The Richest and ‘Poorest’ Owners in Professional Sports

Unless you inherited a sports team, you’ll usually need a few million dollars — or even billions of dollars — to become a professional sports team owner. But because some teams have been passed down for generations — and some teams are more valuable than others — there’s a large range in the wealth of the individuals and families who own these teams.

GOBankingRates referenced Forbes’ most recent MLB, NFL and NBA team valuations, along with a variety of sources to find each team owner’s net worth. Corporate entities and team owners with no reliable net worth information available were excluded from the final ranking. Find out if your favorite team’s owner is among the richest in their sport.

The 'Poorest' Owners in Professional Sports

It’s hard to call any of these team owners poor, as all have net worths in the millions — and sometimes billions. But it’s all relative, and the world of pro sports is an extremely wealthy one. Here are the 26 “poorest” team owners, ranked from least to most “poor.”

23. (tie) David Blitzer -- Philadelphia 76ers

• Net worth: $1 billion
• Team value: $2 billion
• Team purchase price: $287 million
• Year purchased: 2011

23. (tie) Wes Edens -- Milwaukee Bucks

• Net worth: $1 billion
• Team value: $1.6 billion
• Team purchase price: $550 million
• Year purchased: 2014

23. (tie) Ted Leonsis -- Washington Wizards

• Net worth: $1 billion
• Team value: $1.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $551 million
• Year purchased: 2010

23. (tie) Dean Spanos -- Los Angeles Chargers

• Net worth: $1 billion
• Team value: $2.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $72 million
• Year purchased: 1984

22. Michael Brown -- Cincinnati Bengals

• Net worth: $925 million
• Team value: $2 billion
• Team purchase price: $7.5 million
• Year purchased: 1967

19. (tie) Martha Firestone Ford -- Detroit Lions

• Net worth: $800 million
• Team value: $2 billion
• Team purchase price: $4.5 million
• Year purchased: 1964

19. (tie) Peter Guber -- Golden State Warriors

• Net worth: $800 million
• Team value: $4.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $450 million
• Year purchased: 2010

19. (tie) Stuart Sternberg -- Tampa Bay Rays

• Net worth: $800 million
• Team value: $1.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $200 million
• Year purchased: 2004

16. (tie) Mark Attanasio -- Milwaukee Brewers

• Net worth: $700 million
• Team value: $1.2 billion
• Team purchase price: $223 million
• Year purchased: 2005

16. (tie) Richard & Charles Monfort -- Colorado Rockies

• Net worth: $700 million
• Team value: $1.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $95 million
• Year purchased: 1992

16. (tie) Vivek Ranadive -- Sacramento Kings

• Net worth: $700 million
• Team value: $1.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $534 million
• Year purchased: 2013

14. (tie) Jerry Buss Family Trusts -- Los Angeles Lakers

• Net worth: $600 million
• Team value: $4.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $20 million
• Year purchased: 1979

14. (tie) Ken Kendrick -- Arizona Diamondbacks

• Net worth: $600 million
• Team value: $1.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $238 million
• Year purchased: 2004

8. (tie) Ron Fowler -- San Diego Padres

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $1.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $600 million
• Year purchased: 2012

8. (tie) John Mara -- New York Giants

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $3.9 billion
• Team purchase price: $500 million
• Year purchased: 1925

8. (tie) Aubrey McClendon Estate -- Oklahoma City Thunder

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $1.6 billion
• Team purchase price: $325 million
• Year purchased: 2006

8. (tie) Daniel Rooney Trust & Arthur Rooney II -- Pittsburgh Steelers

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $2.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $2,500
• Year purchased: 1933

8. (tie) Bruce Sherman -- Miami Marlins

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $1 billion
• Team purchase price: $1.2 billion
• Year purchased: 2017

8. (tie) Fred & Jeff Wilpon -- New York Mets

• Net worth: $500 million
• Team value: $2.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $391 million
• Year purchased: 2002

7. Stephen Pagliuca -- Boston Celtics

• Net worth: $450 million
• Team value: $3.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $360 million
• Year purchased: 2002

3. (tie) Clayton Bennett -- Oklahoma City Thunder

• Net worth: $400 million
• Team value: $1.6 billion
• Team purchase price: $325 million
• Year purchased: 2006

3. (tie) Robert Castellini -- Cincinnati Reds

• Net worth: $400 million
• Team value: $1.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $270 million
• Year purchased: 2006

3. (tie) Wycliffe Grousbeck -- Boston Celtics

• Net worth: $400 million
• Team value: $3.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $360 million
• Year purchased: 2002

3. (tie) Robert Sarver -- Phoenix Suns

• Net worth: $400 million
• Team value: $1.6 billion
• Team purchase price: $404 million
• Year purchased: 2004

2. Mark Davis -- Oakland Raiders

• Net worth: $250 million
• Team value: $2.9 billion
• Team purchase price: $180,000
• Year purchased: 1966

1. Holt Family -- San Antonio Spurs

• Net worth: $200 million
• Team value: $1.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $76 million
• Year purchased: 1996

The Richest Owners in Professional Sports

It takes a lot of money to own a pro sports teams — and these individuals and families have a lot of it. These are the 26 richest team owners.

