You can buy only so many yachts, one-of-a-kind watches, and mansions. So, the new measuring stick is professional sports team ownership for the hyper-competitive uber-wealthy people who want to showcase their net worth. Forbes broke down the richest owners in pro sports, and the list is interesting.
Collectively, the 20 richest sports owners are worth about $509 billion. Just because an owner paid big bucks to buy a team doesn’t mean they are committed to winning. The cheapness of some owners is staggering. Take Arte Moreno, the owner of the Los Angeles Angels, for instance. To save a few bucks, he is making local announcers stay in Southern California and not go on road trips.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who has committed $1.5 billion to free agents since he bought the team.
Let’s get to the good stuff — who are the richest owners in sports? The king of the hill is Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians cricket team in India. He’s worth a robust $83.4 billion.
Number two on the list is the loudest and most obnoxious. Steve Ballmer is worth $80.7 billion, but money hasn’t made his LA Clippers relevant or popular.
The collective net worth of the 20 wealthiest owners went up 12% in the past year for one reason — Rob Walton purchased the Denver Broncos. The Walmart heir is worth $57.6 billion.
Number four is a French family – Francois Pinault and his fam are worth $40.1 billion and own a professional soccer team.
Austrian Mark Mateschitz owns the Red Bull Racing team, the New York Red Bulls, and is worth $34.7 billion—he’s fifth on the list.
Masayoshi Son, the founder, and CEO of Japan’s SoftBank Group, is a Japanese league baseball team owner. It was his multi-billion dollar investment that sent WeWork spiraling into bankruptcy. The WeWork disaster hurt his net worth, but he still has a $22.4 billion fortune.
Jerry Jones is no. 12 on the list. The owner of the Dallas Cowboys is worth $13.3 billion. His team is worth $8 billion, the most valuable American franchise in any sport — he purchased his beloved Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million. That’s far less than the contract he gave out to his quarterback Dak Prescott.
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