Kwanza Jones and her husband Jose E. Feliciano are the new majority owners of the San Diego Padres (Photo courtesy of The Jasmine Brand.com).

By David L. Snelling
South Florida Times

Singer-songwriter and investor Kwanza Jones can add another title, one that comes with making history.

Jones is the first Black woman to become majority owner of a Major League Baseball team, the San Diego Padres.

Jones and her husband, Jose E. Feliciano, led an investor group to purchase the Padres for a record price of $3.9 billion, according to MLB.

Jones is the co-founder and CEO of the Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano Initiative, a grant making and impact investment organization.

She is also the Founder of SUPERCHARGED by Kwanza Jones, a motivational media company.

The Padres debuted in 1969 and played in two World Series: in 1984 losing to the Detroit Tigers and they were swept by the New York Yankees in 1998.

During a press conference, reporters ribbed Jones for the Padres never winning the World Series in their 57 year history despite having 15-time All-Star and league MVP Tony Gwynn on the team who played 20 seasons in San Diego.

Jones sang in response while discussing the team’s future.

“We gonna win. We’re gonna win. We’re going to win. We’re going to win it all,” Jones said while motioning her hands over her head as if she was seeing the sun. “We hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

Feliciano said the purchase is a dream come true.

“It’s an amazing day for us and we’re very grateful, very honored to be here with you and to celebrate today,” he said.

The Padres are currently in second place in the National League West at 72-64 behind the defending World Series Champion the Los Angeles Dodgers (81-55).

The Padres are in the race for a playoff Wild Card spot but must improve their win-loss record over the remaining games to close the gap.

The playoffs commence next month.

As of mid-July 2026, the Padres are 48-48 since the All-Star break, leaving them at a .500 record and trailing the final Wild Card spot by 5.5 games in the National League West.

According to sports pundits, their playoff odds are currently +340, implying roughly a 23 percent chance of making the postseason.

If the ML season ended today, they would miss the postseason.

Jones rose to fame as a singer-songwriter, which legendary music mogul and producer Quincy Jones inspired her to pursue a music career after he heard her perform as a teenager.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Jones won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in New York while enrolled at Princeton University.

She released her debut album, Naked, while a student at Princeton.

Jones performed in night clubs during the course of her career and returned to the Apollo Theater for a performance where the cheers reached a crescendo.

When she graduated she decided to travel a little and wrote her second album Naked 2: universal fire. Along with original material, this album also featured two cover songs, The Doors’ “Light My Fire” and Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.

When she arrived back in the US, she moved to Los Angeles to continue her music career.

After graduating from Princeton, Jones was crowned Miss Baltimore and earned a J.D. degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a Master of Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law.

In 2020, Jones announced a $20 million gift to Princeton University to help expand the student body and in support of access and inclusion.