Let’s just say these guys aren’t making minimum wage
By Mo Hussain, Sports Reporter
As we’ve covered before, the top professional sports teams in the world are worth a boatload of money. Having mass amounts of wealth is an essential pre-requisite to owning one of those teams and almost all of the current owners certainly fulfill that requirement. The added net worth of just the top three sports team owners listed on Forbes are worth over approximately a staggering $116 billion. Here are some of the richest owners of professional sports teams across a couple of different sports:
STEVE BALLMER
The current owner of the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers is worth an estimated $65.6 billion. The former CEO of Microsoft purchased the team in 2014 for a whopping two billion dollars. Ballmer’s since made an estimated 37.5 percent return on his purchase as the team is now worth an estimated $2.75 billion.
DIETRICH MATESCHITZ
Let’s just say the co-founder of Red Bull is somewhat of a sports fan. Mateschitz is worth an estimated $26.9 billion and has a stake in multiple sporting ventures. Mateschitz has purchased professional soccer teams in Austria and the United States and rebranded them as Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls respectively. The New York Red Bulls is worth an estimated $290 million. In addition to other soccer organizations, Mateschitz also has a stake in other sports including hockey and motor racing.
HASSO PLATTNER
The hockey world is certainly not shy of any mega-billionaires, as the governor of San Jose Sports and Entertainment (entity that owns the NHL’s San Jose Sharks) Hasso Plattner is worth an estimated $14.9 billion. The 77-year old co-founder of software company SAP bought the remaining shares of the entity from other investors in January 2013 in order to have a central role with the organization. The San Jose Sharks are approximately worth $515 million.
SHAHID KHAN
The National Football League also has their fair share of mega-billionaires, as the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars has done quite well for himself monetarily for example. Shahid Khan, owner of Flex-N-Gate (an auto-parts supplier) is worth an estimated $8 billion. Khan also owns Fulham F.C., which is an English Premier League team. The Jaguars are approximately worth $2.45 billion.
As the sports world continues to adjust amid the pandemic, it will be quite interesting to see how these mega-billionaires and many other billionaire sports team owners will view their assets moving forward.
