Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
Just how wealthy are the owners of our favorite sports clubs?
We all know that there’s a lot of money in sports, but just how rich do you have to be to own your own top-tier sports team? Having previously identified the wealthiest sports club owners in 2020, 2022 and 2023, we at OLBG wanted to update the data to determine how things have changed.
We’ve scoured the top sporting leagues across the most popular sports, including NFL, NBA, NHL & MLB, to find the 100 richest sports club owners.
The chart above rounds the figures up to Billions and below the wealth column in the table is the number of millions - yes That is Steve Balmer with 124,800 MILLION dollars!
| Wealth Rank | Name | Club(s) | Wealth USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Ballmer | Los Angeles Clippers | $124,800,000,000 |
| 2 | Mukesh Ambani | Mumbai Indians | $115,800,000,000 |
| 3 | Carlos Slim | Real Oviedo | $100,200,000,000 |
| 4 | David Thomson | Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose | $66,400,000,000 |
| 5 | Sheikh Mansour | Manchester City, Melbourne City FC, New York City FC, Mumbai City FC | $30,000,000,000 |
| 6 | François Pinault & family | Stade Rennais FC | $27,100,000,000 |
| 7 | Ann and Stanley Kroenke | Arsenal FC, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids | $26,200,000,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Gilbert | Cleveland Cavaliers | $25,500,000,000 |
| 9 | Mohammad Bin Salman | Newcastle United | $25,000,000,000 |
| 10 | David Tepper | Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC | $20,600,000,000 |
| 11 | Steve Cohen | New York Mets | $19,800,000,000 |
| 12 | John Fredriksen | Vålerenga Fotball | $16,700,000,000 |
| 13 | Jim Ratcliffe | Nice, Manchester United | $16,100,000,000 |
| 14 | Christopher Johnson | New York Jets | $16,000,000,000 |
| 15 | Philip Anschutz | Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy | $15,300,000,000 |
| 16 | Henry Samueli | Anaheim Ducks, San Diego Gulls | $14,400,000,000 |
| 17 | Jerry Jones | Dallas Cowboys | $14,000,000,000 |
| 18 | The Coates Family | Stoke City | $12,300,000,000 |
| 19 | Shahid Khan | Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham FC | $12,100,000,000 |
| 20 | Hasso Plattner & family | San Jose Sharks | $11,500,000,000 |
| 21 | Robert Kraft | New England Patriots, New England Revolution | $11,100,000,000 |
| 22 | Tony Ressler | Atlanta Hawks | $10,400,000,000 |
| 23 | Stephen Ross | Miami Dolphins | $10,100,000,000 |
| 24 | Tilman Fertitta | Houston Rockets | $9,300,000,000 |
| 25 | Tom Gores | Detroit Pistons | $9,100,000,000 |
| 26 | Nassef Sawiris | Aston Villa | $8,700,000,000 |
| 27 | Joseph Tsai | Brooklyn Nets | $8,500,000,000 |
| 27 | Josh Harris | Crystal Palace | $8,500,000,000 |
| 29 | Nasser Al-Khelaifi | Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain Handball | $8,000,000,000 |
| 29 | Arthur Blank | Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC | $8,000,000,000 |
| 29 | Jimmy Haslam | Cleveland Browns, Columbus Crew | $8,000,000,000 |
| 32 | Micky Arison | Miami Heat | $7,800,000,000 |
| 33 | Rocco Commisso | ACF Fiorentina, New York Cosmos | $7,600,000,000 |
| 34 | Stephen Bisciotti | Baltimore Ravens | $7,000,000,000 |
| 35 | Chien Lee | Barnsley FC, FC Thun, KV Oostende, AS Nancy, Esbjerg fB, FC Den Bosch | $6,900,000,000 |
| 36 | Edward Roski Jr. | Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers | $6,800,000,000 |
| 36 | Terrence Pegula | Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, Buffalo Bills | $6,800,000,000 |
| 36 | The Glazer Family | Manchester United, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $6,800,000,000 |
| 39 | Dmitry Rybolovlev | FC Monaco | $6,400,000,000 |
| 40 | David Bonderman | Seattle Kraken | $6,300,000,000 |
| 40 | Dan Friedkin | A.S. Roma | $6,300,000,000 |
| 42 | Joe Lewis | Tottenham Hotspur | $6,200,000,000 |
| 43 | Todd Boehly | Chelsea FC, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Dodgers | $6,100,000,000 |
| 43 | Paul Singer | A.C. Milan | $6,100,000,000 |
| 43 | Gayle Benson | New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans | $6,100,000,000 |
| 46 | Robert Pera | Memphis Grizzlies | $6,000,000,000 |
