Owning a sports team is often reserved for the ultra-wealthy in popular leagues like the NFL and the NBA, where every franchise is now worth more than $3 billion, but Bernard Arnault tops Forbes’ annual list of the world’s richest owners thanks to a club with a comparatively puny price tag.

The 77-year-old Frenchman, whose estimated net worth of $171 billion places him No. 7 overall on Forbes’ 2026 World’s Billionaires ranking, controls Paris FC through his family holding company after acquiring a majority stake in the French soccer club in 2024 at a reported valuation of around $100 million—or about 0.06% of his current net worth.

Arnault has a $45 billion lead on Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who held the crown as the world’s richest sports owner for the past two years and is now worth an estimated $126 billion. But Arnault’s coronation is also the result of a reclassification. For the annual owners ranking, Forbes counts only majority stakes in certain major sports leagues, including France’s Ligue 1. However, Paris FC was stuck in the second-tier Ligue 2 at the time of Arnault’s purchase, keeping the LVMH CEO and chairman—once the world’s richest person—off the owners list until the club earned a promotion to the top division with a second-place finish in 2025.

The 25 richest sports owners are now collectively worth $903 billion, an astonishing 49% increase from the 2025 list’s $607 billion, and all 25 exceed $10 billion for the first time, with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank setting the floor at $11.1 billion. It’s indicative of a new generation of owners who in many cases made billions in other industries before entering sports, rather than having most of their fortunes tied up in teams that they acquired at bargain prices decades ago.

Even though the NFL is the world’s most valuable sports league, its concentration of longtime family-owned franchises means only eight of the league’s owners made the cut, with the NBA not far behind with seven owners listed. The most popular sport represented is soccer, part of the portfolios of 13 owners in the ranking, across seven leagues. The commercialization of the beautiful game is fitting for a group of global billionaires gearing up for a World Cup year, although four owners from Major League Soccer—David Tepper, Stanley Kroenke, Robert Kraft and Blank—also control more valuable NFL teams.

The 2026 list features three new additions alongside Arnault: Indonesian billionaire R. Budi Hartono, who owns Italian soccer club Como 1907 with his brother, Michael; Peter Mallouk, the new owner of MLS’s Sporting Kansas City; and Dan Friedkin, who owns the Premier League’s Everton and Serie A’s A.S. Roma.

Here are the 25 richest sports team owners on the 2026 World’s Billionaires list.

NET WORTHS AS OF MARCH 1, 2026.

1. Bernard Arnault

Net Worth: $171 billion*

One-Year Change: -4%

Team: Paris F.C.

Source of Wealth: LVMH

Citizenship: France

Paris FC has been an afterthought compared with its next-door Ligue 1 rival, Paris Saint-Germain—winner of 11 of the last 13 league titles—but Arnault is trying to build a contender with help from co-investor Red Bull, which now employs ex-Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp as the group’s head of global soccer. (This season, Paris FC is 13th in the standings, comfortably out of the relegation zone.) Arnault, the 77-year-old CEO and chairman of LVMH, has also been steering his luxury goods company more into the sports world with a ten-year sponsorship deal with Formula 1 that was announced in 2024 and is reportedly worth upwards of $1 billion.

2. Rob Walton

Net Worth: $146 billion*

One-Year Change: +33%

Team: Denver Broncos

Source of Wealth: Walmart

Citizenship: United States

Walton, who installed his son-in-law Greg Penner as the Broncos’ official control owner in 2023, has quickly made Denver a contender since buying the franchise in 2022. The team owned the best record in the AFC last season, although its playoff run was derailed by quarterback Bo Nix’s injury at the end of a thrilling overtime win against the Buffalo Bills. The Broncos aren’t the only sports asset in the 81-year-old Walton’s portfolio, either. The son of Walmart cofounder Sam Walton quietly bought a 10% stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024 at a $2 billion valuation, Sportico recently reported.

