The richest owners of sports clubs in the world, 20 of them, own assets worth a total of $ 427 billion. Twelve months ago, their assets were worth $ 266 billion, but they became even richer during the pandemic. We are talking about the total increase in the value of property by 60%, and the first 10 on the list have wealth with a total value of about $ 350 billion.
1. Mukesh Ambani (cricket)
Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians cricket team, is the richest among them with $ 84.5 billion in assets. His company, Reliance Industries, has increased in value by 85% in the last 12 months. He came in first on the list after replacing…
2. Steve Ballmer (basketball)
Ambani replaced Steve Ballmer, the owner of the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers (who is also a former CEO of Microsoft), in the first place of the richest owners of sports teams. Ballmer has increased his fortune as well and did it from $ 52.7 to $ 68.7 billion in the last year. However, it was not enough for him to stay at the top of the list.
3. Daniel Gilbert (basketball)
Daniel Gilbert, owner of the NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers and a mortgage tycoon, is the biggest winner in the past year after increasing his wealth by 700% to $ 51.9 billion. He did it mostly thanks to the company Quicken Loans, which he founded in 1985. Gilbert is an unprecedented mortgage lender in the United States.
4. François Pinault (soccer)
The owner of the French football (soccer) club Stade Rennais F.C., François Pinault, together with his family, is fourth on this list with $ 42.3 billion worth of assets, which he increased by 57% in the previous year. He is the owner of the Kering Group, under whose auspices are the luxury brands Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta.
5. Dietrich Mateschitz (soccer)
Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of the New York Red Bull soccer team, has $ 26.9 billion in assets, which he has increased by 63% in the past 12 months. He is the founder and owner of 49% of the energy drink company Red Bull and is also known as a collector of old airplanes. Mateschitz keeps the last Douglas DC-68 in his hangar, which belonged to former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.
6. Robert Pera (basketball)
In sixth place is Robert Pera, owner of the NBA club Memphis Grizzlies, with a fortune worth $ 18.3 billion, which he increased by 161% from last year at this time. Pera is the founder of the U.S. technology company Ubiquiti Networks Inc.
7. Steve Cohen (baseball)
Seventh is Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets professional baseball team, which he bought in October 2023 for $ 2.4 billion. Cohen ‘weighs on’ $ 16 billion after increasing his wealth by 16% in the past 12 months. The owner of Mets is the hedge fund manager and founder of the Point72 Asset Management fund.
8. Roman Abramovich (soccer)
In eighth place is the owner of the English soccer club Chelsea F.C., Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, with a fortune worth $ 14.5 billion, which has increased by 18% from a year ago. With him, began the trend of buying famous soccer teams by rich people and sheiks. With that, betting on the top-rated leagues of this sport has risen to a whole new level at bookmakers here. Abramovich, who made his fortune in the 1990s in the steel and aluminum business, owns the investment company Millhouse LLC.
9. David Tepper (football)
David Tepper owns the Carolina Panthers professional (American) football team and, just like Abramovich, has $ 14.5 billion in assets, which is 21% higher than a year ago. Now he is also the owner of Charlotte FC, a soccer team that competes in the U.S. MLS league, and he is also the founder and owner of the hedge fund Appaloosa Management from Miami.
10. Joseph Cai (basketball)
In 10th place on the list is Joseph Cai, a Canadian businessman of Chinese descent and owner of the NBA team Brooklyn Nets. Its assets are estimated at $ 11.6 billion with a value increase of 16% in the last 12 months. He is the co-founder and of the e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group.
