More than 10% of Forbes400 members own sports teams. The $4.65 billion price tag for the Denver Broncos was the most expensive sports team sale in history, and when the deal closed in August, Rob Walton immediately became the richest owner in the NFL.
n hindsight, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Rob Walton buying the Denver Broncos. With an estimated net worth of $56.7 billion, his purchasing power was
“The Broncos are the one sports franchise that we would have considered buying,’’ Walton told reporters in August, adding that his son-in-law Greg Penner had started discussing it a decade ago. The truth is investing inForbes Sports teams have made a number of rich people into billionaires, including the New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay. But these days you practically have to already be a billionaire to buy a team. Forbes 400 newcomer Todd Boehly made a fortune through his investment firm Eldridge Capital before leading a group that shelled out $3.1 billion for soccer club Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in May.
Rounding out the top five, after Ballmer and Walton, are two hedge fund billionaires and a tech founder. David Tepper claims the No. 3 spot, with an estimated net worth of $18.5 billion. He bought the Carolina Panthers for $2.3 billion in 2018 and has seen the team’s value grow, in concert with the NFL’s skyrocketing media rights, to $3.6 billion. He also owns MLS’ Charlotte FC. Next is Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, with an estimated net worth of $17.