Over the past three years, Henry Samueli has seen his fortune more than quadruple, from an estimated $6.7 billion in 2022 to $27.7 billion today. He can thank his Anaheim Ducks for some of that growth: The NHL franchise, which he bought for $70 million in 2005, has appreciated nearly 1,800% during his tenure as owner, to $1.3 billion.
Samueli has gotten a far bigger boost off the ice, however.
The chairman and cofounder of chipmaker Broadcom, Samueli has reaped the rewards of the artificial intelligence boom. His semiconductor company, which produces essential hardware for the burgeoning industry, saw its share price climb to $279 by the end of August, from $163 a year earlier, far outperforming competing outfits such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD.
That rise has sent Samueli shooting up the ranking of America’s richest sports team owners, to No. 4, after he landed at No. 8 last year, No. 12 in 2023 and No. 16 in 2022. (On The Forbes 400, which ranks the wealthiest individuals in the United States, the 70-year-old billionaire came in at No. 34 overall.)
Samueli isn’t the only team owner to post big gains in the public markets. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Steve Ballmer, who tops the American list for the 11th consecutive year and also came in at No. 1 in the global sports owner ranking in April, has widened his lead thanks to a 21% year-over-year jump in the share price at Microsoft, the tech giant where he used to serve as CEO. Ballmer is now worth an estimated $153 billion—$35 billion beyond the second-richest American team owner, Walmart heir Rob Walton, who controls the Denver Broncos. Only six individuals in the U.S. have bigger fortunes than Ballmer.
Robert Pera, who ranks sixth among team owners this year at $24 billion, also saw huge growth on the public markets as the share price at Ubiquiti, the wireless equipment company he founded in 2003, more than doubled over the past year, reaching $528 to close out August, up from $194. Pera’s net worth, meanwhile, has surged 140%—making him the only member of the sports owner ranking to outpace Samueli’s 64%—and while his Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s least valuable team, the franchise appreciated an estimated $600 million in Forbes’ most recent valuations and is now worth $3 billion.
Together, America’s 20 richest sports team owners are worth an estimated $607 billion, a 20% increase from 2024’s $504 billion. Their holdings include controlling stakes in 11 teams from the NBA, eight from the NFL, five from Major League Soccer, four from the NHL, two from European men’s soccer and one each from MLB and the Women’s Super League, the highest level of English soccer.
And as exclusive as this club is, it’s only getting harder to crack. The cutoff for this year’s top 20 is $10.1 billion—in a tie between the Miami Heat’s Micky Arison, who also serves as chairman of cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation, and the Detroit Pistons’ Tom Gores, who made his money in private equity—which represents a 53% leap from $6.6 billion just three years ago.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Dan Gilbert was the only owner in this year’s crop to see his fortune decline this year. But even with his net worth falling 19%, to $26.7 billion, the Rocket Companies founder is in no danger of dropping out of the top 20. The same goes for the Miami Dolphins’ Stephen Ross, a real estate magnate who was flat year-over-year and is worth $17 billion.
Arison and Home Depot cofounder Arthur Blank, who owns the Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United, are the two new names relative to 2024. Mat Ishbia, who controls the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and was No. 13 last year, slips off the ranking, with his net worth tumbling 28%, to $9.5 billion, after a shaky year for his publicly traded United Wholesale Mortgage. Cable billionaire John Malone, who has a stake in the Atlanta Braves and was No. 16 in 2024, was also excluded because of a change in the methodology of the owner list, which no longer counts teams controlled by public companies.
AMERICA’S 20 RICHEST SPORTS TEAM OWNERS
Ballmer jump-started sports valuations with his 2014 purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion, and a move last year from Crypto.com Arena—which the team shared with the Lakers and the NHL’s Kings—to the brand-new Intuit Dome in Inglewood has supercharged the franchise’s revenue. But the 69-year-old former Microsoft CEO is in hot water in the wake of an investigation by the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out that alleged that Aspiration—a now-bankrupt sustainability startup that Ballmer had invested in—paid Clippers star Kawhi Leonard $28 million in a circumvention of the NBA’s salary cap. Ballmer has denied the accusations.
The eldest son of Walmart cofounder Sam Walton, Rob Walton, now 80, led the group that acquired the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022, but he has turned over day-to-day operations to his son-in-law Greg Penner, the team’s CEO. After missing the playoffs in the first two years of the Walton era—plus the six before that—the Broncos got back to the postseason last season. Things are also looking up off the field, with Denver building a $175 million headquarters that is scheduled to be completed next year.
After Adelson’s family bought the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion in December 2023, her first full season as owner was a roller-coaster. In February, the Mavericks traded superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers—only to win the NBA draft lottery and earn the right to draft celebrated prospect Cooper Flagg in June. The 79-year-old Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, has also drawn attention for her political donations, with $111 million given to pro-Donald Trump super PACs in 2024.
Samueli, 70, is investing $1 billion into renovations for the city-owned Honda Center, which opened in 1993 and now stands as the NHL’s fourth-oldest arena. The Broadcom cofounder plans for the venue to be the centerpiece of a 100-acre entertainment district called OCVibe that he is investing an additional $4 billion into developing, and construction is expected to run for the next three years, with the Honda Center scheduled to host indoor volleyball matches for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Gilbert could score a significant payday as he explores a minority sale of up to 15% of the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Sportico. But the 63-year-old cofounder behind Rocket Companies is also dividing up his assets after announcing on Friday a divorce from his wife, Jennifer, who will become the 39th-richest woman in America, according to Forbes estimates, worth at least $6.4 billion based on the value of her Rocket shares.
The Memphis Grizzlies have played their home games at FedExForum since it opened in 2004—eight years before the now-47-year-old Pera took over as the team’s owner—but there is a plan to keep the club there long beyond the expiration of its lease in 2029. The arena is set to get $550 million in renovations over the next seven to 12 years, according to the Daily Memphian, with $80 million in public funds already approved for the project.
Tepper, 67, has been busy on and off the gridiron, with his hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, recently increasing its UnitedHealth holdings by nearly 2.3 million shares and reporting a $179 million stake in Intel while the Carolina Panthers prepare for a renovation of Bank of America Stadium. Tepper’s holding company is covering just over half of the project’s expected cost of $1.3 billion, and the city of Charlotte is picking up the tab for the other $650 million.
Cohen is worth more than double the next-richest MLB control owner—the Chicago Cubs’ $8.4 billion Ricketts family—and the 69-year-old investor behind Point72 is not afraid to throw his money around. In December, his New York Mets signed outfielder Juan Soto to a record 15-year, $765 million contract, and Cohen has been looking to transform the land around Citi Field in an $8 billion project centered on a casino. The plan cleared a procedural hurdle in the New York State Senate in the spring as Cohen’s group, which also includes Hard Rock International, seeks one of three gaming licenses expected to be awarded by the end of this year.
The 78-year-old Kroenke has amassed more than 60 million square feet of real estate and 1.6 million acres of land, but his sports empire is just as sprawling, with teams in six major pro leagues, as well as the National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth. The Rams are his crown jewel, ranking second among NFL teams with a valuation of $10.5 billion, and the team this year announced plans for a new headquarters and training facility in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on a site Kroenke acquired in 2022.
Fans may have their gripes after the Dallas Cowboys traded star edge rusher Micah Parsons last month, but there can be no debate about the team’s business success under the 82-year-old Jones. The Cowboys are now worth $13 billion, a year after setting a record for a sports franchise at $10.1 billion, and they generated a record $1.2 billion in revenue during the 2024 season. No other NFL team came within $400 million of that figure.
At 85, Anschutz controls more than 70 venues worldwide through his Anschutz Entertainment Group, including Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, home to his Kings, and his other team in the city, the LA Galaxy, is now one of just three MLS clubs worth at least $1 billion. Meanwhile, his energy company, Anschutz Exploration, has been building one of the world’s largest wind farms in Wyoming and recently unveiled plans for a natural gas plant in the state.
After the NFL changed its ownership rules in August 2024 to allow private equity firms to acquire minority stakes in the league’s teams, Ross’ Miami Dolphins were among the first franchises to capitalize, closing a deal with Ares Management in December. The 85-year-old real estate developer and founder of Related Companies is also reportedly closing in on a deal to buy roughly 45% of the Miami Open, which would add to a sports portfolio that includes the Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium and Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix.
The Pakistani-born Khan, whose Jacksonville Jaguars are aiming to complete a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium by 2028, came to the U.S. at age 16 and got a job as a dishwasher before eventually making his fortune as the owner of auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate. The 75-year-old entrepreneur told Forbes this summer that Trump’s immigration crackdown was hurting the economy, adding, “We need (immigrants) to survive.”
While longtime New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has barred the team’s scouts from accessing his new program at the University of North Carolina, Kraft is clearly holding on to his fond memories of the franchise’s dynasty. The 84-year-old billionaire, who made an early fortune in paper and packaging, revealed a 17-foot, 12,000-pound statue of legendary quarterback Tom Brady in August and then said weeks later that he hoped a bronze version of Belichick would join it once the coach had hung up his headset.
Ressler, 64, is among the investors behind a 50-acre, $5 billion development near the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena, continuing a nationwide trend of mixed-use districts springing up around sports venues. Ares Management, the alternative investment manager Ressler cofounded in 1997, is also expanding. Last month, it launched a new private infrastructure fund for retail investors in Australia.
The 82-year-old Blank, who cofounded Home Depot in 1978 and bought the Atlanta Falcons in 2002, was an early signer of the Giving Pledge, committing in 2012 to donate more than of his wealth to charitable causes. Blank continued to demonstrate his philanthropic spirit this year when his foundation partnered with the Falcons to provide new helmets for the football programs at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University and he gifted $10 million to First Tee, a nonprofit that organizes golf programs for children.
This year, Fertitta was appointed the U.S.’s ambassador to Italy and San Marino, and the 68-year-old entrepreneur, who oversees restaurant giant Landry’s and Golden Nugget casinos, may soon have a new way to get around the Mediterranean. After listing his 252-foot superyacht, Boardwalk, for sale for roughly $192 million, Fertitta is ready to take delivery of a new 384-foot boat from Lürssen in April.
Harris, the 60-year-old cofounder of Apollo Global Management, is leading the Commanders back to Washington. The franchise, which has played its home games in Landover, Maryland, since 1997, struck a deal with D.C. this year to build a new field on the site of RFK Stadium, with the city set to contribute $1 billion and the Commanders investing $2.7 billion and covering any cost overruns.
Over Arison’s three decades as owner of the Heat, Miami has won three NBA championships—success that earned the 76-year-old chairman of cruise ship operator Carnival a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025. “When he bought the interest in the Heat in 1995 and got managing control of the Heat, that’s the day that the franchise took a turn,” Pat Riley, the team’s president and former coach, said ahead of Arison’s enshrinement. “He saved, basically, my coaching life, I think.”
Gores, the 61-year-old investor behind Platinum Equity, bought a 27% stake in the Los Angeles Chargers last October at a reported $4 billion valuation, which looks like a steal next to the $6 billion figure Forbes recently estimated for the franchise. Gores also looks to be starting a new era with his Detroit Pistons, who last season reached the playoffs for only the third time since he took control in 2011 and have an exciting young core led by guard Cade Cunningham.
For the ranking of America’s 20 richest sports team owners, Forbes considered the control owners from seven North American sports leagues: MLB, MLS, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, the NWSL and the WNBA. England’s Women’s Super League was also included, as were several European men’s soccer competitions: England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1, the Netherlands’ Eredivisie, Portugal’s Primeira Liga, Belgium’s Pro League, Brazil’s Serie A, Argentina’s Liga Professional, Mexico’s Liga MX and Denmark’s Superligaen. Minority owners of teams were not included unless they qualified under a control stake with a different franchise.
Net worths were calculated as of September 1, 2025. In the cases of three members of the list—Rob Walton, Miriam Adelson and Jerry Jones, as denoted by an asterisk—the net worth calculation includes family members’ assets.