3. Steve Ballmer

Net Worth: $126 billion

One-Year Change: +7%

Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Source of Wealth: Microsoft

Citizenship: United States

Microsoft’s tepid stock performance over the past year has been the least of Ballmer’s worries. The 69-year-old’s $50 million investment in Aspiration, a drop in the bucket for the world’s 15th-richest person, has come under scrutiny because of the failed fintech startup’s $28 million endorsement deal with Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, originally reported by podcaster Pablo Torre. Leonard appears to have done little to nothing to earn that money, raising suspicions that Ballmer or the team’s front office routed money through the startup to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap. The league is investigating, but the Clippers have denied any wrongdoing.

4. Miriam Adelson

Net Worth: $37.5 billion*

One-Year Change: +17%

Team: Dallas Mavericks

Source of Wealth: Casinos

Citizenship: United States

Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont, the Mavericks’ appointed control owner, enraged their team’s fan base with the shocking trade of superstar Luka Doncic in February 2025. But in a fitting twist for the 80-year-old widow of Las Vegas Sands casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a lottery win revitalized the franchise. With only 1.8% odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the ping-pong balls fell in Dallas’ favor, handing the Mavericks a new face of the franchise in teenage phenom Cooper Flagg.

5. Idan Ofer

Net Worth: $34.6 billion

One-Year Change: +54%

Team: FC Famaličao

Source of Wealth: Shipping

Citizenship: Israel

The 70-year-old Israeli shipping tycoon’s net worth has soared in recent years, rising almost tenfold since his fortune was estimated at $3.7 billion in 2020, with his Eastern Pacific Shipping now boasting a fleet of about 250 vessels. Ofer owns a controlling stake in Portuguese soccer team FC Famaličao through his holding company, Quantum Pacific Group, and also owns a piece of Spanish club Atlético Madrid. Famalicão is currently in sixth place in the Primeira Liga, knocking on the door of its first top-five finish in Portugal’s top division since it was promoted in 2019.

6. Robert Pera

Net Worth: $31.7 billion

One-Year Change: +102%

Team: Memphis Grizzlies

Source of Wealth: Wireless networking

Citizenship: United States

Pera’s fortune doubled in the last year thanks to his stock in Ubiquiti, a publicly traded company that he owns a 93% stake in. The wireless hardware firm’s revenue grew 38% in 2025 to $3 billion, and profit doubled to $889 million. However, a report from investigative short-selling firm Hunterbrook Media alleged in January that Ubiquiti’s technology is helping Russia in its war with Ukraine, an accusation that the 48-year-old Pera has not responded to. As for his basketball team, the Grizzlies are in the middle of a rebuilding year and will likely miss the playoffs after trading away star players Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.

7. Henry Samueli

Net Worth: $30.8 billion

One-Year Change: +56%

Team: Anaheim Ducks

Source of Wealth: Semiconductors

Citizenship: United States

Samueli, the 71-year-old chairman of chipmaker Broadcom, has benefited from rising demand during the AI boom, with his company’s stock reaching new heights in the last year and its market cap now sitting at $1.6 trillion. His $70 million acquisition of the NHL’s Ducks in 2005 has made a smaller impact on his net worth, but the return on investment has still been spectacular, with the team now worth $1.4 billion. Last year, Samueli’s holding company announced a $1 billion investment for a major renovation of the team’s home arena, the Honda Center.

8. François Pinault

Net Worth: $29.5 billion*

One-Year Change: +36%

Team: Stade Rennais FC

Source of Wealth: Luxury goods

Citizenship: France

The 89-year-old founder and honorary chairman of luxury goods giant Kering, which owns brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, Pinault has enjoyed a modest rebound for the company’s stock in the last year, and his fortunes on the field have improved as well. Stade Rennais FC is currently in fifth in France’s Ligue 1 after an uncharacteristic 12th-place finish last season.

