Discover the top 10 richest Premier League owners, from Saudi Arabian investment funds to American business magnates. Explore their vast net worth and the diverse industries that contribute to their financial empires. Learn about the individuals behind these football clubs and the controversies surrounding their ownership in the world's most popular league.
It's widely recognized that the English Premier League (EPL) stands as one of the globe's most financially potent national football league. A significant majority, if not the entirety, of its clubs are under the ownership of affluent tycoons hailing from diverse corners of the world. These astute investors represent a global spectrum, with origins spanning China, the United States, Russia, and the Middle East.
Even the shores of Nigeria, and indeed the entirety of Africa, have not been immune to the allure of EPL ownership. Rumors once danced through the air, hinting at the possibility that Aliko Dangote, Africa's wealthiest magnate, harbored ambitions of acquiring Arsenal Football Club. Furthermore, the distinguished figure of Orji Uzor Kalu, Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate and former Governor of Abia State, pondered over the prospect of securing a 35% stake in Arsenal FC. These instances underscore the potential for the wealthiest Premier League owners to emerge from the African continent as well.
Now, let's embark on a journey through the ranks of the richest Premier League owners. However, before we delve into this riveting exploration, let's acquaint ourselves with the present custodians of English football clubs, accompanied by their approximate net worth where information is available.
List of Premier League owners
Arsenal – Stan Kroenke
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $12.9B
Source of Wealth: Commercial Property Owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and Walmart.
Aston Villa – Wes Edens & Nassef Sawiris
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $11.9B
Source of Wealth: Investment and Industry Co-owners through Fortress Investment Group.
Bournemouth – William P. Foley
Estimated Net Worth: $1.6BSource of Wealth: Fidelity National Financial, Vegas Golden Knights
Brentford – Matthew Benham
Estimated Net Worth: $280M
Source of Wealth: Gambling Firms Founder of gambling firms.
Brighton & Hove Albion- Tony Bloom
Estimated Net Worth: $1.3B
Source of Wealth: Online Gambling, Property, Land Development & Investments
Burnley – Alan Pace
Estimated Ownership Stake: 50.38%
Source of Wealth: ALK Capital LLC
Chelsea – Clearlake Capital Group (Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano), Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, Mark Walter
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $15.8B
Source of Wealth: Investment Consortium Owners from Clearlake Capital Group, Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, and Mark Walter.
Crystal Palace – Steve Parish, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, John Textor
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $5.5B
Source of Wealth: Private Equity
Everton – Farhad Moshiri
Estimated Ownership Stake: 94% Estimated Net Worth: $2.9B
Source of Wealth: Steel and Energy, Theatre Production
Fulham – Shahid Khan
Estimated Net Worth: $7.9B
Source of Wealth: Flex-N-Gate Corp (Automobile Parts Manufacturer), Jacksonville Jaguars, All Elite Wrestling
Liverpool – John W. Henry, Tom Werner
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $9.8B
Source of Wealth: Fenway Sports Group
Luton Town – Luton Town Football Club 2020 Limited
Ownership: Supporter-owned
Manchester City – Abu Dhabi United Group (81%), Silver Lake (18%), China Media Capital, China CITIC Group (1%)
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $22B
Source of Wealth: Sovereign Wealth Investments
Manchester United – Glazer Family
Estimated Net Worth: $4.7B
Source of Wealth: First Allied Corporation, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Newcastle United – Public Investment Fund (80%), RB Sports & Media (10%), PCP Capital Partners (10%)
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $620B
Source of Wealth: Sovereign Wealth
Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis
Estimated Net Worth: $620M
Source of Wealth: Capital Maritime & Trading Corp
Sheffield United – Abdullah bin Musa'ed
Estimated Net Worth: $200M
Source of Wealth: Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co.
