Sports tournaments are money-spinner and players and team owners are making fortune out of it. NBA is obviously one of the most valued sports associations in the world. Many NBA players earn millions every year from the seasons but the owners of the NBA teams are super-rich. Well, NBA isn’t the only source of their income but it really adds some wealth to their huge wallet if their teams are performing well. Here, we are going to tell you the richest NBA owners. Without further ado, let’s explore our title now:
1. Steve Ballmer – $63.8 billion, Los Angeles Clippers
The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers is the richest NBA team owner with a wealth of around $64 billion. He is former CEO of tech giant Microsoft for 14 years from 2000 to 2014. His NBA team values at nearly $2.6 billion and generated revenue of $282M last year. This American billionaire bought the team in 2014 when he retired from Microsoft.
2. Joseph Tsai – $11.2 billion, Brooklyn Nets
The new owner of Brooklyn Nets is the second riches NBA team owner. He bought the team from Mikhail Prokhorov in 2018-2019. This Canadian billionaire is co-founder of Alibaba Group and currently the executive vice-chairman of the group. Tsai owns the largest shares of Alibaba Group after Jack Ma. He founded J Tsai Sports and he also owns New York Liberty of the Women’s NBA.
3. Stanley Kroenke – $10 billion, Denver Nuggets
Stanley Kroenke ranks third on the list with a huge wallet of $10 billion. He owns Denver Nuggets and he is really known for the management of the team. According to Forbes, this NBA owner is a major landowner with nearly 2 million acres of ranches across the U.S. and Canada. He also owns an NFL team Los Angeles Rams.
4. Robert Pera – $8.7 billion, Memphis Grizzlies
The youngest NBA team owner owns Memphis Grizzlies and he has the net worth of around $8.7 billion. The founder of Ubiquiti Networks bought the team in 2012. Pera is an ex-employee Apple and left the Cupertino giant in 2005 to establish a Wi-Fi tools maker company Ubiquiti Networks. He has appeared on the Forbes’ list of 10 youngest billionaires in the world.
5. Dan Gilbert – $7 billion, Cleveland Cavaliers
Dan Gilbert is the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers since 2005. Gilbert co-founded Quicken Loans at the age of mere 22 in 1985 and currently, he is the Chairman of the financial institution. He is the owner of various casinos and hotels in the different cities in the US. He is a great Philanthropist and currently, he and his companies are various projects in Detroit to create thousands of jobs.
6. Tom Gores – $5.7 billion, Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons was formerly owned by Gores and Platinum Equity since 2011, but in 2015 he became the sole owner of the NBA team. He really loves what he does, and his love for sports shows when he is promoting the team and the game. He opened a training center and headquarters for the team in September last year worth $90 million. Right now, his team values at $1.45 billion.
T-7. Micky Arison – $5.4 billion, Miami Heat
Micky Arison is the owner of three-time NBA champion team Miami Heat. He could be high in the rank but in the last few years, he has faced loss in the business. He is the owner of the team since 1995 and he is very active in managing and reshaping it. The major source of his wealth is Carnival Corp (the world’s largest cruise ship operator) which was founded by his father.
T-7. Richard Devos – $5.4 billion, Orlando Magic
The seventh rank is a tie. Richard Davos owns Orlando Magic since 1991. He bought the team 29 years ago in $85 million which currently values at $1.43 billion. He is very active in the management of the team. He founded Amway along with this family which values around $8.8 billion. Devos is also a minority owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team which shows his love sports.