Sports has a way of enriching our lives whether you’re a weekend warrior or a hoop fanatic obsessing over March Madness. With Forbes magazine’s release of the world’s richest people on Tuesday, sports enriched some sports fanatics to billionaire status.
Included in the elite billionaire club are 20 NBA owners, 19 NFL owners, 10 NHL owners, and eight MLB owners.
Former Microsoft CEO and newly minted sports owner Steve Balmer, who bought the Los Angeles Clippers after the NBA determined the racially insensitive Donald Sterling ill-suited to own a sports franchise, tops the list with a net worth of $23.5 billion.
The high flying Balmer—Monday night he executed a trampoline aided dunk at halftime during the Clippers-Nets game at the Staples Center—acquired the Clippers for a NBA record $2 billion, ESPN reports that in 2014.
Paul Allen, another former Microsoft executive, who owns both the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers follows Balmer with $17.5 billion. Balmer ranks as 26th richest man on the planet according to Forbes, while Allen comes in at number 40.
The number-three richest sports owner is Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross with $12 billion (80th overall). Fourth is Los Angeles Kings owner Phil Anschutz at $9.7 billion (108th). Completing the top five is Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke at $7.7 billion (148th).
Rounding out the top ten:
6) Mikhail Prokhoro Nets $7.6B
7) Micky Arison Heat $7.1B
8) Shahid Khan Jaguars $5.9B
9) Jerry Jones Cowboys $5B
10) Charles Dolan Knicks, NY Rangers $5B
According to Forbes, the U.S. leads the World with billionaires boasting 540 of them. Second is mainland China with 251 (Hong Kong has 69). Next is Germany with 120.
Bill Gates leads the Forbes list of billionaires for the third year in a row registering a whopping $75 billion net worth, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than he was in 2015.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.