annual list of the world’s richest people, published by forbes magazineshows that investing in the sports segment has been a good deal for a coveted club of billionaires making the rankings in 2022. Together, the ten richest sports team owners in the world have a net worth of US$353 billion, some around Rs. $1.78 trillion in conversion.
According to the publication, the combined fortunes of sports moguls have remained stagnant over the past year, despite volatile markets and rising inflation across the globe.
Diversifying wealth through investments in sports is nothing new among list members, especially in the United States, where dozens of billionaires buy stakes in professional league clubs – such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS – Taxes to the country’s IRS for the purpose of lower wages.
The big highlight in the category classification is Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, who took first place as the owner of the world’s richest sports team.
With an estimated net worth of $91.4 billion, he has surpassed Mukesh Ambani, the CEO of Reliance Industries and owner of Mumbai Indians, who has a net worth of $90.7 billion.
For seven years, the two have led the biggest fortunes in the sporting world.
Ballmer moved up the list due to a rise in shares of Microsoft, the company he was once CEO of and which made him 33% richer since the previous edition of the Forbes ranking.
At the time, his estimated worth was $68.7 billion. Today he is the 9th richest man in the world.
The list is led by Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Who earned more than BRL 10,000 per second in 2021 and has assets of 219 billion US dollars.
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Another name that attracted attention was that of Roman Abramovich, who lost billions and moved from 142nd to 350th place among the rich. He no longer appears even among the richest people in “sports team owners” (he was ranked 8th in 2021).
Now, the future former owner of Chelsea FC (he put the team up for sale, but his assets are blocked, which precludes operations) started the year with US$15 billion in equity, a value that stood at US$6.9 billion. The dollar has shrunk. in March.
Other billionaires behind the big football clubs make the Forbes list:
- Stanley Kroenke (Arsenal), $10.7 billion;
- Nassef Saviris (Aston Villa), $7.7 billion;
- Dmitry Rybolovlev (Monaco) 6.6;
- Rocco Comiso (Fiorentina), US$6.1 billion;
- Paul Singer (Milan), $4.3 billion;
- John Henry (Liverpool), $3.6 billion;
- Florentino Perez Rodriguez (Real Madrid), $2 billion.
Owners of other large teams such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are not listed, as the clubs are owned by investment groups.
Check out who are the 10 billionaire sports team owners:
1st Steve Ballmer (66 years old; USA)
Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO
Image: Disclosure
Team: Los Angeles Clippers (NBA basketball team)
Source of funding: Microsoft
Net worth: $91.4 billion
Second Mukesh Ambani (64; India)
Mukesh Ambani, CEO of Jio, India
Image: Reuters
Team: Mumbai Indians (Indian Premier League cricket team)
Source of Wealth: Miscellaneous
Net worth: $90.7 billion
Third François Pinault (85; France)
François Pinault, owner of Rennes, France
Image: Brian Lennon / Getty Images
Team: Stade Renais FC – Rennes (French football club)
Source of Wealth: Luxury Goods
Net worth: $40.4 billion
Fourth Dietrich Mateschitz (77; Austria)
Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder of Red Bull and owner of clubs such as RB Leipzig and Salzburg
Image: Getty Images
Teams: New York Red Bull (soccer, plays in MLS), Red Bull Racing (Formula 1), RB Leipzig (German team, plays in Bundesga)
Source of Wealth: Red Bull
Net Worth: $27.4 billion
5th Daniel Gilbert (60; USA)
Dan Gilbert
Image: Disclosure
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball, NBA)
Source of Funds: Quick Loans/Rocket Companies
Net worth: $22 billion
Sixth Masayoshi Son (64; Japan)
Masayoshi Son has plans and powers to lead the future of technology and society
Image: Issey Kato / Reuters
Team: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Nippon Professional Baseball – NPA Baseball Team)
Source of funds: Internet, Telecom
Net worth: $21.3 billion
7th Steve Cohen (65; USA)
Steve Cohen
Image: Disclosure
Team: New York Mets (Major League Baseball baseball team)
Source of funds: Hedge fund
Net worth: $17.4 billion
8th David Tepper (64; USA)
David Taper
Image: Disclosure
Team: Carolina Panthers (football club, NFC South member)
Source of funds: Hedge fund
Shareholders’ equity: US$16.7 billion
9th Robert Pera (44; USA)
Robert Pera, billionaire and founder of Ubiquiti Networks
Image: Playback / Facebook
Team: Memphis Grizzlies (Basketball, NBA)
Source of funding: Wireless networking equipment
Net worth: $14.6 billion
10th Philip Anschutz (82; USA)
Philip Anschutz
Image: Disclosure
Teams: Los Angeles Kings (ice hockey team), LA Galaxy (football, MLS)
Source of Wealth: Investment
Shareholders’ equity: US$10.9 billion
