The Elite Billionaires of Sports Ownership: Meet The Top 10 Richest Team Owners

Owning a sports team is almost a rite of passage for many billionaires. It's a status symbol and an exciting outlet for billionaires who want to rub shoulders with sports legends and interact with other billionaire owners. The high valuations of major sports league teams, including in the Premier League, NFL or NBA, means only billionaires or large corporations have enough capital to purchase teams. 

Here are the 10 richest sports team owners in the world, with net worth figures pulled from Forbes' "The World's Real Time billionaires" rankings as of Oct. 10. 

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No. 1  Steve Ballmer / Net Worth $99.8 billion

Former Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer owns the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. He bought the team for $2 billion in 2014 and is building a $2 billion arena for the team in Inglewood, California, so it will no longer share Crypto.com arena with the Los Angeles Lakers. Ballmer and Mukesh Ambani frequently trade places at #1 or #2 on the richest sports owners list. 

No. 2 Mukesh Ambani / Net Worth: $91.4 billion

Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani's association with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. provides him with billions in revenue every year. He owns the Mumbai Indians, a team within the Indian Premier League that is the most valuable cricket franchise in India. Reliance and Ambani expanded their cricket presence by acquiring a franchise in the inaugural Women's Premier League. Reliance also owns cricket teams in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

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No. 3 Rob Walton / Net Worth: $66.2 billion

Walmart Inc. heir Rob Walton made a record-breaking purchase of the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion, outbidding all competitors and making the purchase the most ever spent on a sports team. However, his inaugural season didn't unfold as expected, as the team concluded with a disappointing 5-12 record and the 2023 season is starting poorly. 

No. 4 François Pinault & family / Net Worth: $40.1 billion

One year before Francois Pinault purchased a controlling stake in the Gucci Group in 1999, the founder of luxury giant Kering bought French Ligue 1 soccer club Stade Rennais F.C. The team has never finished higher than third in the league.

No. 5. Mark Mateschitz / Net Worth: $30.5 billion

Austrian billionaire Mark Mateschitz inherited 49% of Red Bull upon the death of his father Dietrich Mateschitz. He also inherited stakes in the New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig and two Formula One racing teams — Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri.

No. 6. Masayoshi Son / Net Worth $23.6 billion

While at the helm of SoftBank Group Corp., Masayoshi Son established it as a formidable force in the mobile telecom and investment sectors while running the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a Japanese professional baseball team. During his ownership, the team won seven championships, including a remarkable four-peat from 2017 to 2020. In addition, Son briefly held a stake in Major League Soccer's Inter Miami CF before divesting in 2021. 

No. 7. David Tepper /  Net Worth $20.6 billion

Formerly the head of Goldman Sachs' junk-bond desk, David Tepper established Appaloosa Management in 1993, ultimately growing it to $20 billion in assets under management at its peak. In 2018, he acquired the Carolina Panthers NFL team for $2.3 billion.

No. 8 Steve Cohen / Net Worth: $19.8 billion

Before venturing into the world of extravagant sports ownership as owner of the New York Mets, Steve Cohen gained recognition as a prosperous yet polarizing Wall Street trader. Managing external capital starting in 2018, his hedge fund firm, Point72 Asset Management, which oversees $27 billion in assets, delivered over $2.4 billion in profits to investors last year.

No. 9 James Ratcliffe / Net Worth: $18.9 billion

As founder and chairman of INEOS Group Ltd., James Ratcliffe reshaped his chemical company into a versatile conglomerate, expanding its reach into multiple industries. In 2019, under Ratcliffe's leadership, the company made a significant acquisition: Ligue 1's OGC Nice, a French professional soccer team. He is also pursuing a purchase of Manchester United. 

No. 10 Dan Gilbert / Net Worth: $17.4 billion

Dan Gilbert owns multiple sports franchises, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team as well as the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters and the NBA G League's Cleveland Charge. Gilbert earned his fortune from cofounding and maintaining majority ownership of Rocket Mortgage and founding his holding and real estate company Rock Ventures. 

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