12 Richest Owners in World Football Ranked (2025)

Football has become a lucrative business in the modern era and the beautiful game has become flush with flash cash from some of the richest business persons and states in the world.

If you’re filthy rich, it seems the sport has become an attractive package for billionaires to flex their wealth and financial muscles in exchange for praise and prestige. They appear to be no longer content with just owning mega-yachts, private jets, or even whole islands for themselves. The new status symbol for the super-wealthy? Owning a football club. It’s a world where the thrill of victory on the pitch is matched only by the prestige it brings to the boardroom. Every goal, every trophy, and even the odd humbling defeat is not just about points on the leaderboard but a reflection of the might and influence of its owners.

Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Fulham are flying the flag for the Premier League in this one. However, it’s not just the English top flight that is rolling around in it. Using data courtesy of a report from Statista, along with other sources, these are the 12 wealthiest football owners in 2025.

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12

Nassef Sawiris

Aston Villa (£4.9bn)

Nassef Sawiris is an Egyptian billionaire businessman and a prominent figure in global industries such as construction, telecommunications, and real estate. In 2018, Sawiris, alongside American investor Wes Edens, purchased a controlling stake in Aston Villa through their investment firm, NSWE (Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens). Sawiris officially replaced Tony Xia as chairman following the acquisition.

The deal, valued at approximately £30 million, was a key moment in Villa’s financial recovery after a period of instability. Sawiris and Edens have since overseen significant investment in the club, with the former using his £4.9bn valuation to help guide the Villains to an incredible return to European football.

11

Francois-Henri Pinault

Stade de Reims (£5.7bn)

The owner of Stade Rennais in Ligue 1 isn’t short of cash to splash and is the honorary chairman of the luxury group Kering, which owns brands like Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and Gucci.

Pinault is worth a staggering £5.7 billion according to the data, but other reports have been quoted as claiming his net worth reaches as high as £31.6 billion. His money and investment has done little to bring success to Stade Rennais since taking ownership from his father in 2017, despite investing a lot of money into the club in an attempt to turn their fortunes around.

Kering, the company Pinault’s father founded in 1963, was originally a wood and building materials company. However, in 1999 the Frenchman decided to change the direction of the business towards luxury goods.

10

Dietmar Hopp

TSG Hoffenheim (£5.8bn)

Dietmar Hopp is the owner of Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim and has a pocket flush with cash. The German billionaire founded SAP SE and has reportedly invested in excess of £350m in Hoffenheim during his reign of ownership.

In March 2023, Hopp decided to give back the majority voting rights of Hoffenheim while retaining his position as the club’s majority shareholder. This came after years of protests that the club were not adhering to 50+1 ownership rules in German football. Since then, Hoffenheim have faced relegation battles and are constantly at risk of being demoted to the second tier of Germany.

9

Joe Lewis

Tottenham Hotspur – (£6.20bn)

While Daniel Levy may be the man who sits at the face of operations at Tottenham, he is not the man with the financial power. That responsibility belongs to Joe Lewis, the British billionaire whose family trust controls the club. Lewis made his fortune through currency speculation, most notably profiting from the UK’s withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.

He later founded Tavistock Group, a diverse investment firm. In 2001, Lewis acquired a controlling stake in Tottenham for £22m, a sum worth around $32m at the time. Since then, he has played a significant role in the club’s financial strategies and global expansion, though he almost faced jail time in 2024 after pleading guilty to insider trading. He was instead fined £4 million.

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8

Nasser Al-Khelafi

Paris Saint-Germain (£6.20bn)

According to a 2024 report from The Metro, Nasser Al-Khelafi, owner of Paris Saint-Germain, is worth a mouth-watering £6.2 billion, which sees him climb up the rankings. The Qatari had gran plans for the French giants, to turn them into a European megapower, but has so far fallen short of his goal of winning the Champions League.

Under his watchful eye, Les Parisiens have seen the blockbuster signings of Neymar and Lionel Messi and big-money brand partnerships with Nike and Jordan. Nevertheless, it isn’t just football that Al-Khelafi is interested in, the PSG owner also has a massive passion for the game of tennis, so much so he is the second most successful member of the Qatari Davis Cup team.

7

Stan Kroenke

Arsenal (£6.29bn)

American billionaire Stan Kroenke is the owner of Arsenal and MLS club Colorado Rapids and has a net worth of £6.29 billion based on the report. Kroenke isn’t just involved in the world of football however, and his company also owns the NFL side Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, and the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL.