9. Daniel Gilbert

Net Worth: $27.9 billion

One-Year Change: +0%

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers

Source of Wealth: Rocket Mortgage

Citizenship: United States

Gilbert’s stock in Rocket Companies, the mortgage lending giant he founded in 1985, still hasn’t matched the heights it reached when the firm initially went public in 2020 and briefly pushed his net worth north of $50 billion. But the 64-year-old Gilbert remains the fourth-richest owner in the NBA, and his Cavaliers are again a contender, looking to avenge a disappointing playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers after earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed last season.

10. David Tepper

Net Worth: $23.7 billion

One-Year Change: +11%

Teams: Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC

Source of Wealth: Hedge funds

Citizenship: United States

For the first time since Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018, the team made the playoffs last season, winning a weak NFC South with an 8-9 record. Carolina lost in the wild-card round to the heavily favored Los Angeles Rams on a last-minute touchdown, but if head coach Dave Canales keeps up the momentum and completes a third season next year, he would be the longest-tenured head coach to serve under Tepper, the 68-year-old founder of Appaloosa Management.

11. Steve Cohen

Net Worth: $23 billion

One-Year Change: +8%

Team: New York Mets

Source of Wealth: Hedge funds

Citizenship: United States

The only member of the owners ranking to control an MLB team, Cohen saw his Mets miss the playoffs last season with an 83-79 record despite possessing the league’s second-highest payroll and getting a strong season from Juan Soto in his debut in Queens on a 15-year, $765 million contract. The club retooled this off-season by landing Bo Bichette on a three-year, $126 million deal after letting slugger Pete Alonso walk in free agency, but Cohen made an even bigger move off the field. The 69-year-old founder of Point72 Asset Management received full approval for a New York State gaming license in December, clearing the way for his plans to build an $8 billion casino complex next to the Mets’ Citi Field.

12. Stanley Kroenke

Net Worth: $22.2 billion

One-Year Change: +23%

Teams: Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Arsenal FC, Arsenal Women FC

Source of Wealth: Sports, real estate

Citizenship: United States

Kroenke’s expansive sports empire has claimed NBA, NFL and NHL championships within the past five years, and the 78-year-old, who owns some 60 million square feet of real estate and 1.6 million acres of ranches, picked up his latest trophy in February when Arsenal Women FC won the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup. It could be the beginning of a particularly memorable 2026 in North London: The Arsenal men currently lead the Premier League after three consecutive runner-up finishes, vying for their first title since 2004.

13. Jerry Jones

Net Worth: $20.3 billion*

One-Year Change: +22%

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Source of Wealth: Sports, energy

Citizenship: United States

“My goal in life is to retire as the owner that won the most Super Bowls,” Jones said at his season-ending press conference in January. The 83-year-old, who made his name as an oil wildcatter and now controls the publicly traded Comstock Resources, needs three more trophies to match the New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft with six total, which looks more and more like a pipe dream with the Cowboys coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2002. Still, Dallas remains the world’s most valuable sports team, worth $13 billion.

14. R. Budi Hartono and Michael Hartono

Net Worths: $19.6 billion and $18.9 billion

One-Year Change: -13% and -12%

Team: Como 1907

Source of Wealth: Banking, tobacco

Citizenship: Indonesia

Before actors Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds bought fifth-tier British club Wrexham and made its climb up the English soccer ladder into a made-for-TV spectacle, the Hartono brothers accomplished a similar feat in Italy. The 85-year-old Budi and the 86-year-old Michael, whose family got rich in tobacco and who then invested in Bank Central Asia, bought Como in 2019 when the club was mired in Italy’s Serie D and have shepherded it through three promotions, reaching Serie A in 2024. After a tenth-place finish in its first year in the league, Como is fourth this season.

15. Philip Anschutz

Net Worth: $19.4 billion

One-Year Change: +15%

Teams: Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy

Source of Wealth: Energy, sports, entertainment

Citizenship: United States

Anschutz, one of MLS’s founding investors, is such a key figure in the league’s history that it awards the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy to its champion every year, but after his Galaxy claimed the prize in 2024, they were a long way from repeating in 2025, finishing 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. Still, the Galaxy’s $1.08 billion valuation makes them the third-most valuable team in MLS. The 86-year-old owner of AEG, which operates concert venues and events around the world, has also enjoyed four straight playoff appearances in the NHL with the Kings, although all four have ended with first-round exits.

