longest-tenured owner. Under his stewardship, the team—later renamed the Wizards in 1997—won the NBA championship in 1978. He also acquired an NHL expansion franchise that became the Washington Capitals in 1974 and developed the Capital Centre arena in Landover, Maryland, as their shared home venue, followed by the construction of the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in downtown Washington in 1997, which spurred urban revitalization.

Abraham Pollin was born on December 3, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Morris and Jennie Pollin, Russian Jewish immigrants who had entered the United States at Ellis Island as teenagers, possessing no money and lacking knowledge of the English language. He grew up in a poor immigrant household alongside two brothers, Jack and Harold, where the emphasis was on self-reliance amid economic hardship.

Pollin maintained a strong commitment to Orthodox Judaism, as evidenced by his membership in Kesher Israel Congregation, a prominent Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C. This affiliation underscored his observance of traditional Jewish practices, including participation in High Holy Day services that drew notable figures from the city's Jewish community.

His personal values were profoundly shaped by Jewish ethical principles, particularly tikkun olam—the imperative to repair and improve the world—which he cited as guiding his extensive philanthropic endeavors across Jewish and broader communal causes. Pollin demonstrated this through active involvement in preserving Jewish heritage, such as partnering with developers Shelton Zuckerman and Douglas Jemal in 2002 to acquire and restore the historic Adas Israel Synagogue at Sixth and I Streets NW, transforming it into a multifaceted cultural venue while honoring its origins as Washington's first synagogue, established in 1866. These efforts reflected a blend of religious devotion and pragmatic communal stewardship, prioritizing preservation over assimilation.