Bob Simpson (owner)

Bob R. Simpson

• School Baylor University

Biographical Information

Bob Simpson is a co-owner of the Texas Rangers and the co-chairman of "Rangers Baseball Express", the team's ownership group, although Ray Davis is the team principal and its link to the Commissioner's office.

Like Davis, Simpson made his fortune in the energy sector. He was the co-founder of XTO Energy, which began its existence in 1985 as Cross Timbers Oil Company. The company was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010.

In 2010, Simpson joined a group of investors headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan, which also included Davis. The group purchased the Rangers from Tom Hicks for $593 million through a bankruptcy process. Simpson and Davis were the principal sources of capital for the group. At first, Greenberg served as the team's principal, but he was ousted in a corporate coup in 2011, and was replaced by Ryan. However, the Hall of Fame pitcher severed ties with the Rangers in 2013, claiming that he was not interested in being simply a figurehead. Simpson and Davis thus became the co-presidents of the ownership group, with Davis taking the principal's role. The two have stayed in the background however, leaving President and General Manager Jon Daniels be the ownership's public face.