16. Stephen Ross

Net Worth: $17 billion

One-Year Change: -8%

Team: Miami Dolphins

Source of Wealth: Real estate

Citizenship: United States

Ross, the 85-year-old founder of real estate developer Related Companies, is reportedly selling a 1% stake in the holding company that owns the Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix, along with a stake in the Miami Open tennis tournament, at a $12.5 billion valuation. The buyer is Lin Bin, the billionaire vice chairman of Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi. The deal comes after Ross sold a 10% stake to Ares Management at an $8.1 billion valuation in December 2024, and after Forbes valued the Dolphins at $7.5 billion last year.

17. Anders Holch Povlsen

Net Worth: $16.9 billion

One-Year Change: +32%

Team: FC Midtjylland

Source of Wealth: Fashion retail

Citizenship: Denmark

The 53-year-old owner of fashion retailer Bestseller has his net worth at a record high, and his club is a consistent contender in the Danish Superliga. After he became the majority owner in 2023, Midtjylland won the league in 2024 and was the runner-up in 2025, finishing just one point shy of Copenhagen. This year, it is again in second place about two-thirds of the way through the season, trying to catch AGF.

18. Peter Mallouk

Net Worth: $16.1 billion

One-Year Change: N/A

Team: Sporting Kansas City

Source of Wealth: Wealth planning

Citizenship: United States

Mallouk, added to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list for the first time this year, recently acquired a majority stake in MLS’s Sporting Kansas City from the Illig family at a roughly $700 million valuation. The 56-year-old son of Egyptian immigrants has built Creative Planning into a wealth management giant over the last two decades in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, and he also owns a minority stake in MLB’s Kansas City Royals.

19. Shahid Khan

Net Worth: $15 billion

One-Year Change: +12%

Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham FC

Source of Wealth: Auto parts, sports

Citizenship: United States

The Jaguars just finished their best season of Khan’s 14-year tenure as their owner, going 13-4 in a remarkable turnaround under first-year coach Liam Coen, although they narrowly lost their opening-round playoff game to the Buffalo Bills. Now, the 75-year-old Khan, owner of auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate, is embarking on a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium, which will temporarily reduce the Jaguars’ seating capacity by about 25,000 seats for the 2026 season, to 42,507. Khan is also the lead investor in All Elite Wrestling, the pro wrestling promotion his son Tony Khan launched in 2019 to compete with WWE.

20 (tie). Robert Kraft

Net Worth: $13.8 billion

One-Year Change: +17%

Teams: New England Patriots, New England Revolution

Source of Wealth: Manufacturing, sports

Citizenship: United States

The NFL’s most successful owner ever nearly added a seventh Lombardi Trophy to his collection as the Patriots made a surprise run to the Super Bowl, but they came up shortagainst the Seattle Seahawks. The loss wasn’t Kraft’s only disappointment in February. Days before the big game, the 84-year-old, who made his fortune in paper and packaging, found out he was again snubbed in the voting for Pro Football Hall of Fame induction, along with his former head coach Bill Belichick.

20 (tie). Hasso Plattner

Net Worth: $13.8 billion*

One-Year Change: -9%

Team: San Jose Sharks

Source of Wealth: Software

Citizenship: Germany

The 82-year-old cofounder of enterprise software firm SAP has seen his net worth dip amid the stock market’s broader software swoon—SAP’s shares are down 39% since July. In fact, Plattner is one of only four owners among the top 25—along with Bernard Arnault, R. Budi Hartono and Stephen Ross—who are worth less than they were a year ago. The Sharks are trending in a better direction, on track for their first winning season since 2018-19. In August, they renewed their lease agreement with the city of San Jose to remain in the SAP Center through 2051.

