Forbes Billionaires dominate Top 10 World's Richest Football Club Owners in 2023 REVEALED!

Football is one of the most lucrative sports businesses in the world and that explains some of the world's billionaires invest heavily in the pipeline. This article will reveal the richest football club owners in the world.

Football is officially one of the most lucrative businesses in the modern era.

The round leather game  industry has seen millions of dollars pumped into the ecosystem by some of the world’s richest businessmen and entrepreneurs.

Football has seemingly become an attractive venture for billionaires to invest their wealth in return for even more profit as well as prestige in the grand scheme of things.

Pulse Sports reviews some of the richest football club owners in the world including the decisive figures behind the success of some of the biggest clubs across the world.

Who is the richest football club owner in the world?

As of 2023, The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund are currently the richest club owners in world football, and by some distance.

The PIF, which is the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and governed by Al-Rumayyan who is governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

As of October 2023, the fund has assets of over $700 billion as per rankings from Global SWF and SWF institute.

The Saudi PIF absolutely dwarfs every single club owner in world football.

But which other billionaires make up the Top 10 rich list?

Revealed: Top 10 World's Richest football club owners in 2023

Below is a list of the world’s richest football club owners in 2023.

10. BlueCo Consortium, Chelsea FC - $10.3 billion 

Full Name: Todd Boehly & Clearlake Capital

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Chelsea F.C, Strasbourg F.C (Soccer), Los Angeles Dodgers (Baseball), Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Sparks (Basketball)

Net Worth: US$10.3 billion

BlueCo is a consortium led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss.

The group was formed as the investment vehicle for the takeover of Premier League football club Chelsea in 2022 after Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich put the club for sale amid widespread controversy.

The BlueCo name is derived from the home colour of Chelsea F.C., its flagship football club, and acts as the club's parent company.

The consortium is led by American billionaire Todd Boehly, chairman and CEO of Eldridge Industries, and Clearlake Capital led by American billionaire Behdad Eghbali.

Boehly and Eghbali currently have a combined net worth of over US$10.3 billion,as per figures from Bloomberg Billionaire Index and Forbes, making them one of the richest football club owners in the world in 2023.

The consortium also included Hansjörg Wyss, founder of the Wyss Foundation, and Mark Walter, co-founder and CEO of Guggenheim Partners. 

While Walter and Boehly are owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Sparks, BlueCo acquired Ligue 1 football club RC Strasbourg Alsace a year later to start multi-club ownership.

Clearlake, which owns about 60% of Chelsea, currently shares joint control and equal governance of the club with Boehly.

The consortium has so far overseen some of the biggest transfers in British football history, having signed Argentina international Enzo Fernandez from Benfica as the most expensive midfielder in English football history, before shattering their own record by recruiting Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo for an all-time British transfer record.

According to reports,  BlueCo have signed over 25 players since the takeover last year and have invested not less than $1bn on initial transfers, while also raking in over €254 million from player sales last summer, as per Transfermrkt.

 In June 2023, BlueCo had reached an agreement to become shareholders of French club RC Strasbourg Alsace.

The agreement would see BlueCo invest in Strasbourg's first teams and academy. 

It was reported that the consortium had close to a 100% ownership of the club having paid €75 million.

9. Shahid Khan, Fulham F.C - $12.2 billion 

Full Name: Shahid Rafiq "Shad" Khan

Date of Birth: July 18, 1950

Place of Birth: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Age: 73 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Fulham F.C (Soccer), Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL)

Net Worth: US$12.2 billion

Next on the list is arguably the most famous billionaire of Pakistani origin.

Shahid Khan is a Pakistani-American billionaire businessman and sports tycoon.

Khan is the owner of Flex-N-Gate, an American supplier of motor vehicle components, and is also famous for being the owner of the Premier League club Fulham, and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

Khan is also the co-owner of the American wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), along with his son, Tony Khan.

Khan was featured on the front cover of Forbes magazine in 2012, and is the richest auto parts magnate in the world.

As of 2023, Khan’s personal net worth is estimated to be $12.2 billion, making him one of the richest football club owners in the world.

In 2021, Khan ranked 94th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, and is among the 200 richest people in the world today.

