The Richest and ‘Poorest’ Owners in Professional Sports
Unless you inherited a sports team, you'll usually need a few million dollars -- or even billions of dollars -- to become a professional sports team owner. But because some teams have been passed down for generations -- and some teams are more valuable than others -- there's a large range in the wealth of the individuals and families who own these teams.
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GOBankingRates referenced Forbes' most recent MLB, NFL and NBA team valuations, along with a variety of sources to find each team owner's net worth. Corporate entities and team owners with no reliable net worth information available were excluded from the final ranking. Find out if your favorite team's owner is among the richest in their sport.
Last updated: Oct. 18, 2021
The 'Poorest' Owners in Professional Sports
It's hard to call any of these team owners poor, as all have net worths in the millions -- and sometimes billions. But it's all relative, and the world of pro sports is an extremely wealthy one. Here are the 26 "poorest" team owners, ranked from least to most "poor."
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23. (tie) David Blitzer -- Philadelphia 76ers
Net worth: $1 billion
Team value: $2 billion
Team purchase price: $287 million
Year purchased: 2011
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23. (tie) Wes Edens -- Milwaukee Bucks
Net worth: $1 billion
Team value: $1.6 billion
Team purchase price: $550 million
Year purchased: 2014
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23. (tie) Ted Leonsis -- Washington Wizards
Net worth: $1 billion
Team value: $1.8 billion
Team purchase price: $551 million
Year purchased: 2010
23. (tie) Dean Spanos -- Los Angeles Chargers
Net worth: $1 billion
Team value: $2.5 billion
Team purchase price: $72 million
Year purchased: 1984
22. Michael Brown -- Cincinnati Bengals
Net worth: $925 million
Team value: $2 billion
Team purchase price: $7.5 million
Year purchased: 1967
19. (tie) Martha Firestone Ford -- Detroit Lions
Net worth: $800 million
Team value: $2 billion
Team purchase price: $4.5 million
Year purchased: 1964
19. (tie) Peter Guber -- Golden State Warriors
Net worth: $800 million
Team value: $4.3 billion
Team purchase price: $450 million
Year purchased: 2010
19. (tie) Stuart Sternberg -- Tampa Bay Rays
Net worth: $800 million
Team value: $1.1 billion
Team purchase price: $200 million
Year purchased: 2004
16. (tie) Mark Attanasio -- Milwaukee Brewers
Net worth: $700 million
Team value: $1.2 billion
Team purchase price: $223 million
Year purchased: 2005
16. (tie) Richard & Charles Monfort -- Colorado Rockies
Net worth: $700 million
Team value: $1.3 billion
Team purchase price: $95 million
Year purchased: 1992
16. (tie) Vivek Ranadive -- Sacramento Kings
Net worth: $700 million
Team value: $1.8 billion
Team purchase price: $534 million
Year purchased: 2013
14. (tie) Jerry Buss Family Trusts -- Los Angeles Lakers
Net worth: $600 million
Team value: $4.4 billion
Team purchase price: $20 million
Year purchased: 1979
14. (tie) Ken Kendrick -- Arizona Diamondbacks
Net worth: $600 million
Team value: $1.3 billion
Team purchase price: $238 million
Year purchased: 2004
8. (tie) Ron Fowler -- San Diego Padres
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $1.5 billion
Team purchase price: $600 million
Year purchased: 2012
8. (tie) John Mara -- New York Giants
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $3.9 billion
Team purchase price: $500 million
Year purchased: 1925
8. (tie) Aubrey McClendon Estate -- Oklahoma City Thunder
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $1.6 billion
Team purchase price: $325 million
Year purchased: 2006
8. (tie) Daniel Rooney Trust & Arthur Rooney II -- Pittsburgh Steelers
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $2.8 billion
Team purchase price: $2,500
Year purchased: 1933
8. (tie) Bruce Sherman -- Miami Marlins
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $1 billion
Team purchase price: $1.2 billion
Year purchased: 2017
8. (tie) Fred & Jeff Wilpon -- New York Mets
Net worth: $500 million
Team value: $2.4 billion
Team purchase price: $391 million
Year purchased: 2002
7. Stephen Pagliuca -- Boston Celtics
Net worth: $450 million
Team value: $3.1 billion
Team purchase price: $360 million
Year purchased: 2002
3. (tie) Clayton Bennett -- Oklahoma City Thunder
Net worth: $400 million
Team value: $1.6 billion
Team purchase price: $325 million
Year purchased: 2006
3. (tie) Robert Castellini -- Cincinnati Reds
Net worth: $400 million
Team value: $1.1 billion
Team purchase price: $270 million
Year purchased: 2006
3. (tie) Wycliffe Grousbeck -- Boston Celtics
Net worth: $400 million
Team value: $3.1 billion
Team purchase price: $360 million
Year purchased: 2002
3. (tie) Robert Sarver -- Phoenix Suns
Net worth: $400 million
Team value: $1.6 billion
Team purchase price: $404 million
Year purchased: 2004
2. Mark Davis -- Oakland Raiders
Net worth: $250 million
Team value: $2.9 billion
Team purchase price: $180,000
Year purchased: 1966
1. Holt Family -- San Antonio Spurs
Net worth: $200 million
Team value: $1.8 billion
Team purchase price: $76 million
Year purchased: 1996
The Richest Owners in Professional Sports
It takes a lot of money to own a pro sports teams -- and these individuals and families have a lot of it. These are the 26 richest team owners.
