There have been millions of investments in world football in recent times. Many billionaires have gotten into football which has become a very lucrative business nowadays. Along with money, owning a football club brings you prestige and respect from the public.
If a football club is backed by a rich owner it can reach new heights. Take for example Premier League club Manchester City. Manchester was known for its Red Devils. The blue part of Manchester was less known to the world.
When billionaire Sheikh Mansour overtook Manchester City in 2008, he changed the whole scenario. He has invested a lot of money in the club which has made Manchester City dominate Premier League in recent seasons.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 richest football club owners in August 2021:
10) Robert Kraft – New England Revolution ($6bn)
Robert Kraft, CEO of the Kraft Group, has invested in various industries, including sports, entertainment, manufacturing, and real estate.
The 79-year-old American businessman owns National Football League’s New England Patriots along with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. The two teams play at the Gillette Stadium, which is one of his assets.
9) Zhang Jindong – Inter Milan ($7.6bn)
Zhang Jindong, a Chinese billionaire, is the main owner and shareholder of the Serie A side Inter Milan. Zhang is an entrepreneur who studied at Nanjing Normal University. The 57-year-old owner of Inter Milan is the largest shareholder of Suning.com. He also owns a 100% stake in Suning Holdings Group, 65% stake in Suning Real Estate as well as 48.1% stake in Suning Appliance Group.
His company signed the contract to purchase the Italian club by purchasing existing shares and through recapitalization.
8) Nasser Al-Khelaifi – Paris Saint Germain ($8bn)
Yes, the rich PSG owner whose arrival saw the club shattering transfer market records is not even in the Top 5! Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a Qatari businessman, studied Economics at Qatar University and played for the Qatari tennis team for 5 years. He was a professional tennis player, and after finishing his career in 2002, he was ranked 995th in the world rankings.
In 2011, Qatar Sports Investments bought Paris Saint-Germain. Nasser al-Khelaifi was elected as its chairman. He bought big stars such as Neymar, Ibrahimovic, Cavani, and Killian Mbappe for the club and as well as winning 13 football trophies.
7) Stan Kroenke – Arsenal ($9bn)
Stan Kroenke, an American billionaire entrepreneur, owns the Kroenke Sports Company (KSE), which includes a number of teams from different sports and leagues. The Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL, Lacrosse), Colorado Rapids of the MLS, Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the St. Louis Club of the National Football League (NFL, American Football).
According to SportMob, Kroenke “entered a new arena in April 2007 and bought a 9.9% stake in Arsenal from Granada Ventures, and for the first time pursued a business outside the United States. Stan Kroenke currently is the main shareholder of Arsenal and is close to acquiring 100% ownership of the England club.”
6) Philip Anschutz – LA Galaxy ($10bn)
Philip Anschutz, another American billionaire entrepreneur on the list, owns many companies in many industries including railroads, sports, theatres, arenas, and music. Anschutz bought his father’s drilling company, Circle E. Drilling, in 1961 and made a lot of money in Wyoming.
Anschutz initially invested in stocks, real estate, and railroads. Gradually, he went on to invest in entertainment companies and co-founded the Major League Soccer, as well as numerous teams like the Los Angeles Galaxy Football Club, the San Jose Earthquakes, the Chicago Fire, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars Football Club, and the Houston Dynamo Football Club.
5) Roman Abramovich – Chelsea ($12bn)
Roman Abramovic, a Russian-Israeli billionaire and politician, owns the English Premier League side, Chelsea. He is the primary owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC. He was once among the 21 richest people in the world. But now, after a few years, even at an estimated net worth of $12.5 billion, he has lost his high ranking among the richest people in the world.
Abramovic oversaw great success at Chelsea which includes a number of Premier League titles coupled with European competition wins.
4) Dietmar Hopp – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim ($13bn)
Dietmar Hopp, a German billionaire and entrepreneur, is the eighth richest person in Germany thanks to a fortune from his software company SAP ((Systems, Applications, Products). In 2020, he was ranked 72nd in Forbes Magazine’s list of the richest people.
Dietmar studied telecommunications engineering in Karlsruhe after high school then he worked as a software developer and system consultant at IBM. He left IBM in 1972 and co-founded the software company SAP, with four of his colleagues.
Hopp is one of the main shareholders of the German Hoffenheim football team, which was initially a local team, that grew with his significant investments, and eventually, in 2008, this team entered the Bundesliga.
However, Hopp is hated among the German football fans as they believe that he bought his team’s success in football.
3) Andrea Agnelli – Juventus ($14bn)
Andrea Agnelli, the chairman of Juventus and also a board member of FIAT and Exor, was one of Oxford University’s most successful economics students, as well as a student at Milan’s Bocconi University.
Andrea like his father, who was also the president of the Serie A side Juventus from 1955 to 1962, was very interested in the club and worked in the club’s financial and administrative department from a young age.
2) Dietrich Mateschitz – RB Leipzig ($19bn)
Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian billionaire, owns Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg and MLS side New York Red Bulls. He studied marketing at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and graduated at the age of 28. After graduation, he worked as an International Marketing Director in a German cosmetics company.
During one of his trips to Thailand, a sweet and savoury drink largely relieved his fatigue, caused by flight delays. He searched for its owner and in partnership with this Thai man, the Red Bull was founded. The 76-year-old rarely speaks out in public and keeps himself out of the reach of the media.
1) Sheikh Mansour – Manchester City ($20bn)
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is an Emirati politician and with an estimated net worth of around $30 billion, he is the richest football club owner in the world. As well as Manchester City in England, he owns New York City in the United States, Melbourne City in Australia, Mumbai City in India, and Montevideo City in Uruguay.
Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the UAE, owns stocks in many companies in the UAE, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. After his acquisition of Manchester City in 2008, he reformed the club and changed the financial situation while also making them the joint-most successful English club (4 titles) since his joining. This record might change soon as City is on their way to winning the title this season.