Tottenham Hotspur – Joe Lewis, Daniel Levy
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $5.8B
Source of Wealth: Currency Trading
West Ham United – David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $7.3B
Source of Wealth: Daily Sport, Sunday Sport, EPH
Wolverhampton Wanderers – Guo Guangchang, Liang Xinjun, Wang Qunbin
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $6.9B
Source of Wealth: Fosun International
List Of EFL Championship Owners
Birmingham City – Tom Wagner
Ownership Stake: 45.6%
Source of Wealth: Knighthead Capital Management
Blackburn Rovers – Anuradha Jitendra Desai, Banda Venkatesh Rao, Banda Balaji Rao
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $2B
Source of Wealth: Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group
Bristol City – Stephen Lansdown
Estimated Net Worth: $2.6B
Source of Wealth: Hargreaves Lansdown
Cardiff City – Vincent Tan
Ownership Stake: 51% Estimated Net Worth: $750M
Source of Wealth: Berjaya Group
Coventry City – Doug King
Ownership: 100%
Source of Wealth: YELO Enterprises, RCMA Capital
Huddersfield Town – Kevin M. Nagle
Estimated Net Worth: $500M
Source of Wealth: Health Care and Pharmacy
Hull City – Acun Ilıcalı
Source of Wealth: Acun Medya
Ipswich Town – Gamechangers 2020
Source of Wealth: American Pension Fund
Leeds United – York Family
Estimated Net Worth: $5.1B
Source of Wealth: San Francisco 49ers, DeBartolo Corporation
Leicester City – The Srivaddhanaprabha Family
Estimated Net Worth: $3.5B
Source of Wealth: King Power International Group
Middlesbrough – Steve Gibson
Estimated Net Worth: $263M
Source of Wealth: Bulkhaul Limited
Millwall – John Berylson, Richard Smith
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $175M
Source of Wealth: Chestnut Hill Ventures
Norwich City – Delia Smith, Michael Wynn-Jones, Mark Attanasio
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $30M
Source of Wealth: Food Industry, Publishing Poultry
Plymouth Argyle – Simon Hallett
Ownership Stake: 97%
Source of Wealth: Investment
Preston North End – Trevor Hemmings CVO
Ownership Stake: 51.4% Estimated Net Worth: $1.4B
Source of Wealth: Blackpool Tower, horse racing, investment, Northern Trust, Sportech
Queens Park Rangers – Tony Fernandes, Lakshmi Mittal
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $15.5B
Source of Wealth: Air Asia, Tune Group, ArcelorMittal
Rotherham United – Tony Stewart, Joan Stewart
Ownership Stake: 49%, 46% Estimated Combined Net Worth: $180M
Source of Wealth: Lighting Industry
Sheffield Wednesday – Dejphon Chansiri
Estimated Net Worth: $575M
Source of Wealth: Thai Union Group
Southampton – Sport Republic, Katharina Liebherr
Ownership Stake: 80%, 20% Estimated Net Worth: $1.3B
Source of Wealth: Inheritance, United Group
Stoke City – The Coates Family
Estimated Net Worth: $9.4B
Source of Wealth: Bet365
Sunderland – Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Juan Sartori, Stewart Donald
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $2.1B
Source of Wealth: Louis-Dreyfus Group
Swansea City – Stephen Kaplan, Jason Levien, Swansea City Supporters Trust
Ownership Stake: 68%, 21.1%
Source of Wealth: Memphis Grizzlies, D.C. United, Investment Trust
Watford – Gino Pozzo
Estimated Net Worth: $120M
Source of Wealth: Investment
West Bromwich Albion – Guochuan Lai
Ownership Stake: 87.8%
Source of Wealth: Investmen
List of League One Owners
Barnsley – Neerav Parekh, The Cryne Family, Julie Anne Quay, Chien Lee, Pacific Media Group
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $9.1B
Source of Wealth: NewCity Capital, Pacific Media Group, Pidilite Industries
Blackpool – Simon Sadler
Ownership Stake: 96.2%
Source of Wealth: Asset Management
Bolton Wanderers – Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd
Estimated Net Worth: $60M
Bristol Rovers – Jordan Wael al-Qadi
Ownership: 100% Estimated Net Worth: $550M
Source of Wealth: Banking and Tourism
Burton Albion – Ben Robinson
Ownership Stake: 98%
Source of Wealth: Undisclosed
Cambridge United – Paul Barry, Adam Webb, Mark Green