21. (tie) Stephen Bisciotti -- Baltimore Ravens
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $2.8 billion
Team purchase price: $600 million
Year purchased: 2004
21. (tie) Arthur Blank -- Atlanta Falcons
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $2.8 billion
Team purchase price: $545 million
Year purchased: 2002
21. (tie) William DeWitt Jr. -- St. Louis Cardinals
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $2.2 billion
Team purchase price: $150 million
Year purchased: 1996
21. (tie) Dee & Jimmy Haslam -- Cleveland Browns
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $2.2 billion
Team purchase price: $987 million
Year purchased: 2012
21. (tie) Ilitch Family -- Detroit Tigers
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $1.3 billion
Team purchase price: $82 million
Year purchased: 1992
21. (tie) Janice McNair -- Houston Texans
Net worth: $4 billion
Team value: $3.1 billion
Team purchase price: $600 million
Year purchased: 1999
20. Dan Gilbert -- Cleveland Cavaliers
Net worth: $4.2 billion
Team value: $1.5 billion
Team purchase price: $375 million
Year purchased: 2005
19. Mark Cuban -- Dallas Mavericks
Net worth: $4.5 billion
Team value: $2.4 billion
Team purchase price: $280 million
Year purchased: 2000
16. (tie) Lawrence & Paul Dolan
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Team value: $1.2 billion
Team purchase price: $323 million
Year purchased: 2000
16. (tie) Glazer Family -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Team value: $2.2 billion
Team purchase price: $192 million
Year purchased: 1995
16. (tie) Terry & Kim Pegula
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Team value: $1.9 billion
Team purchase price: $1.4 billion
Year purchased: 2014
15. Tilman Fertitta -- Houston Rockets
Net worth: $4.7 billion
Team value: $2.5 billion
Team purchase price: $2.2 billion
Year purchased: 2017
14. DeVos Family -- Orlando Magic
Net worth: $5.4 billion
Team value: $1.4 billion
Team purchase price: $85 million
Year purchased: 1991
13. Lerner Family -- Washington Nationals
Net worth: $5.5 billion
Team value: $1.9 billion
Team purchase price: $450 million
Year purchased: 2006
11. (tie) Micky Arison -- Miami Heat
Net worth: $6.2 billion
Team value: $2 billion
Team purchase price: $32.5 million
Year purchased: 1988
11. (tie) Robert Kraft -- New England Patriots
Net worth: $6.2 billion
Team value: $4.1 billion
Team purchase price: $172 million
Year purchased: 1994
10. Charles Johnson -- San Francisco Giants
Net worth: $6.7 billion
Team value: $3.1 billion
Team purchase price: $100 million
Year purchased: 1993
8. (tie) Stanley Kroenke -- Denver Nuggets/Los Angeles Rams
Net worth: $7.7 billion
Team value: $1.6 billion (Nuggets)/$3.8 billion (Rams)
Team purchase price: $202 million (Nuggets)/$750 million (Rams)
Year purchased: 2000/2010
8. (tie) Stephen Ross -- Miami Dolphins
Net worth: $7.7 billion
Team value: $2.8 billion
Team purchase price: $1.1 billion
Year purchased: 2008
7. Jerry Jones -- Dallas Cowboys
Net worth: $8.5 billion
Team value: $5.5 billion
Team purchase price: $150 million
Year purchased: 1989
6. Shahid Kahn-- Jacksonville Jaguars
Net worth: $9 billion
Team value: $2.3 billion
Team purchase price: $770 million
Year purchased: 2011
5. Joseph Tsai -- Brooklyn Nets
Net worth: $10.5 billion
Team value: $2.5 billion
Team purchase price: $3.3 billion
Year purchased: 2019
4. Philip Anschutz -- Los Angeles Lakers
Net worth: $11 billion
Team value: $4.4 billion
Team purchase price: $268 million
Year purchased: 1998
3. David Tepper -- Carolina Panthers
Net worth: $12 billion
Team value: $2.4 billion
Team purchase price: $2.3 billion
Year purchased: 2018
2. Paul Allen Estate/Trust -- Portland Trailblazers/Seattle Seahawks
Net worth: $20.3 billion
Team value: $1.9 billion (Trailblazers)/$2.8 billion (Seahawks)
Team purchase price: $70 million (Trailblazers)/$194 million (Seahawks)
Year purchased: 1988 (Trailblazers)/1997 (Seahawks)
1. Steve Ballmer -- Los Angeles Clippers
Net worth: $74.1 billion
Team value: $2.6 billion
Team purchase price: $2 billion
Year purchased: 2014
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Methodology: To find the richest and "poorest" owners in professional sports, GOBankingRates began by referencing Forbes' most recent Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Basketball Association team valuations. GOBankingRates used Forbes' data to find the (1) notable owners, (2) 2020 team value, (3) purchase price and (4) year of purchase for every team in all three leagues analyzed. Then, GOBankingRates used a variety of sources (primarily Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth and the Los Angeles Times) to find (5) each owner's net worth. Corporate entities and team owners with no reliable net worth information available were excluded from the final ranking.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Richest and ‘Poorest’ Owners in Professional Sports