Football has transformed into one of the richest sports in the World, with numerous wealthy owners pumping billions into it every season.
From the Premier League to Major Soccer League, teams have some of the World’s richest people financially supporting them – but which owners are the richest of them all?
The Premier League boasts some of the richest clubs in the worldGetty
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s £140m purchase of Chelsea in in 2003 started the modern phenomena of the rich pumping crazy amounts of cash into football clubs.
Now Newcastle, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have billions behind them.
Here, talkSPORT.com ranks the top 11 richest owners in football today in 2023 and details how those wealthy figureheads got to be part of the elite club transforming the game into a money making machine.
11. Zhang Jindong (Inter Milan | £5.8bn) 
Jindong bought the Serie A giants for £237mGetty
Worth £5.8bn as of November 2023, 60-year-old Jindong is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur.
He is the co-creator turned honorary chairman of Suning.com, a retail logistics companies and became majority stakeholder of Inter Milan in 2016, taking 68.55 per cent of the club.
Under their ownership, Inter have won just one Serie A title, with former boss Antonio Conte in 2021, and two domestic cups under current head coach Simone Inzaghi.
10. Nasser Al-Khelafi (Paris Saint-Germain | £6.3bn) 
Al-Khelaifi is a former Qatari tennis playerGetty
Qatari businessman Al-Khelaifi appeared twice on the ATP main tour, losing both clashes, but grew a relationship with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim as a result. He then became chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, who later bought PSG, and has £6.3bn at his disposal as of 2021.
Al-Khelafi became chairman and CEO of Ligue Un’s Paris Saint-Germain in 2011. In his first full season, PSG won the French top flight for the first time since 1994 and made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The signing of prolific striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from AC Milan for £17million represented a shift in PSG’s transfer strategies, with the club going on to sign other huge names such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe since.
9. Philip Anschutz (LA Galaxy | £8.6bn) 
83-year-old Anschutz is an American businessman from KansasGetty
LA Galaxy owner Anschutz was a founder of the MLS and has had stakes in a large number of sports teams. He now only owns Galaxy and Ice Hockey team Los Angeles Kings.
After buying his father’s oil company in the 1960s, Anschutz has built fortunes in oil, railroads, telecom, real estate and entertainment over five decades and, as per goal, has £8.6bn to his name.
He also owns stakes in London’s O2 Arena and is one of only four recipients of the National Soccer Hall of Fame’s Medal of Honour for his contributions to growing football in the United States. He also owns famous American music festival, Coachella.
8. Shahid Khan (Fulham – £9.1bn) 
Khan has been at the helm at Craven Cottage since 2013Alamy
Pakistani-American businessman Khan bought Premier League Fulham off of Mohamed Al Fayed a decade ago.
He is the owner of Flex-N-Gate, an American supplier of motor vehicle components. Khan is also the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League.
The 73-year-old is also co-owner of the American wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling along with his Son, Tony Khan. According to Forbes, he’s worth £9.1bn.
7. Stan Kroenke (Arsenal & Colorado Rapids – £12.4bn) 
Arsenal fans have previously protested against Kroenke, but the club is now pushing towards winning their first league title since 2004Getty
American billionaire businessman Kroenke has an expansive sports portfolio.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is the holding company of Arsenal men’s and women’s teams, MLS side Colorado Rapids, NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League.
Kroenke bought Colorado Rapids in 2004 and took a 9.9 per cent stake in Arsenal in 2007, later becoming majority owner in 2011. His wife, Ann, is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James Walton. He created the Kroenke Group, a real estate development firm in 1984, then another called THF Realty in 1991.
6. Jim Ratcliffe (OGC Nice | £16.1bn) 
Ratcliffe looks set to complete his purchase of 25 per cent at UnitedGetty – Contributor
Ratcliffe’s investment into Man United may not have gone through yet but he’s already made it onto this list thanks to his investment in Europe.
The British billionaire, who has a net worth of £18bn according to Forbes, made his fortune as chairman and chief executive officer of the INEOS chemicals group, which he founded in 1998.
With his wealth, Ratcliffe bought Ligue Un side OGC Nice in 2019. He also tried to buy Chelsea from Abramovich last year. talkSPORT understands Ratcliffe has agreed to pay £1.25bn for a 25 percent stake at Old Trafford with a pledge of £245m additional funds to improve the club’s infrastructure.
5. David Tepper (Charlotte FC | £16.3bn) 
Tepper also has a large sports portfolioGetty
MLS outfit Charlotte FC are owned by American hedge fund manager Tepper, who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of £16.3bn.
The 66-year-old is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, too. He had a 5 per cent share in Pittsburgh Steelers as well.
Tepper reportedly paid £259m in expansion fees for the franchise, setting an MLS record.
4. Sheikh Mansour (Manchester City | £17bn) 
Sheikh Mansour completed his purchase of Man City in 2009Getty
It won’t surprise Premier League fans to see Man City’s owner in this list.
Upon Sheikh Mansour’s arrival in 2008, the club acquired new players such as Carlos Tevez, Robinho, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli and also improved their training facilities.
The reigning Champions League and Premier League champions’ owner has a net worth of £17bn according to Forbes. Sheikh Mansour is the chairman of the International Petroleum Investment Company, has a stake in Virgin Galactic, as well as owning the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation and the City Football Group.
3. Francois-Henri Pinault (Stade Rennais | £24.3bn) 
Hayek is the wife of Rennais owner Francois-Henri PinaultGetty
Rennes’ owner Pinault has been at the helm since 1998. He is the founder of the luxury group Kering, the investment holding company Artemis and has a net worth of £24.3bn.
His arrival at the club saw a large amount of money put into developing their youth talent by building a new training centre as well as a re-construction of the stadium.
In 2020, Rennes finished third in Ligue Un and qualified for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. They finished fourth in league last season.
2. Mark Mateschtiz (RB Leipzig & New York Red Bulls | £29.3bn) 
Son of the late Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz owns Red Bull football teams RB Leipzig and the New York Red Bulls.
Following his father’s death last year, he inherited his father’s 49 per cent stake in Red Bull GMbH. He’s worth a whopping £29.3bn despite being just 31.
He also has part-ownership of Red Bull’s Formula 1 team.
1. Public Investment Fund (Newcastle United, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Nassr and Al Hilal | £320bn) 
Newcastle’s owners have transformed the MagpiesGetty
Newcastle fans partied in the streets outside of St. James’ Park when they heard the news of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s takeover of 80 per cent of the club.
Not only did it mark an end to controversial owner Mike Ashley’s reign, but it signalled the arrival of a huge influx of money. The PIF have a staggering 10 times the amount at their disposal than Rennes’ owner. Newcastle have spent nearly £400m on transfers since their arrival.
They also spent nearly $1 billion to acquire some of the World’s best players including Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema at the start of the transfer window to Neymar at the end of it for their clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
All data has been sourced from Forbes.