21. (tie) Stephen Bisciotti -- Baltimore Ravens

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $2.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $600 million
• Year purchased: 2004

21. (tie) Arthur Blank -- Atlanta Falcons

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $2.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $545 million
• Year purchased: 2002

21. (tie) William DeWitt Jr. -- St. Louis Cardinals

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $2.2 billion
• Team purchase price: $150 million
• Year purchased: 1996

21. (tie) Dee & Jimmy Haslam -- Cleveland Browns

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $2.2 billion
• Team purchase price: $987 million
• Year purchased: 2012

21. (tie) Ilitch Family -- Detroit Tigers

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $1.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $82 million
• Year purchased: 1992

21. (tie) Janice McNair -- Houston Texans

• Net worth: $4 billion
• Team value: $3.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $600 million
• Year purchased: 1999

20. Dan Gilbert -- Cleveland Cavaliers

• Net worth: $4.2 billion
• Team value: $1.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $375 million
• Year purchased: 2005

19. Mark Cuban -- Dallas Mavericks

• Net worth: $4.5 billion
• Team value: $2.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $280 million
• Year purchased: 2000

16. (tie) Lawrence & Paul Dolan

• Net worth: $4.6 billion
• Team value: $1.2 billion
• Team purchase price: $323 million
• Year purchased: 2000

16. (tie) Glazer Family -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Net worth: $4.6 billion
• Team value: $2.2 billion
• Team purchase price: $192 million
• Year purchased: 1995

16. (tie) Terry & Kim Pegula

• Net worth: $4.6 billion
• Team value: $1.9 billion
• Team purchase price: $1.4 billion
• Year purchased: 2014

15. Tilman Fertitta -- Houston Rockets

• Net worth: $4.7 billion
• Team value: $2.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $2.2 billion
• Year purchased: 2017

14. DeVos Family -- Orlando Magic

• Net worth: $5.4 billion
• Team value: $1.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $85 million
• Year purchased: 1991

13. Lerner Family -- Washington Nationals

• Net worth: $5.5 billion
• Team value: $1.9 billion
• Team purchase price: $450 million
• Year purchased: 2006

11. (tie) Micky Arison -- Miami Heat

• Net worth: $6.2 billion
• Team value: $2 billion
• Team purchase price: $32.5 million
• Year purchased: 1988

11. (tie) Robert Kraft -- New England Patriots

• Net worth: $6.2 billion
• Team value: $4.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $172 million
• Year purchased: 1994

10. Charles Johnson -- San Francisco Giants

• Net worth: $6.7 billion
• Team value: $3.1 billion
• Team purchase price: $100 million
• Year purchased: 1993

8. (tie) Stanley Kroenke -- Denver Nuggets/Los Angeles Rams

• Net worth: $7.7 billion
• Team value: $1.6 billion (Nuggets)/$3.8 billion (Rams)
• Team purchase price: $202 million (Nuggets)/$750 million (Rams)
• Year purchased: 2000/2010

8. (tie) Stephen Ross -- Miami Dolphins

• Net worth: $7.7 billion
• Team value: $2.8 billion
• Team purchase price: $1.1 billion
• Year purchased: 2008

7. Jerry Jones -- Dallas Cowboys

• Net worth: $8.5 billion
• Team value: $5.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $150 million
• Year purchased: 1989

6. Shahid Kahn-- Jacksonville Jaguars

• Net worth: $9 billion
• Team value: $2.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $770 million
• Year purchased: 2011

5. Joseph Tsai -- Brooklyn Nets

• Net worth: $10.5 billion
• Team value: $2.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $3.3 billion
• Year purchased: 2019

4. Philip Anschutz -- Los Angeles Lakers

• Net worth: $11 billion
• Team value: $4.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $268 million
• Year purchased: 1998

3. David Tepper -- Carolina Panthers

• Net worth: $12 billion
• Team value: $2.4 billion
• Team purchase price: $2.3 billion
• Year purchased: 2018

2. Paul Allen Estate/Trust -- Portland Trailblazers/Seattle Seahawks

• Net worth: $20.3 billion
• Team value: $1.9 billion (Trailblazers)/$2.8 billion (Seahawks)
• Team purchase price: $70 million (Trailblazers)/$194 million (Seahawks)
• Year purchased: 1988 (Trailblazers)/1997 (Seahawks)

1. Steve Ballmer -- Los Angeles Clippers

• Net worth: $74.1 billion
• Team value: $2.6 billion
• Team purchase price: $2 billion
• Year purchased: 2014

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Methodology: To find the richest and “poorest” owners in professional sports, GOBankingRates began by referencing Forbes’ most recent Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Basketball Association team valuations. GOBankingRates used Forbes’ data to find the (1) notable owners, (2) 2020 team value, (3) purchase price and (4) year of purchase for every team in all three leagues analyzed. Then, GOBankingRates used a variety of sources (primarily Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth and the Los Angeles Times) to find (5) each owner’s net worth. Corporate entities and team owners with no reliable net worth information available were excluded from the final ranking.

About the Author

Gabrielle Olya

Gabrielle joined GOBankingRates in 2017 and brings with her a decade of experience in the journalism industry. Before joining the team, she was a staff writer-reporter for People Magazine and People.com. Her work has also appeared on E! Online, Us Weekly, Patch, Sweety High and Discover Los Angeles, and she has been featured on “Good Morning America” as a celebrity news expert. 

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