Through Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries ($104 billion in annual revenue) Mukesh Ambani owns the Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai, which is the most valuable franchise on the planet. Reliance recently bought a franchise in the Women’s Premier League and owns cricket teams in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
In the ranking of the richest sports empires in the world, carried out annually by Forbes, 20 organizations are listed. Ambani displaced Steve Ballmer (owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers) from the top spot, who generates his wealth also from Microsoft shares, where he was CEO from 2000 to 2014. So, after the King of Indian Cricket, he is followed Americans Ballmer and Rob Walton, owner of the Denver Broncos (NFL).
In addition, soccer begins to appear on the scene. There are at least 19 billionaires or family members with key ownership stakes in MLS teams. This year, LAFC became the league’s first billion-dollar franchise, and with the rise in popularity of the sport, the fortunes of those who invest could continue to rise. Very close to soccer are seven owners from the NFL and five from the NBA.
Steve Cohen since taking over as owner of the New York Mets in 2020 has shocked the sport. The 66-year-old hedge fund billionaire has committed $1.5 billion to free agents during his tenure, and Major League Baseball even instituted a new luxury tax penalty, informally dubbed the “Cohen Tax,” to rein in his spending habits. Yet for all the hoopla, he’s not even the richest owner in the world of baseball. In fact, Cohen, worth $17.5 billion, was nearly $5 billion short.
Japan appears showing its flag in position number seven with Masayoshi Son. The founder and CEO of telecom and investment giant SoftBank Group, joined a team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2004 and since then, the franchise has become a Japanese baseball powerhouse, racking up seven baseball titles. Japan Series, most recently in 2020. In fact, four of its players were on the team that defeated the United States in the World Baseball Classic title game in March.
Son and Cohen are two of the richest sports owners in the world. The combined fortunes of the world’s top ten property owners are valued at $396 billion, up 12% from a year ago. That’s (in part) because Walmart heir Rob Walton, who is worth $57.6 billion, joined the club and bought the Denver Broncos for a record $4.65 billion in 2022.
