Money, money, money, it’s a rich man’s world’….
HERE are the ‘owners’ of the 20 Premiership clubs, starting with the ‘poorest’:
20. Brentford – Matthew Benham (£3m)
Benham made his money from gambling firms and he also owns the Danish club FC Midtjylland
19. Norwich City – Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones (£23m)
The couple have been majority shareholders of Norwich since 1996. Smith is a cookery writer, author and television personality, while Wynn-Jones made his money in publishing
18. Burnley – Mike Garlick (£62m)
Garlick only recently became Burnley’s chairman. He founded Michael Bailey Associates, a project management and consultancy company
17. Watford – Gino Pozzo (£93m)
Pozzo also owns the Italian club Udinese, while the family business is Freud - a tool-maker company
16. Leeds United – Andrea Radrizzani (£344m)
Radrizzani got his money from his investment company, Aser Ventures which also own Eleven Sports
15. Brighton & Hove Albion – Tony Bloom (£765m)
Bloom made his money from online gambling and gaming websites. He also finished fourth in the Poker World Series in 2005
14. West Ham United – David Sullivan and David Gold (£1.62bn)
Into the billionaires, and Sullivan himself is a billionaire who made his fortune in the pornography business. Gold isn’t as rich but owns Gold Group International, the parent company of Ann Summers
13. Everton – Farhad Moshiri (£1.9bn)
Moshiri was previously involved with Arsenal before selling his stake in the club. He owns steel and energy companies in the UK and Russia, and is now ready to sell the club after partner Alisher Usmanov was sanctioned
12. Liverpool – John Henry (£2.14bn)
Henry owns Fenway Sports Group who bought Liverpool in 2010. He also owns the American baseball team, the Boston Red Sox
11. Southampton – Gao Jisheng (£2.3bn)
Jisheng bought Southampton for £210m in 2017. The founder of Lander Sports Development he sold his shares to become a ‘Saint’
10. Leicester City – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (£2.9bn)
‘Top’ Aiyawatt became chairman of Leicester when his father, Vichai was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in 2018
9. Crystal Palace – Joshua Harris (£3.36bn)
Harris, a co-founder of the investment firm Apollo Global Management is also a shareholder of the NHL team New Jersey Devils and NBA side Philadelphia 76ers
8. Manchester United – The Glazers (£3.5bn)
Malcolm Glazer’s two sons, Avram and Joel are now joint chairmen of United which angers thousands of fans!
7. Tottenham Hotspur – Joe Lewis (£3.6bn)
Lewis is another unpopular person. He owns the English National Investment Company (ENIC) and purchased Spurs from Sir Alan Sugar in 2001
6. Wolverhampton Wanderers – Guo Guangchang (£4.5bn)
Guangchang, chairman of the Fosun Group, has invested heavily in the Molineux club since 2015
5. Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris (£5.3bn)
Sawiris comes from one of Egypt’s wealthiest families and he’s also ‘splashed the cash’ on Villa
4. Arsenal – Stan Kroenke (£6.35bn)
Kroenke married a Walmart heiress before founding Kroenke Group, a property development firm. Involved with Arsenal since 2007, he also owns NFL team, Los Angeles Rams
3. Chelsea – Roman Abramovich (£9.6bn)
It’s been almost 20 years since Abramovich bought Chelsea for £140m but his reign is over, as we all well know. He was hit with heavy sanctions by the UK Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He is now selling the Stamford Bridge club, seemingly to the Saudi Media Group for £2.7 billion, but ‘others’ are interested and all proposed bids must be submitted by April 11. It was reported that the Russian billionaire suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning at peace talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border last month. He suffered sore eyes and peeling skin
2. Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour (£22.9bn)
Chairman of International Petroleum Investment Company, Masnsour took over City in 2008 and since then the club has become one of the best in the world!
1. Newcastle United – Saudi Public Investment Fund (£320bn)
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman has a personal wealth of over £2.5bn and heads up the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and thanks to his huge investment, the Magpies are slowly improving!