NEWCASTLE UNITED’S Saudi supremos are the Premier League’s richest owners since completing their sensational takeover.
The £300million deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund fired the Toon to the top of the wealthy charts but who else is on the billionaire list?
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a close associate of Mohammed bin Salman, will has new chairman – with his powerful friend also backing the Magpies’ takeover.
Following the deal’s completion, the Saudi consortium will own 80 per cent of the club – with Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers evenly splitting the remaining 20 per cent.
While some fans question the ethics of Saudi ownership, others are simply excited at having owners worth more than TEN TIMES Manchester City’s Sheikh Mansour.
In figures obtained by Marca and the Mirror on the Premier League’s, SunSport takes a closer look at the rich list.
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1) Newcastle United – Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund – £320billion
After 13 years of Mike Ashley at the helm, Newcastle are essentially now owned by the Saudi Arabian state.
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund invests on behalf of the country’s government.
Chaired by the controversial Mohammed bin Salman, and governed by Al-Rumayyan – the St James’ Park outfit are run by some of the world’s most powerful people.
But while the prospect of big-spending may be exciting, some supporters will feel uncomfortable about the country’s appalling human rights record.
2) Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour – £22.9billion
Sheikh Mansour bought City in September 2008, immediately transforming them into a global powerhouse.
Mansour is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and comes from the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
The 51-year-old has since also acquired New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama F. Marinos, among others, via the City Group.
Day-to-day running of the club is delegated to trusted lieutenant Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Like Newcastle’s Saudi owners, Mansour’s City ownership has been accused of being a blatant attempt at “sportswashing” by many human rights groups.
3) Chelsea – Todd Boehly – £10.9billion
Former Chelsea Russian owner Roman Abramovich handed over the £4.2 billion keys over to wealthy American Todd Boehly this year after owning the North West outfit since 2003.
The Billionaire capitalised on Abramovich being forced to sell Chelsea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Alongside being the Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and controlling member of Elridge Industries – a private investment firm located in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Boehly is also the current interim CEO of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as of October 2021 and owns 20 per cent of the Los Angeles Dodgers alongside co-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks which all contributes to his valued net worth of £4.72 billion.
4) Arsenal – Stan Kroenke – £6.8billion
The Gunners are just one of a global network of sports teams owned by American Stan Kroenke, including the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids.
The 75-year-old married Ann Walton, an heiress of the US supermarket Walmart, in 1974 – and nine years later founded a real estate development group.
The Kroenke Group specialise in shopping centres and apartment buildings – with many situated near existing Walmart locations.
Kroenke first bought shares in the North Londoners in 2008, before increasing his stake to around 62 per cent in 2011.
5) Fulham – Shahid Khan – £5.8billion
The 72-year-old is also the owner of NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars.
And he is the co-owner of wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling along with his son Tony.
Shahid bought auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate from his former employer in 1980.
The company now has 69 plants worldwide and over 26,000 employees.
6) Wolves – Guo Guangchang – £5.2billion
Guangchang, from the Eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, has been chairman of the Fosun Group since 1994.
The conglomerate are based in Shanghai and Hong Kong – and initially worked in market research.
After expanding into the healthcare and real estate industries, Fosun became one of the biggest investment firms in the world.
They bought Wolves from previous owner Steve Morgan in 2016 for around £45million – quickly transforming them from Championship mediocrity to European competition.
7) Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris – £5billion
With Villa in the financial mire following their 2018 play-off final defeat to Fulham under the ownership of Tony Xia, Sawiris stepped in to save the day, buying a 55 per cent controlling stake in the club in July that year.
At 59, Nassef is the youngest of Egyptian billionaire Onsi Sawiris’ three sons.
Onsi founded the Orascom conglomerate, with Nassef joining the business in 1982, becoming CEO in 1998.
Sawiris also owns a stake in Adidas.
8) Leicester City – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha – £4.6billion
Aiyawatt is the 37-year-old son of the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in October 2018, aged 60.
He became CEO of King Power after his father’s death, the largest duty-free retailer in Thailand.
Having bought Leicester in 2010, Vichai became a visible, heroic figure in Leicester, investing in the city as well as the club and helping to engineer the their astonishing Premier League triumph in 2016.
9) Tottenham Hotspur – Joe Lewis – £3.9billion
While Daniel Levy may be the face of the Tottenham board, Joe Lewis is the ENIC Group’s main shareholder.
ENIC took control of the North Londoners in 2001, making Levy the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League.
The 60-year-old takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the club as managing director of ENIC, but owns just 29.4 per cent of the investment company, compared to Lewis’ 70.6 per cent.