8. Stan Kroenke, Arsenal F.C - $14.8 billion 

Full Name: Enos Stanley Kroenke

Date of Birth: July 29, 1947

Place of Birth: Columbia, Missouri, United States

Age: 76 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Arsenal F.C, Colorado Rapids (Soccer), Los Angeles Rams (NFL), Denver Nuggets (Basketball), Colorado Avalanche (Ice Hockey), Colorado Mammoth (Lacrosse), LA Gladiators, LA Guerrillas (eSports)

Net Worth: US$14.8 billion 

In eighth place is Arsenal FC’s famous owner Stan Kroenke.

Stan Kroenke is an American billionaire businessman and owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment which is the holding company of Arsenal F.C. of the Premier League and Arsenal W.F.C. of the WSL.

Kroenke also owns Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer as well as a host of teams across other sports like the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League, as well as two eSports teams - Los Angeles Gladiators of the Overwatch League, and the Los Angeles Guerrillas of the Call of Duty League.

The Nuggets and Avalanche franchises are held in the name of his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, to satisfy NFL ownership restrictions that forbid a team owner from having teams in other markets.

Kroenke’s wife is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James "Bud" Walton. 

His individual net worth is estimated to be worth US$14.8 billion, making him one of the richest football club owners in the world in 2023.

In the four major U.S. sports, Kroenke's teams have won five championships under his ownership (either partial or full), with the Rams winning two Super Bowls, the Avalanche winning two Stanley Cups, and the Nuggets winning one NBA Championship.

 As owner of the Rapids, he also has an MLS Cup to his credit, and two National Lacrosse League Championships as owner of the Mammoth.

7. Philip Anschutz, LA Galaxy - $14.8 billion 

Full Name: Philip Frederick Anschutz

Date of Birth: December 8, 1939

Place of Birth: Russell, Kansas, United States.

Age: 83 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: LA Galaxy (Soccer), Los Angeles Kings (Ice Hockey), Los Angeles Lakers (Basketball)

Net Worth: US$14.8 billion 

Philip Anschutz is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and music.

 In 1961, he bought out his father's oil drilling company, Circle A Drilling, and earned large returns in Wyoming. 

Anschutz invested in stocks, real estate and railroads before expanding his investments to sports and entertainment companies.

He co-founded the American association football/soccer league Major League Soccer as well as multiple soccer teams, including the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. 

Anschutz is also the principal owner of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings and is a minority owner of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers.

Philip Anschutz owns stakes in several iconic performance venues around the world, including the Staples Center, The O2, London, and the Dignity Health Sports Park.

Being the man who runs AEG Live, Anschutz owns the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Sea Island Resorts and The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado.

In 2021, Forbes ranked him the 66th richest person in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $10.1 billion.

However, that figure has increased in recent years with his net worth now estimated at $14.8 billion.

6. David Tepper, Charlotte FC - $20.6 billion 

Full Name: David Alan Tepper 

Date of Birth: September 11, 1957

Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Age: 66 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Charlotte FC (Soccer), Carolina Panthers (NFL)

Net Worth: US$20.6 billion

David Alan Tepper is an American billionaire hedge fund manager.

 He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC in Major League Soccer (MLS).

 Tepper is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami Beach, Florida.

For the 2012 tax year, Institutional Investor's Alpha ranked Tepper's $2.2 billion paycheck as the world's highest for a hedge fund manager.

He earned the third position on Forbes ''The Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers 2018'' with an annual earnings of $1.5 billion.

Having completed the Panthers purchase in 2018, Tepper suggested his desire to bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise to Charlotte.

 The Panthers organization placed a bid for an expansion team in July 2019 and were awarded the 30th MLS team on December 17, 2019.

 Charlotte FC was awarded to Tepper on December 17, 2019, and began play in 2022 at Bank of America Stadium.

That deal reportedly cost him a whopping $325 million in expansion fees for the franchise, setting an MLS record.

As of 2023, David Tepper’s net worth is estimated to be at $20.6 billion, making him one of the richest football club owners in the world.

5. Jim Ratcliffe, OGC Nice -$20.8 billion 

Full Name: Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe (FIChemE)

Date of Birth: October 18, 1952

Place of Birth: Failsworth, Lancashire, England

Age: 71 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: OGC Nice, Lausanne Sport (Soccer)

Net Worth: US$20.8 billion

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a British billionaire, chemical engineer and businessman currently in the headlines over his persistent desire to purchase Premier League giants Manchester United.

