Sports team owners are some of the wealthiest people in the world, with some having amassed fortunes that surpass the GDP of small countries.
From football to basketball, baseball to
soccer, these owners have made their fortunes in a variety of ways, from tech
entrepreneurship to real estate development.
In this listicle, Sporting Tribune takes a
closer look at the top 10 wealthiest sports team owners, exploring their
sources of wealth and the teams they own. Whether you’re a die-hard sports fan
or simply curious about the business of sports, this listicle is sure to be an
interesting read.
1. Mukesh Ambani ($83.4bn)
Source of Wealth: Telecoms, Petrochemicals
Top of the list is Indian billionaire Ambani,
managing director of multinational group Reliance Industries. It is through
this group that the 65-year-old owns cricket franchise the Mumbai Indians, a
founding member of the Indian Premier League who won a record fifth
championship in 2020.
2. Steve Ballmer ($80.7bn)
Source of Wealth: Microsoft
Ballmer is closing in on a decade as owner of
the LA Clippers, having purchased the basketball franchise in 2014. The
California-based team is yet to win a conference title but reached the
conference finals for the first time in 2021.
3. Rob Walton ($57.6bn)
Source of Wealth: Walmart
If Ratcliffe is successful in his bid for Man
Utd, he could set a new world record for the most expensive sports team
purchase. That record is currently held by Walton, an heir to the Walmart
fortune, who bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65bn in 2022.
4. Francois Pinault and family ($40.1bn)
Source of Wealth: luxury goods
Pinault, owner of Stade Rennais in Ligue 1,
is the wealthiest European and wealthiest football club owner on the list. The
86-year-old is among the 50 richest people in the world, per Forbes’ 2022 list,
but his Rennes side are currently poised to miss out on Champions League
football yet again after reaching the group stage of the competition just once
in their history.
5. Mark Mateschitz ($34.7bn)
Source of Wealth: Red Bull
The youngest man on the list at just 30,
Mateschitz inherited stakes in multiple Red Bull sports teams when his father Dietrich
died in 2022. These include RB Leipzig in Germany and MLS outfit New York Red
Bulls, as well as Red Bull Racing in Formula 1.
6. Jim Ratcliffe ($22.9bn)
Source of Wealth: chemicals
Man Utd bidder and INEOS chief Ratcliffe has
already dipped his toes into sports ownership through two clubs on the European
mainland. OGC Nice have been a fixture in the upper echelons of France’s Ligue
1 for a number of years, while he also owns Swiss club Lausanne-Sport and has
investments in other sports including cycling.
7. Masayoshi Son ($22.4bn)
Source of Wealth: internet, telecom
One of only a handful of names on the list
not from Europe or North America, Son is best known in the business world for
his role at SoftBank. On the sports side, he owns the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a
baseball franchise that reached the 2022 playoffs in Japan.
8. David Tepper ($18.5bn)
Source of Wealth: hedge funds
Carolina Panthers owner Tepper has more
recently dipped his toe into soccer through the MLS expansion side Charlotte
FC. The team made its debut in the competition in 2022 but failed to reach the
playoffs at the first time of asking.
9. Dan Gilbert ($18bn)
Source of Wealth: Quicken Loans
Perhaps best known outside sports as a
co-founder of the company now known as Rocket Mortgage, Gilbert’s main sports
investment is the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has owned the NBA franchise since
2005, bringing in star names including LeBron James, and oversaw the Cavs’
first NBA finals win in 2016.
10. Steve Cohen ($17.5bn)
Source of Wealth: hedge funds
Hedge fund billionaire Cohen has been the
owner of the New York Mets in Major League Baseball since 2020, having been a
minority owner for a number of years prior. The Mets made it to the 2022
postseason but lost in the wild-card round.
Source: Forbes
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