Ownership: 70%, 10%, 20%
Source of Wealth: Hospitality, Technology, Property
Carlisle United – Andrew Jenkins, John Nixon, Steven Pattison, The United Trust
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $23M
Source of Wealth: Pioneer Foods, Businessman (Retired), Carlisle Glass, Investment Trust
Charlton Athletic – Charlie Methven, Gabriel Brener, Joshua Friedman
Source of Wealth: Consultancy, Investments
Cheltenham Town – Simon Keswick, CTFC Investments Ltd, Paul Baker, Robins Trust (Cheltenham Town Supporters Society Ltd)
Source of Wealth: Finance, Undisclosed, Insurance, Supporters Trust
Derby County – David Clowes
Estimated Net Worth: £252M
Source of Wealth: Property Development
Exeter City – Exeter City FC Supporters' Trust – Trust Ownership Working Group
Source of Ownership: Supporters Trust
Fleetwood Town – Andy Pilley
Ownership Stake: 98% Estimated Net Worth: $120M
Source of Wealth: BES Group
Leyton Orient – Eagle Investments 2017 Ltd
Estimated Net Worth: $38M
Lincoln City – Lincoln City Holdings Ltd, Harvey Jabara
Source of Ownership: England, United States
Northampton Town – Kelvin Thomas, David Bower
Source of Ownership: England
Oxford United – Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth
Source of Ownership: Thailand
Peterborough United – Darragh MacAnthony, Kelgary Sports and Entertainment
Ownership: 50%, 50%
Source of Ownership: Republic of Ireland, Canada
Port Vale – Carol Shanahan, Kevin Shanahan
Source of Wealth: Synectics Solutions, Fintech and Investments
Portsmouth – Michael Eisner
Estimated Net Worth: $1B
Source of Wealth: Media; former CEO of The Walt Disney Company; Tornante
Reading – Dai Yongge, Dai Xiu Li
Estimated Combined Net Worth: $950M
Source of Wealth: Renhe Commercial Holdings Company Limited
Shrewsbury Town – Roland Wycherley
Estimated Net Worth: $17M
Stevenage – Phil Wallace
Ownership Stake: 91% Estimated Net Worth: $90M
Source of Wealth: Lamex Food Group
Wigan Athletic – Mike Danson
Estimated Net Worth: $1.63B
Source of Wealth: Media: GlobalData
Wycombe Wanderers – Rob Couhig, Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Trust
Ownership: 75%, 25%
Source of Ownership: United States, Supporters Trust
List of League Two Owners
Accrington Stanley – Andy Holt
Source of Wealth: What More UK
AFC Wimbledon – Wimbledon Football Club Supporters' Society (The Dons Trust)
Source of Ownership: Supporters Trust
Barrow – Tony Shearer, Paul Hornby, Kristian Wilkes, Mark Hetherington, Bluebirds Trust
Ownership: 40%, 20%, 20%, 10%, 10%
Source of Ownership: England
Bradford City – Stefan Rupp
Ownership Stake: 77.5% Estimated Net Worth: $130M
Source of Wealth: Investment
Colchester United – Robbie Cowling
Estimated Net Worth: $55M
Source of Wealth: JobServe
Crawley Town – WAGMI United LLC
Source of Ownership: United States
Source of Wealth: Venture Capital
Crewe Alexandra – Norman Hassall Hassall, Daniel Potts
Ownership: 32% of 60% holding company
Source of Ownership: England Source of Wealth: The Rowlinson Group
Doncaster Rovers – John Ryan, Dick Watson, Terry Bramall
Ownership: Various Source of Ownership: England, Scotland Source of Wealth: MYA Cosmetic Surgery, Construction, Keepmoat
Forest Green Rovers – Dale Vince, Héctor Bellerín
Estimated Net Worth: $120M
Gillingham – Brad Galinson (majority shareholder)
Ownership: United States Source of Ownership: Property
Grimsby Town – 1878 Partners, The Mariners Trust, Mike Parker
Ownership: 63%, 14%, 11%
Source of Ownership: England
Harrogate Town – Irving Weaver
Source of Wealth: Property
Mansfield Town – John Radford
Estimated Net Worth: $38M
Milton Keynes Dons – Pete Winkelman
Estimated Net Worth: $200M
Source of Wealth: InterMK Group
Morecambe – Bond Group Investments Limited (80% major shareholder)
Ownership: 80%
Source of Ownership: England
Newport County – Newport County AFC Supporters Trust
Source of Ownership: Supporters Trust
Notts County – Alexander Reedtz, Christoffer Reedtz
Source of Ownership: Denmark Source of Wealth: Football Radar
Salford City – Peter Lim, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham
Estimated Net Worth: $2.9B
Stockport County – Mark Stott
Source of Wealth: Property Investment
Sutton United – Garry Otto, Nawaf Al Shammari
Ownership: Investment Group Source of Ownership: South Africa, Saudi Arabia
Swindon Town – Clem Morfuni
Estimated Net Worth: $200M
Source of Wealth: Australia
Tranmere Rovers – Mark Palios
Ownership: Indonesia Source of Ownership: Santini Group
Walsall – Benjamin Boycott
Ownership: Canada, United States Source of Ownership: Trivela Group LLC
Wrexham – Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney
Ownership: Canada, United States Source of Ownership: Entertainment
Top 10 Richest Premier League Owners
Here is the list of the top 10 richest Premier League owners along with their estimated net worth and a brief description:
1) Newcastle United – Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund
Estimated Net Worth: £320 billion
After 13 years of Mike Ashley at the helm, Newcastle are essentially now owned by the Saudi Arabian state. The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund invests on behalf of the country's government. Chaired by the controversial Mohammed bin Salman, the St James' Park outfit is run by some of the world's most powerful people. They are richest premier league owners.
2) Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour
Estimated Net Worth: £22.9 billion
Sheikh Mansour bought City in September 2008, immediately transforming them into a global powerhouse. He is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and comes from the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
3) Chelsea – Todd Boehly
Estimated Net Worth: £10.9 billion
Todd Boehly is the Co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of Elridge Industries, and owns interests in other sports teams, contributing to his substantial net worth.
4) Arsenal – Stan Kroenke
Estimated Net Worth: £6.8 billion
Stan Kroenke is an American businessman who owns a global network of sports teams, including the LA Rams and Arsenal. His investments span real estate development, shopping centers, and more.
5) Fulham – Shahid Khan
Estimated Net Worth: £5.8 billion
Shahid Khan also owns NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars and is co-owner of All Elite Wrestling. He purchased auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate.
6) Wolves – Guo Guangchang
Estimated Net Worth: £5.2 billion
Guo Guangchang is the head of Fosun International, a conglomerate based in China. Fosun acquired Wolves and quickly transformed the club's fortunes, expanding from market research to becoming a major investment firm.
7) Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris
Estimated Net Worth: £5 billion
Nassef Sawiris stepped in to save Aston Villa from financial trouble, becoming a controlling stakeholder. He is the CEO of the Orascom conglomerate and has investments in various industries, including a stake in Adidas.
8) Leicester City – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha
Estimated Net Worth: £4.6 billion
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the son of the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, oversees King Power, Thailand's largest duty-free retailer. He inherited Leicester City and has continued his father's legacy, investing in both the club and the city.
9) Tottenham Hotspur – Joe Lewis
Estimated Net Worth: £3.9 billion
Joe Lewis is the main shareholder of ENIC Group, which controls Tottenham Hotspur. He oversees the day-to-day running of the club as managing director of ENIC, while owning a significant stake in the investment company.
10) Manchester United – The Glazer Family
Estimated Net Worth: £3.6 billion
The Glazer Family acquired Manchester United in 2003, having previously been involved in sports investments, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their ownership has been met with controversy, and the family's involvement in running the club has continued even after Malcolm Glazer's passing.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
