Forbes released the 50 richest sports owners in the country, which make up more than 10% of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans.
The Forbes 400 had 43 team owners in their list last year. There are 17 NFL owners, 14 NBA owners, 12 NHL owners and nine MLB owners, while there are 17 NFL owners.
The Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer, who is eighth on the Forbes 400 list with an estimated $83 billion net worth, is coming in as the wealthiest sports team owner.
Ballmer took a hard loss last year due to the drop in Microsoft's stock, the tech giant he was CEO for from 2000 to 2014, losing $13.5 billion from his net worth. The Clippers have been a wonderful investment as its estimated value is $3.3 billion. Ballmer bought the team for $2 billion from Donald Sterling, who had to sell the team in 2014.
The NFL is the juggernaut in terms of wealth among owners. 17 of those 50 owners are the richest in football, the richest being Rob Walton, who just bought the Denver Broncos this offseason for $4.65 billion. It was the most expensive team sale in history.
Walton, the eldest son of Walmart found Sam Walton, is worth $56.7 billion, making him the 17th richest man in the country. His brother, Jim Walton, is ahead of him at $57.9 billion, but Rob Walton is the richest owner in the NFL.
CLIPPERS' ROBERT SARVER Right behind him is Carolina Panthers David Tepper in third place at $18.5 billion. He bought the team for $2.3 billion in 2018 and it is now worth $3.6 billion.
Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera is worth $17.6 billion net worth and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen $17.5 billion. Cohen bought the team in 2020 for $2.4 billion. Pera s purchase of $377 million in 2012 has done wonders for his net worth, as Memphis is worth $1.5 billion today.
Jerry Jones takes no. The Dallas Cowboys sit at $8 billion this year, which is $1.5 billion more than the last, but he still has the most valued sports team in the NFL, as a 7 on this list of 50 sports owners. Jones' wealth comes from his ownership unlike others on the list.
Of the top 10, six are NFL owners with Stanley Kroenke Los Angeles Rams Stephen Ross Miami Dolphins and Shahid Khan Jacksonville Jaguars falling from eight to 10 after Jones.
19 are also in the top 20.