Lewis left school at 15 to help run his father’s catering firm, Tavistock Banqueting – before showing a flair for business himself upon taking control.
Lewis now 85, lives in tax exile in the Bahamas, and is rarely seen at White Hart Lane.
10) Manchester United – The Glazer Family – £3.6billion
Malcolm Glazer was a New Yorker, beginning life in the business world at just 15 – selling watches door-to-door to help keep his family afloat after the passing of his father.
At 28, he moved into real estate, gradually expanding across America before acquiring three TV stations.
His later investments included Harley-Davidson – before moving into sports with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 – and later Manchester United in 2003.
Malcolm suffered a stroke in 2006, at which point sons Avram and Joel took over day-to-day running of the club, which has continued beyond their father’s passing in 2014.
Avram is a former chairman of the Zapata Corporation, while Joel took a more hands-on approach to the family’s NFL franchise.
However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed that he is interested in purchasing Manchester United which would see the club climb up to fourth in the list.
11) Southampton – Gao Jisheng – £3.1billion
Chinese billionaire Gao Jisheng took over at St Mary’s in 2017, buying the club for £210million from his own personal fortune, rather than that of his company, Lander Sports Development Co.
Jisheng served in the Shanghai People’s Armed Police for seven years, while also gaining a degree from Shanghai Normal University.
He founded the Lander Group in 1995, initially focusing on the property market before moving into the sports industry.
Jisheng is looking to sell up, however, putting the club up for sale last month.
12) Crystal Palace – Joshua Harris – £2.9billion
Harris is involved in a number of sporting ventures.
The American is principal owner of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, and NBA franchise the Philadelphia 76ers.
Alongside business partner David Blitzer, and long-term chairman Steve Parish, Harris has been in joint-control of the Eagles since 2015 – but is reportedly looking for buyers.
13) Liverpool – John W. Henry – £2.1billion
Henry, 72, is head of Fenway Sports Group – which took control of Liverpool in 2010 after George Gillett and Tom Hicks’ unpopular ownership of the Anfield club.
He founded John W. Henry & Company in 1981, an investment group that made him his millions.
Alongside business partner Tom Werner, Henry also owns the Boston Red Sox.
14) West Ham United – David Sullivan & David Gold – £1.6billion
Gold and Sullivan began their foray into business in the soft porn industry, before moving into sex shops, magazines and adult films.
These ventures made Sullivan a millionaire by just 25 – while Gold also owns the high-street lingerie chain Ann Summers.
The pair owned Birmingham City in the noughties, before acquiring boyhood club West Ham in 2010.
15) Everton – Farhad Moshiri – £1.5billion
Previously a shareholder of Arsenal, Moshiri grew frustrated at his lack of influence in North London, selling his shares to business partner Alisher Usmanov in 2016 and upping sticks to Goodison.
He bought a 77.2 per cent stake in the Toffees, being able to plough in investment in players that Bill Kenwright was never able to on his own – although with mixed results at best so far.
The Iranian, 67, resides in Monaco, and has shares in mobile phone operators and steel manufacturers.
16) Brighton – Tony Bloom – £1.3billion
Bloom, 52, made his fortune through gambling – having competed in a number of lucrative poker events.
In 2009, he used his fortune to buy the Seagulls, his boyhood club, overseeing their rise from the third-tier into the Premier League.
He also owns Belgian second-tier side Union SG.
17) Bournemouth – Maxim Demin – £900million
The Russian, 52, is a petrochemical magnate, having bought the Cherries in 2011.
Demin has played a big part in Bournemouth’s miracle rise from the foot of League Two to their fifth consecutive season in the Premier League.
He resides in Dorset, and his wife Irena even once gave his Cherries side a half-time team-talk – her rant inspiring them to clinch a 2-2 draw against MK Dons, having been a goal down at the break.
18) Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis – £505million
The Forest owner has been splashing the cash in his quest for the Reds to avoid relegation back to the Championship.
Media mogul Mariankis, 55, is the founder and chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.
He also owns Greek giants Olympiacos, while he is a member of the Piraeus city council.
19) Leeds – Andrea Radrizzani – £344million
The 47-year-old Italian businessman is also the chairman and founder of the sports broadcasting group Eleven Sports.
Radrizzani started off his career in 1999 in media rights companies where he worked with the likes of Bundesliga, Serie A and Formula One.
He also made a great amount of his wealth with his investment firm Aser Ventures.
20 – Brentford – Matthew Benham – £255million
The Brentford fan took full control of the Bees in 2012.
Benham earned his wealth from gambling firms, where he is an integral part of Matchbook as well as Smartodds.
He is also the owner of Danish side FC Midtjylland.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
