If You Want to High-Five Shaquille O'Neal, Buy Part of a Team

On the night of Jan. 19, 2000, the owners' suite at the MCI Center in Washington D.C. held some of the world's most influential people, including U.S. President Bill Clinton and basketball icon Michael Jordan. Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of Time Warner Inc.'s America Online unit, was there, too.

Leonsis, 48, was in the suite because he leads the investor group that holds a 44 percent ownership stake in the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards. He's one of a flock of Wall Street and corporate executives who have recently invested in U.S. professional sports.