Net Worth: $7.8 billion Owns: Miami Heat (NBA) Israeli-born Micky Arison is a businessman and chairman of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise-line operator. He held the position as CEO from 1979 up until 2013, when he was replaced by Arnold W. Donald. The Tel-Aviv native dropped out of university to become a sales rep for the corporation after his father founded it with a single ship in 1972. It’s now grown, decades later, with the fleet comprising of a hundred ships.
As well as having a keen sense for leisure, Arison took on turning around Miami Heat in the NBA. The team is one of the biggest names in the NBA, scouting future Hall of Famers Pat Riley, DWade, Shaq, Lebron, and CB4! As well as being an extremely successful businessman, Arison is somewhat of a philanthropist, with him and his wife Madeleine’s Family Foundation pledging support relief for those affected by Hurricane Florence in the USA, as well as natural disasters in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Dietrich Mateschitz
Net Worth: $20.2 billion Owns: Red Bull Racing, New York Red Bulls Founder of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz is one wealthy man. Smartly differentiating his business and investing in extreme sports, including Red Bull Racing, Mateschitz has a globally recognized energy drink company that is now synonymous with daredevils and outlandish competitions. Not bad at all.
Initially, Mateschitz worked at Unilever as a detergent marketer, before moving to toothpaste. After one fated trip to Thailand, Mateschitz had his lightning bolt moment and had the idea for red bull. Launching it with two Thai business partners, he was inspired by a product that was on the market in Thailand, an untrademarked energy drink. He now owns the New York Red Bulls. Who can guess where the name came from?
David Tepper
Net Worth: $11.6 billion Owns: Carolina Panthers (NFL) Panthers owner David Tepper, regardless of the prestige in owning the NFL Team, shies away from the spotlight these days. Now that he’s in his 60s, Tepper plays off the field and away from the cameras, preferring to make use of his net worth quietly.
His fortune, which secured him the team, is something he owes to the hedge fund firm he founded, Appaloosa Management. But it came at a high cost – reportedly Tepper paid a staggering $2.2 billion. That figure is incredible, eclipsing the $1.4 billion paid for the Buffalo Bills in 2014. With the goal of launching “a major expansion of the team’s footprint in both Carolinas,” we’re sure that his investment is a smart one!
Sheikh Mansour
Net worth: $30 billion Owns: Manchester City F.C. As soon as you see “Sheikh” in front of someone’s name, you know they’re not just playing with a couple of billion dollars. We’re talking tens of billions. Welcome to the big leagues – these guys are the ones that have gold-dipped Maybachs and private jets that rival commercial airliners. Oh, and of course, it’s going to be a sheik who owns a football club like Manchester United. The globally famous and popular team rakes in billions.
But Sheikh Mansour really didn’t even need the team to make money - the UAE born Mansour was the deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and he’s also a member of Dubai’s Royal Family. Half your luck, huh? But aside from being wealthy due to being part of Arab royalty, Mansour has placed some smart investments in companies like Richard Branson’s space travel company, Virgin Galactic, as well as Sky News Arabia, and ADUG.
Stuart Sternberg
Net Worth: $800 million Owns: Tampa Bay Rays Wall Street investor and Brooklyn native, Stuart Sternberg is next up on our list of wealthy sports team owners. The owner of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Rays, he’s been involved with the team since the early 2000s. Since November 2005, Sternberg was appointed as the managing general partner of the team, which he juggled alongside his professional career on the stock exchange.
After working at Spear, Leads and Kellogg, Sternberg jumped ship and made his money at Goldman Sachs, before getting out in 2002. Just a few years short of the crisis – so he would most certainly be thanking his lucky stars that he made the move when he did. And who wouldn’t want to quit the stressful stock exchange to focus on hockey?