Friday, 23 August 2013

Top 10: Richest club owners

The world of football has been swept by rich owners over the last decade and money in football is starting to become a major part in players moving decisions.
Absurdly rich people purchasing the clubs make it possible for some clubs to gain unfair advantage. Large financial backing from rich owner does help many other clubs too, and this list looks at which clubs has the most cash to splash - according to Forbes.

10. Roman Abramovich, Chelsea; Net Worth: $10.2 Billion
Surprisingly enough, Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich is no.10 on the list, largely due to a major dip in his net worth in the past one year.  The most famous of all football owners, Abramovich has splashed money around for Chelsea ever since 2003 seeing the club win almost every major trophy and doesn’t seem to be slowing down now that the rebuilding of the team is in progress.  $50 million transfer spends per window seem a rule for Abramovich, not an exception.

9. John Fredriksen, Valerenga; Net Worth: $11.5 Billion
Vålerenga’s owner Frediksen is extremely rich, but the lowly Norwegian league doesn’t attract such interest that splashing money around would be reasonable. Still, it’s one of the top clubs in Norway and should its standing be shaken, investment would not be a problem. Linked with plenty of EPL clubs, this business tycoon could be the next big name to rule the European football in years to come.

8. Paul Allen, Seattle Sounders; Net Worth: $15 Billion
Predominantly known as being the co-founder of Microsoft, Allen also owns A Major-League football team Seattle Sounders which he recently founded in 2007.

8. François Pinault, Stade Rennais; Net Worth: $15 Billion
A fashion industry giant, Francois has owned the French club Rennes since 1998. Although, he hasn’t been popular with the fans as he’s been reluctant in splashing the cash over the years.
Unlike other owners, Pinault puts stability over surreal ambitions when it comes to running a football club.

6. Rinat Akhmetov, Shakhtar Donetsk; Net Worth: $15.4 Billion
Akhmetov is the richest Ukranian in the world and he has made Shakhtar a well-oiled winning machine. With its lavish funding they have claimed the Ukrainian league seven times in the last 13 years and putting up some great Champions League performances, the owner has stamped his authority on European football.

5. Lakshmi Mittal, QPR; Net Worth: $16.5 Billion
QPR have an extremely wealthy owner in Lakshmi Mittal but this didn’t stop them from being relegated last season. Since Mittal bought his 34% shares QPR have spent £48,550,000 though the majority came from co-owner Tony Fernandes arrived in 2011. Mittal indeed was as high as 6th richest person in the world in 2011, though his position has dropped since due to decreased wealth.

4. Alisher Usmanov, Arsenal; Net Worth: $17.6 Billion
Starting off with core metal industries and then invading the Silicon Valley, it was almost destined that Usmanov will soon invest in one of the bigger football clubs.
And he did in August 2007, when the richest Russian acquired around 15% stake in the North London club and so despite his massive fortune, being the minority shareholder, his wealth doesn’t affect Arsenal too much.

3. George Soros, Manchester United; Net Worth: $19.2 Billion
Billionaire investor George Soros is known for having broken the bank of England. Now, he’s betting on the UK’s largest soccer team, Manchester United. While not the majority shareholder, George Soros is the wealthiest of all Manchester United investors with a net worth of $19.2 Billion. He revealed his 7.8 % share comes from his fund, the Soros Fund Management.

2. Amancio Ortega, Deportivo La Coruna; Net Worth: $57 Billion
The 4th richest person in the world is the owner of Spanish minnows, Deportivo La Coruna.  He is at every game and unfortunately saw his team get relegated despite his large financial backing. Ortega would like to invest more on what has been a stumbling team to retain his popularity among the demanding Deportivo fans.

1. Carlos Slim Helu, Club Pachuca, Club Leon and Real Oviedo; Net Worth: $73 Billion
The richest man in the world for a fourth year in a row has a net worth of an enormous $73 Billion pounds and owns 3 different clubs.  He made his fortune in telecom but didn’t stop there as he and his omnipresent empire bought shares in three clubs, two in his native Mexico and one in Spain.

And there you have it, the top 10 wealthiest club owners who are all in the top 50 of Forbes' Rich List.

You may have notice that the owners of Manchester City and PSG are not included because this list is comprised of the personal wealth of the owners and City and PSG’s owners are groups/ families.

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