22. Joseph Tsai

Net Worth: $13.3 billion

One-Year Change: +10%

Teams: Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty

Source of Wealth: Alibaba

Citizenship: Canada

Tsai and his wife, Clara Wu Tsai, sold a minority stake in the New York Liberty in May at a roughly $450 million valuation, bringing in cash to help fund the construction of an $80 million, 75,000-square-foot practice facility in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. (Forbes valued the Liberty at $400 million, a slight discount from the stake sale since a change in control ownership would separate them from the Barclays Center, which Tsai owns, although the price still made them the WNBA’s most valuable franchise.) On the men’s side, the 62-year-old Alibaba cofounder’s Nets are in rebuilding mode, stuck in a race to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings as they vie for a high draft pick.

23. Tilman Fertitta

Net Worth: $11.7 billion

One-Year Change: +4%

Team: Houston Rockets

Source of Wealth: Entertainment, sports

Citizenship: United States

A longtime Republican donor, Fertitta was confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino in April. To avoid conflicts of interest, the 68-year-old resigned as CEO of Landry’s and Fertitta Entertainment, a holding company that owns restaurants, hotels and casinos, and handed day-to-day control of the Rockets to his 31-year-old son. Patrick Fertitta didn’t take long to rubber-stamp a blockbuster trade for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, who has helped keep Houston in the top half of the NBA’s Western Conference standings.

24. Dan Friedkin

Net Worth: $11.4 billion

One-Year Change: +48%

Teams: Everton FC, AS Roma

Source of Wealth: Toyota dealerships

Citizenship: United States

Friedkin is the latest on a growing list of American billionaires to scoop up a team in England’s Premier League, buying Everton in December 2024 for a reported sum of around $500 million. That deal followed his 2020 acquisition of Roma, which regularly finishes in the top half of the table in Italy’s Serie A. Friedkin, 61, made his billions selling cars, operating 150 Toyota dealerships in his home of Texas and surrounding states.

25. Arthur Blank

Net Worth: $11.1 billion

One-Year Change: +23%

Teams: Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United

Source of Wealth: Home Depot

Citizenship: United States

Blank cleaned house in January after the Falcons’ eighth straight losing season, firing their head coach and general manager and installing franchise icon Matt Ryan in a newly created “president of football” position. The 83-year-old Home Depot cofounder’s soccer investments are showing more momentum. Atlanta United is one of five MLS teams to have reached a $1 billion valuation, and its home of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, managed by Blank’s AMB Group, is slated to host eight World Cup matches this summer. In November, Blank was also awarded an NWSL franchise for a reported $165 million expansion fee, a league record. The team will begin play in Atlanta in 2028.

METHODOLOGY

Forbes’ ranking of the world’s 25 richest sports owners includes control owners of franchises from the following North American leagues: MLB, MLS, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, the NWSL and the WNBA. The “big five” European men’s soccer leagues—England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1—and the Women’s Super League are also included, as are several other first-division men’s competitions: Argentina’s Liga Professional, Belgium’s Pro League, Brazil’s Serie A, Denmark’s Superligaen, Mexico’s Liga MX, the Netherlands’ Eredivisie and Portugal’s Primeira Liga. Forbes also considered principal owners from three motorsports series—Formula 1, IndyCar and the Nascar Cup Series—and cricket’s Indian Premier League.

Owners who control teams through holding companies were included, but those whose stakes are part of conglomerates with numerous shareholders—such as Mukesh Ambani, whose company Reliance Industries controls the Mumbai Indians of the Indian Premier League—were excluded. Teams’ limited partners were also excluded unless they qualified under a control stake with a different franchise.

Net worths were calculated as of March 1, 2026. In the cases of six members of the list—Bernard Arnault, Rob Walton, Miriam Adelson, François Pinault, Jerry Jones and Hasso Plattner, as denoted by an asterisk—the net worth calculation includes family members’ assets. The total net worth of the top 25—$903 billion—includes R. Budi Hartono but not his brother, Michael Hartono, who co-owns Como 1907 with him.