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A Rundown of the World’s Richest Sports Team Owners

Lisa SpencerBy Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 21 February 2023
Lisa Spencer Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

A hand holding outstretched bills World’s Richest Sports Team Owners

The richest sports team owners in the world come from all corners of the globe, have different businesses, invest in different sports – but they all have one thing in common: they’re billionaires. It seems to be a favorite pastime for billionaires to buy-up sports teams, and on this page, we’re going to be looking at who the richest sports team owners are!

The Richest Sports Team Owners

In this article, we’re going to be covering the five wealthiest sports team owners in the world: Steve Ballmer, Mukesh Ambani, Carlos Slim, Rob Walton, and Francois Pinault. However, we’ll also give you a top 15 list, so you have a better understanding of who else owns what.

Richest NBA Owners, NFL, Cricket – Everything!

Whether it’s the richest NBA owners or the wealthiest NFL owners, there’s some pretty big names involved in the sporting world – along with some people you’ve probably never even heard of! Below, we’re going to show you a table of the top 15 richest owners. Following on, we’ll look at the five wealthiest sports owners in more detail.

Name and Team(s) Owned Net Worth
Steve Ballmer – Los Angeles Clippers $91,400,000,000
Mukesh Ambani – Mumbai Indians $90,700,000,000
Carlos Slim – Real Oviedo $78,000,000,000
Rob Walton – Denver Broncos $59,800,000,000
François Pinault – Stade Rennais FC $40,400,000,000
Daniel Gilbert – Cleveland Cavaliers $30,900,000,000
Dietrich Mateschitz – RB Leipzig, NY Red Bulls, Red Bull Racing $27,400,000,000
Masayoshi Son – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks $21,300,000,000
Steve Cohen – New York Mets $17,400,000,000
David Tepper – Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC $16,700,000,000
Robert Pera – Memphis Grizzlies $14,600,000,000
Joseph Tsai – Brooklyn Nets $11,600,000,000
Philip Anschutz – LA Kings, LA Galaxy $10,900,000,000
Stan Kroenke – LA Rams, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets $10,700,000,000
Jerry Jones – Dallas Cowboys $8,900,000,000

Steve Ballmer – LA Clippers

Steve Ballmer is a businessman and investor who is best known for being the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. In 2014, Ballmer made national news when he paid a record $2 billion to buy the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Clippers had been one of the worst teams in the NBA for a long time. They were known for being badly run and not doing well on the court. However, since Ballmer bought the team, things have drastically changed for the better. Ballmer has put a lot of money and work into the team, both in terms of the players and the way the team works.

One of the first things Ballmer did as owner was to hire Doc Rivers as a new head coach. Since then, Rivers has led the team to the playoffs for six straight years. Ballmer also signed free agents like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which helped the team make it to the Western Conference Finals in the 2019-2020 season.

In addition to doing well on the court, Ballmer has also worked to make the fans’ experience better. He’s pushed for extensive stadium renovations and has used streaming services to make matches more accessible to those who can’t attend in person.

If you’re going to place a bet on the Clippers, or any other NBA team, make sure you check out our online basketball betting recommendations first!

Mukesh Ambani – Mumbai Indians

Mukesh Ambani is a well-known Indian businessman and the chairman of one of India’s largest conglomerates, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). Ambani is the majority shareholder of the Mumbai Indians, a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India. This is just one of his many business ventures.

Under Ambani’s ownership, the Mumbai Indians have been one of the best teams in the IPL. They have won the competition five times, which is the most of any team. Ambani’s ownership has given the team a lot of stability, and year after year, the Mumbai Indians have been among the best in the world.

Ambani’s ability to identify and retain the best players has been a big part of the team’s success. Over the years, the Mumbai Indians have had players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been exceptionally good. Ambani’s willingness to put money into the team and get top players has been a big reason why the team has done so well.

Carlos Slim – Real Oviedo

Carlos Slim Hel is a businessman and philanthropist from Mexico who is one of the richest people in the world. He’s also one of the richest owners in sports. He is the head of two of Latin America’s biggest companies: Telmex and América Móvil. Slim has a stake in the Spanish football team Real Oviedo, which is one of his many business ventures.

Real Oviedo is a football team with a long history that is based in the Spanish city of Oviedo. The club has been around for more than 100 years, and its supporters love it. But in recent years, the team has had trouble making money, and in 2012, it was close to going out of business.

This is where Carlos Slim came in. He bought the club’s majority share and put his own money into its future. Slim’s money helped the club get its finances in order and rebuild its team. In the 2016-2017 season, the team was able to get promoted to the Segunda División, which is the second-highest level of Spanish football. Since then, they have been able to keep their spot.

Rob Walton – Denver Broncos

Rob Walton is an American businessman and the son of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. He’s the heir to the Walmart fortune, and from 1992 to 2015, he was actually the chairman of Walmart. In addition to his Walmart-related activities, he’s also a minority owner of the Denver Broncos, a professional football team based in Denver, Colorado. However, he has, for the most part, chosen to keep quite a low profile.

​​​The logo of Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are one of the most successful NFL teams and have been around since 1960. They have won the AFC title eight times and the Super Bowl three times. Fans hold Walton in high regard, as he has helped a number of charities in Denver and Colorado. For example, he’s worked on a of projects such as the Denver Broncos Charitable Foundation, which helps fund education, health, and youth sports programs in the Denver area.

Francois Pinault – Stade Rennais FC

Francois Pinault is a French businessman and art collector who is worth more than a billion dollars. He started the luxury group Kering and has the most shares in it. He also owns the professional French football team Stade Rennais Football Club (SRFC), which is based in Rennes, Brittany.

SRFC, which most people just call Rennes, is one of France’s oldest football clubs. It was founded in 1901 and has a long and interesting history. The team has had both good and bad moments over the years, but since Pinault bought the club in 1998, things have been moving in the right direction.

Pinault has been a fan of the team since he was a child, which, interestingly, was one of the driving factors behind him investing and getting involved. He’s since poured a lot of money into the team – and under his ownership, the club’s performance has improved dramatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve read this far, you’ll have a much better understanding of who the richest sports team owners are. We’ve tried to be as comprehensive as we can! However, if you have any additional questions, make sure to check out the FAQs below, as we’re going to try to answer some of them.

Who is currently the richest sports team owner?

At the time of writing, Steve Ballmer - former CEO of Microsoft - is the richest sports team owner. He owns the Los Angeles Clippers, a hugely popular basketball team in the NBA.
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