Here are the Top 5 world's richest sports owners in 2023, including Steve Ballmer, Rob Walton
Forbes released its list of the richest sports owners of 2023 on Thursday. The financial publication found that the collective worth of the Top 20 owners is $509 billion.
Soccer is the most popular sport, with eight of the world's elite owners on the list.
A rookie is on the list as the NFL welcomed a new ownership group last year that lands Walmart heir Rob Walton in the Top 3 of wealthiest owners. His net worth helped boost the overall worth of the list. The NFL has seven owners on the list, including the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones (No. 12), Los Angeles Rams' Stanley Kroenke (No. 13) and New England Patriots' Robert Kraft (No. 17).
Here's a look at the Top 5 world's richest sports owners of 2023:
1. Mukesh Ambani — Mumbai Indians
Mukesh Ambani has a net worth of $83.4 billion. He's the owner of the Mumbai Indians, which is part of cricket's Indian Premier League. The team, which is worth $1.3 billion, has built a legacy of excellence. It has won five championships since the IPL's inception in 2008, including back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. Ambani owns the team as a member of Reliance Industries. Through the organization, he is also an owner of a team in the recently organized Women's Premier League and franchises in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
2. Steve Ballmer — Los Angeles Clippers
Steve Ballmer has had his turn at the top of the list, but the former Microsoft executive's net worth recently fell to $80.7 billion after the software company's stock has dropped. It's still enough for him to be the second-wealthiest sports owner in the world and ensure that the Los Angeles Clippers' new arena will have the most bathrooms in the NBA, which he is very excited about. Ballmer bought the franchise in 2014 for $2 billion.
HYPE: LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer raves about the amount of toilets new arena will have
3. Rob Walton — Denver Broncos
Walmart heir Rob Walton not only joins the list, but shakes it up after he purchased the Denver Broncos for an NFL-record $4.65 billion in June. Walton, who has a net worth of $57.6 billion, was joined by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton as members of the ownership group. He made a splash this offseason by hiring former Super Bowl winner Sean Payton as the franchise's next head coach.
4. François Pinault & family — Stade Rennais FC
French businessman François Pinault is worth $40.1 billion. He founded Kering in 1963 as a building materials company. It has since become a luxury conglomerate, including brands like Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. He purchased Ligue 1 soccer club Stade Rennais FC in 1998. His ownership group, Artémis, has put together a team that consistently finishes toward the top of the league, which includes Paris Saint-Germain, the team led by Neymar and Messi.
5. Mark Mateschitz — New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig, Red Bull Racing
Red Bull has become much more than an energy drink company and that's because of founder Dietrich Mateschitz and his love for adventure and action sports. When Mateschitz died in October, his only son, Mark, inherited his 49 percent stake in Red Bull, which brought his net worth to $34.7 billion. The Red Bull sports empire includes the MLS team New York Red Bulls, Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and Formula 1 championship team Red Bull and its feeder team AlphaTauri.
Read the entire list of the world's 20 richest sports owners in 2023 at Forbes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World's richest sports owners in 2023 include Rob Walton