Ratcliffe is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the INEOS chemicals group, which he founded in 1998. 

The company is estimated to have had a turnover of $65 billion in 2021.

Ratcliffe has been often named as the richest person in UK, with his current net worth estimated at $20.8 billion,making him one of the richest football club owners in the world in 2023.

Ratcliffe has always been keen on sports despite his science-driven background.

In  2013, he completed the Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara Desert, and he has founded a charity "Go Run for Fun", encouraging thousands of children aged between five and ten to get active by creating celebrity-driven events.

He has also bought football clubs, FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss Super League football club in 2017. Through INEOS, he bought OGC Nice in 2019 from Chinese-American entrepreneur Chien Lee.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sanctions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, long-term owner of Premier League side Chelsea F.C., forced him to put the club up for sale. 

Ratcliffe made £4.25 billion bid to buy the club but this was reportedly rejected due to the lateness of the bid.

In the end, Chelsea FC was sold to Todd Boehly's Consortium for less money than Ratcliffe had proposed.

In August 2022 Ratcliffe expressed interest in buying the Premier League football team Manchester United, a team he has supported since childhood.

In January, his company, INEOS announced publicly that it had entered into the formal process of bidding for Manchester United after the current owners announced it was looking for new investors.

4. Sheik Mansour, Manchester City - $30 billion 

Full Name: Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Date of Birth: November 20, 1970

Place of Birth: Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates)

Age: 52 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Manchester City, New York City F.C (Soccer)

Net Worth: US$30 billion

Sheikh Mansour is an Emirati royal and politician who is the current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the minister of presidential court and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. 

He is the brother of the current president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and is married to Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.

Mansour is a billionaire through City Football Group, and he holds stakes in a variety of football clubs, including Manchester City FC of the Premier League and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.

He is chairman of the Ministerial Development Council, the Emirates Investment Authority, and the Emirates Racing Authority.

 He sits on the Supreme Petroleum Council and the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs.

He is chairman of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

Mansour is also the owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), an investment company for the Abu Dhabi royal family, that acquired Manchester City Football Club in September 2008.

Following the acquisition, he immediately handed all responsibility and ownership to Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the City Football Group which has overseen a significant transformation at the club since then.

The Manchester Blue has won six Premier League  titles for the first time since their first in 1968.

In May 2013, Major League Soccer of the United States announced that its second New York City club, to be called New York City FC, would begin play in the 2015 season and be majority-owned by Mansour in association with brothers Hal and Hank Steinbrenner.

As of 2023, Sheikh Mansour is estimated to have a net worth of $30 billion, making him one of the richest football club owners in the Premier League and one of the richest club owners in the world.

3. François-Henri Pinault, Rennes F.C - $34.8 billion

Full Name: François-Henri Pinault 

Date of Birth: May 28, 1962

Place of Birth: Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France

Age: 61 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Rennes F.C (Soccer)

Net Worth: US$34.8 billion

François-Henri Pinault is a French businessman, the chairman and CEO of Kering since 2005, and president of Groupe Artémis since 2003. 

Under his leadership, the retail conglomerate PPR was transformed into the luxury fashion group Kering.

Pinault is the son of François Pinault, the founder of PPR, and is married to popular Hollywood actress Salma Hayek.

Since 2003, Pinault has been the President of Groupe Artémis, the parent company of Kering, and owner of the winery Château Latour, the auction house Christie's, and the football team Stade Rennais F.C. (Ligue 1).

In March 2005, Pinault became the President and CEO of PPR and engaged in its transformation into an international group focused on luxury fashion.

He offloaded PPR's leading retail assets (Conforama, CFAO, Printemps, Fnac and La Redoute) and merged PPR with the Gucci group, its subsidiary since 1999, bringing Gucci's luxury portfolio (Gucci, Yves Saint-Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Boucheron, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney) under his direct supervision.

Pinault expanded the group's portfolio of luxury brands (Girard-Perregaux, Brioni, Qeelin, Pomellato, Christopher Kane, Tomas Maier, Ulysse Nardin), and in June 2013, he changed PPR's name to Kering.

 In 2019, he celebrated the first Coupe de France victory of Stade Rennais F.C. since its acquisition by the Pinault family in 1998.