The American tycoon owns a vast amount of land in the US and Canada, an amount that stretches over 1.5 million acres, Forbes revealed. The Arsenal owner is also married to another billionaire, Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, just in case he ever lost a few of his own quid. Despite his financial successes, it’s no secret that Kroenke has not been the most popular character in North London over the years. But now that they have started performing well in the Premier League, it’s been said that the good performances on the pitch could ‘diminish the fans’ hatred’ for Kroneke. Only time will tell.

6

Shahid Khan

Fulham (£9.7bn)

Fulham owner Shahid Khan trumps his London rival, according to the report. This puts the Pakistani-American billionaire businessman in the number six position on our rich list.

Known for his eccentric looks and marvellous moustache, the Fulham owner also owns the NFL franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars and the All Elite Wrestling organisation. Despite this, the world of sports is not where Khan made his worth. Flex-N-Gate Corporation, the automotive manufacturing company, is where it all started for him while he was studying at the University of Illinois, but opted to take the plunge into the magical and mysterious world of Fulham in 2013 – finalising a deal of around £150 – £200 million reported at the time, although it was never actually revealed to the extent of the funds used to the buy the West London club.

That being said, his investment in the club has helped the Cottagers climb back into the Premier League and retain a relatively healthy position in the league standings.

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5

Philip Anschutz

LA Galaxy (£10.5bn)

Anschutz owns a stake in MLS side LA Galaxy alongside a majority ownership in the NHL team the Los Angeles Kings. He has a net worth of around £10.5 billion making him one of the richest owners in world football.

The Billionaire Galaxy owner built his fortunes in oil, railroads, telecom, real estate, and entertainment and his Anschutz Entertain Group operates more than 350 owned or affiliated arenas and concert venues worldwide. A six-year-old Anschutz sold Kool-Aid on a nearby college campus using a wheel stand he built, proving he was always cut out for the business way of life.

4

David Tepper

Charlotte FC (£14.6bn)

David Tepper only recently dipped his toes into the world of football through his MLS expansion side Charlotte FC, who made their debut in the competition in 2022. He’s the owner of NFL side Carolina Panthers and will be relatively unknown to fans of the beautiful game around the world, nevertheless, the big Tepper made his way onto our list.

The American billionaire hedge fund manager is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami Beach, Florida, and opted to get involved in football ownership in 2019, when he was awarded Charlotte FC just weeks before the turn of the decade and began playing in 2022 at Bank of America Stadium. Tepper reportedly paid $325 million in expansion fees for the franchise, setting an MLS record, per ESPN. This record still stands at the time of writing.

3

Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United (£21.6bn)

INEOS chief and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a name a majority of Premier League fans will have heard about in recent months. A self-professed Red Devil as a child, United fans hoped that Ratcliffe’s arrival as a minority shareholder in 2024 would spark a dramatic shift in fortunes at Old Trafford.

However, that has not materialised. Instead, his cost-cutting measures have alienated him from the fanbase and caused frustration within the club, particularly after staff were told their jobs were at risk due to widespread redundancies. There is still a long road ahead, both for United to return to the top and for Ratcliffe to rebuild the trust he has lost among supporters and employees.

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2

Sheikh Mansour

Manchester City (£24.4bn)

It may be a surprise to see Manchester City’s infamous owner not at the very top of this list, considering the money and wealth he has poured into the club during his tenure.

Nevertheless, Sheikh Mansour’s £24.4bn empire, which he has spread out among his City Group investments at other football clubs like New York City FC and Melbourne City, is topped by one other club.

It’s fair to say that Mansour has changed the landscape of English football in recent years, as City have gone from not only being the country’s best outfit, but also one of the best in Europe. This was consolidated by their incredible 2022/23 campaign, where they secured a treble and proved themselves to be one of the best teams in history.

1

Public Investment Fund

Newcastle United (£478bn)

The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia purchased Newcastle United back in October 2021 and is headed by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has assets of over £470 billion, something which has been acquired through major investments in companies and projects around the world. Not only that, but PIF also own four clubs in the Saudi Pro League – Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli.

Now, whilst some may argue that it is unfair to put a public investment fund on this list, and they weren’t listed as part of the original data. However, the fact that it is headed by the Crown Prince himself means it was impossible to ignore. The Magpies have gone from relegation fodder to European contenders since their arrival, so in this case it is true that money can buy happiness.