| 47 | Denise DeBartolo York | San Francisco 49ers | $5,800,000,000 |
| 48 | Janice McNair | Houston Texans | $5,600,000,000 |
| 49 | Mark Cuban | Dallas Mavericks | $5,400,000,000 |
| 50 | Charles Dolan | New York Knicks, New York Rangers | $5,100,000,000 |
| 50 | Charles B. Johnson | San Francisco Giants | $5,100,000,000 |
| 50 | John Henry | Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC | $5,100,000,000 |
| 53 | Dietmar Hopp | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | $4,900,000,000 |
| 53 | Daryl Katz | Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Oil Kings, Bakersfield Condors | $4,900,000,000 |
| 53 | Stephen Pagliuca | Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio | $4,900,000,000 |
| 53 | Arturo Moreno | Los Angeles Angels | $4,900,000,000 |
| 57 | Herb Simon | Indiana Pacers | $4,800,000,000 |
| 58 | Jeffrey Lurie | Philadelphia Eagles | $4,600,000,000 |
| 59 | Dan Snyder | Washington Commanders | $4,400,000,000 |
| 59 | Jim Irsay | Indianapolis Colts | $4,400,000,000 |
| 59 | Jeremy Jacobs | Boston Bruins | $4,400,000,000 |
| 62 | The Saputo Family | Bologna Football Club, CF Montréal | $4,200,000,000 |
| 63 | Rinat Akhmetov | FC Shakhtar Donetsk | $4,000,000,000 |
| 63 | Marian Ilitch | Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings | $4,000,000,000 |
| 65 | Joe Ricketts | Chicago Cubs | $3,900,000,000 |
| 65 | Wesley Edens | Milwaukee Bucks | $3,900,000,000 |
| 67 | Vincent Viola | Florida Panthers | $3,800,000,000 |
| 67 | Bob Gaglardi | Dallas Stars | $3,800,000,000 |
| 69 | John S. Middleton | Philadelphia Phillies | $3,700,000,000 |
| 70 | Craig Leipold | Minnesota Wild | $3,600,000,000 |
| 71 | Norman Murray Edwards | Calgary Flames | $3,400,000,000 |
| 72 | Francesco Aquilini | Vancouver Canucks | $3,300,000,000 |
| 73 | Woody Johnson | New York Jets | $3,200,000,000 |
| 73 | Michael Jordan | Charlotte Hornets, 23XI Racing | $3,200,000,000 |
| 75 | Theodore Leonsis | Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, Capital City Go-Go, Washington Mystics | $3,100,000,000 |
| 75 | David Blitzer | Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersy Devils, Crystal Palace | $3,100,000,000 |
| 77 | John J. Fisher | Oakland Athletics | $3,000,000,000 |
| 77 | Ray Davis | Texas Rangers | $3,000,000,000 |
| 77 | Kyle Krause | Parma | $3,000,000,000 |
| 80 | Guo Guangchang | Wolverhampton Wanderers | $2,900,000,000 |
| 80 | Glen Taylor | Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx | $2,900,000,000 |
| 82 | Guochuan Lai | West Bromwich Albion | $2,800,000,000 |
| 83 | Farhad Moshiri | Everton FC | $2,700,000,000 |
| 84 | Squinzi Family | U.S. Sassuolo Calcio | $2,600,000,000 |
| 85 | Stephen Lansdown | Bristol City | $2,500,000,000 |
| 86 | Dermot Desmond | Celtic FC | $2,100,000,000 |
| 86 | Jerry Reinsdorf | Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls | $2,100,000,000 |
| 88 | Kyril Louis-Dreyfus | Sunderland AFC | $2,000,000,000 |
| 88 | Amy Adams Strunk | Tennessee Titans | $2,000,000,000 |
| 90 | Marc Lasry | Milwaukee Bucks | $1,900,000,000 |
| 90 | Bill Foley | Las Vegas Golden Knights, Bournemouth | $1,900,000,000 |
| 92 | Peter Lim | Valencia. Salford | $1,800,000,000 |
| 93 | Geoff Molson | Montreal Canadiens | $1,750,000,000 |
| 94 | Clark Hunt | Kansas City Chiefs, FC Dallas | $1,400,000,000 |
| 94 | Dragan Šolak | Southampton FC | $1,400,000,000 |
| 96 | Virginia Halas McCaskey | Chicago Bears | $1,300,000,000 |
| 96 | Tony Bloom | Brighton & Hove Albion, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise | $1,300,000,000 |
| 96 | Zygi Wilf | Minnesota Vikings, Orlando City SC, Orlando Pride | $1,300,000,000 |
| 99 | David Sullivan | West Ham United | $1,100,000,000 |
| 100 | Mike Bidwill | Arizona Cardinals | $925,000,000 |
Steve Ballmer
Wealth: $124.8 billion
Sport: Basketball (NBA)
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acquired the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team in 2014 for what was a record-breaking $2 billion. After topping the charts in 2023, Ballmer has kept hold of the top spot, and a previous fortune of $99.2 billion has now broken the $100 billion barrier and then some just 12 months later – if we come back and measure his worth in 2025, how much higher can it go?
Mukesh Ambani
Wealth: $115.8 billion
Sport: Cricket (Indian Premier League)
Moving back into second on the list is Mukesh Ambani. After being worth $115.8bn, the owner of Mumbai Indians has now gained $40bn in a year. Ambani is now one of three owners on our list to possess a wealth of more than $100bn, and with such an increase, he now has Steve Ballmer in his sights.
Ambani oversaw success in the IPL when the Mumbai Indians lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2020. However, 2022 would see them finish bottom of the regular season table and this only highlights that even a multitude of riches cannot necessarily buy you success. With that said a return to form a year later would see the Mumbai-based franchise finish fourth in that year’s IPL.
Carlos Slim
Wealth: $100.2 billion
Sport: Football (Segunda División)
Now in third place, we have the richest person in Mexico and formerly the world’s wealthiest individual, Carlos Slim. Through his global conglomerate Grupo Carso, Slim owns Real Oviedo who currently ply their trade in the Spanish Segunda Division. His financial worth currently stands at $100.2 billion, up by $15.6 billion from when we last conducted this study in 2023.
David Thomson
Wealth: $66.4 billion
Sport: Ice Hockey (NHL), Ice Hockey (AHL)
David Thomson is the richest owner of a hockey team with a net worth of $66.4 billion, earning him a 4th place spot in our ranking. His two teams, the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose are both based in Winnipeg, Canada, and compete in the NHL and AHL, respectively.
Sheikh Mansour
Wealth: $30 billion
Sport: Football (Premier League), Football (A-League Men), Football (MLS), Football (Indian Super League)
The richest Premier League football club owner is Sheikh Mansour, who owns Manchester City and is worth $30 billion. Mansour is not only incredibly wealthy but is also the Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. He also oversees the running of the City Football Group. Although it includes Melbourne City, New York City, and Mumbai City, the group currently has 11 men’s and 6 women’s clubs in its portfolio.
François Pinault
Wealth: $27.1 billion
Sport: Football (Ligue 1)
The wealthiest owner of a French football team is Francois Pinault, whose club Stade Rennais FC competes in Ligue 1, the top league in France. His net worth stands at $27.1 billion in 2024.
Ann and Stan Kroenke
Wealth: $26.2 billion
Sport: Football (Premier League), American Football (NFL), Basketball (NBA), Ice Hockey (NHL), Football (MLS)
In seventh place is the combined wealth of Ann and Stan Kroenke. Best known on this side of the Atlantic Ocean for the latter’s ownership of Arsenal, this duo also have interests in each of the four major American sports leagues, and those interests are worth a total of $26.2 billion in 2024.
Daniel Gilbert
Wealth: $20.2 billion
Sport: Basketball (NBA)
In eighth place is Daniel Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, worth $20.2 billion. Most of Gilbet’s riches have been generated from his successful mortgage loans business.
Mohammad Bin Salman
Wealth: $25 billion
Sport: Football (Premier League)
In ninth place is Mohammad Bin Salman, responsible for the 2021 acquisition of Newcastle FC. This takeover divided fans of the club due to the influence of oil money on the sport, as well as controversy over the human rights record of Saudi Arabia whose government’s sovereign wealth fund is the official majority owner of the team. As the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, among other important government positions, it should come as no surprise that Mohammad Bin Salman is among the wealthiest sports club owners, with a reported net worth of $25 billion.
David Tepper
Wealth: $20.6 billion
Sport: American Football (NFL)
In tenth place is David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers NFL team, worth $20.6 billion. Tepper’s riches came from his impressive abilities as a hedge fund manager. However, it has created a tremendous amount of wealth, the 65-year-old plans to turn it into a family office eventually.
Also on the list are owners who have made money from betting sites and online casinos.
The Coates family, owners of Stoke City, also own the Words Largest Sports Betting Company, bet365, which started as a UK betting site before expanding globally and recently launching a New Jersey online casino.
Tony Bloom, the owner of Premier League football team Brighton, is now worth $1.3 billion at the time of research, but that figure is dwarfed by the introduction of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the CEO of INEOS.
Not only is Sir Jim overseeing the sponsorship of the INEOS cycling team but he also owns OGC Nice in France’s Ligue 1. Add the running of football operations at Manchester United and the 71-year-old is now worth $16.1 billion – a figure that puts him 13th on our list.
Methodology
We wanted to update our 2023 data to reveal the wealthiest sports club owners of 2024. We used data from Forbes billionaire rankings Bloomsberg Billionaires as well as other sources where this was not available and checked through our 2023 data to update the figures.
We then supplemented this by checking the owners of major clubs across the most popular sports to ensure we didn’t miss any wealthy owners.
Data was collected on May 1st 2024, with currencies being converted on the same day from USD to GBP. We used exchange rates from Xe.com to convert the currencies.