As of 2023, François-Henri Pinault’s net worth is estimated at an incredible $34.8 billion, making him the richest football club owner in France and one of the richest football club owners in the world.

2. Mark Mateschtiz, RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls - $37.8 billion 

Full Name: Mark Dietrich Mateschitz

Date of Birth: May 7, 1992

Place of Birth: Salzburg, Austria

Age: 31 years old (as of October 2023)

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino (Soccer), Oracle Red Bull Racing, Scuderia AlphaTauri(Motorsport),  Red Bull Salzburg (Ice Hockey), Red Bulls (Esports)

Net Worth: US$34.8 billion

Tying down the no.2 spot is Mark Mateschitz, who is the youngest billionaire on the rich list.

Mark Mateschitz is an Austrian billionaire, and owns 49% of Red Bull GmbH, the popular energy-drink company that was co-founded by his father, Dietrich Mateschitz.

Mark is  the only child of Dietrich Mateschitz and Anita Gerhardter. 

When his father died in October 2022, he inherited his father's 49% stake in Red Bull GmbH, and immediately stepped down as an employee of the company in order to concentrate on his role as a shareholder.

Red Bull is also known for its sponsorship of a range of sporting events and teams. 

Red Bull has since extended its presence to purchasing and entirely re-branding a number of sports teams including Formula 1 team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, which is the home of the three-time world champion Max Verstappen, as well as Scuderia AlphaTauri which also competes in the Formula 1.

The company has also been highly active in association football, having purchased Austrian club SV Austria Salzburg and renamed it to Red Bull Salzburg in 2005.

That same year, Red Bull purchased the MetroStars, a team in Major League Soccer representing New York City, from Anschutz Entertainment Group and renamed the franchise.

Red Bull New York is the name of the Red Bull subsidiary that operates the team, while the squad itself is known as the New York Red Bulls. 

In 2007, Red Bull established the lower-division Red Bull Brasil team in the city of Campinas, São Paulo.

 As the plan to reach the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 10 years failed, Red Bull became owners of Série B side Clube Atlético Bragantino in March 2019 and renamed the team to Red Bull Bragantino.

Success soon followed as Bull Bragantino became the champions of the 2019 edition of Série B, and was promoted to the Série A for the 2020 edition.

 In mid-2009, the company purchased the soccer license of German fifth division club SSV Markranstädt based near Leipzig, renaming them RB Leipzig for the 2009–10 season onwards.

The company stated that its goal was to reach the country's first division, the Bundesliga, within ten years.

More success followed as this goal was ultimately achieved, with RB Leipzig winning four promotions in seven seasons to secure Bundesliga football starting in 2016–17 season.

In June 2023, RB Leipzig won their second consecutive DFB-Pokal title after a 2–0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the final.

They also went on to clinch their maiden DFL-Supercup on August 13, 2023, by humbling Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich 3-0, in a revenge-win for last year's Super Cup defeat.

1. Public Investment Fund, Newcastle United, Al Nassr, Al Hilal - $700 billion 

Full Name: Saudi Public Investment Fund

Category: Richest Football Club Owners

Sports Club/Teams: Newcastle United, Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Alhi(Soccer), 

Assets Worth: US$700 billion

As mentioned earlier, the Saudi Public Investment Fund headed by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and governed by Al-Rumayyan is the no.1 richest football club ownership in the world.

The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia purchased Newcastle United back in October 2021, after 13 years of Mike Ashley at the helm.

The PIF reportedly has assets worth more than half a trillion USD.

The fund also owns four clubs in the Saudi Pro League - Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli, which is home to some of the highest-paid footballers in the history of the sport.

Thanks to the ridiculous economic muscle of the PIF, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, and even N’golo Kante earn higher than most athletes in the world.

However, the fund has also received criticism over claims of ‘sportswashing’ and has often been characterized among the least transparent sovereign wealth funds in the world.

METHODOLOGY

The Pulse Sports ranking of the world‘s richest football club owners reflects the combined total net worth of football club owners in 2023, including estimates that reflects the assets worths of their businesses and sovereign wealth.

 The figures were obtained from publicly accessible databases, such as Forbes, Bloomberg, Celebrity Net Worth.

All figures used in this article are converted to U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate.