The sports market is becoming increasingly dominated by a selection of some of the richest people in the world, with Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke a prime example.
Stan Kroenke has been named as having the second most valuable sporting empire in the world, with the Arsenal owner’s collection of sporting assets totalling $12.75 billion (£10.31bn)
This leaves the Gunners’ majority shareholder behind only Formula One owners Liberty Media as having the most valuable empire in the world of sport.Kroenkehas often been a divisive figure at Arsenal, but the team’s current success has eased such concerns and his wealth is underlined byForbeswho detailed the most valuable empires in sport in a list published this week.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment own a host of assets, with a number of US based sporting franchises in addition to Arsenal as well as marketing companies which take care of his sporting empire. The Missouri-born businessman has a long list of assets which includes Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Arsenal, The Guard, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth and Altitude Sports and Entertainment.
By comparison, Chelsea majority shareholder Todd Boehly does not feature on the list, with a number of sporting assets, with his net worth of a ɾєρօɾτed $5.3billion and his investments in MLB franchise, the LA Dodgers, not earning him a place on the list of 25 sporting groups. However, Manchester City owners City Football Group (€5.96bn), the Glazer Family (€7.53bn) and Fenway Sports Group ($10.4bn) do all feature in the list.
The methodology of the list was outlined as: “To qualify as a sports empire a person or company must own a majority stake in at least one sports team and its aggregate investments in other sports-related properties must total at least $100million.”
Forbes is renowned for its publication of rich lists and ranked both Chelsea and Arsenal in its list of the most valuable football teams in the world for 2022 last May. Chelsea were ranked eighth ($3.1billion), Tottenham tenth ($2.35billion) and Arsenal ranked eleventh ($2.05billion), although that order is likely to change in 2023 given Arsenal and Kroenke’s success.
