When United Wholesale mortgage lender billionaire Mortgage Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Sunsi 4 billion dollars put on the table for the agreement set a new record: it was 1.7 billion dollars more than the highest price ever paid for an NBA team. Yet Ishbia didn’t think much before taking ownership. “Due diligence? It’s an NBA team,” he told his lawyers, as he recalled on Rex Chapman’s podcast last October. “You can waste time, but we are buying the team, and here is the timing.”
A risky approach for most acquisitions, but history suggests Ishbia had few doubts to clear up. Since 1998, i.e. from the year in which Forbes has started monitoring the values of NBA teams, the franchises have increased on average by around 2,200% and are destined to continue to grow. In June, the NBA more than doubled the amount it set for national media rights in a new round of deals that take effect in 2025 and are reportedly worth $76 billion over 11 years. .
It is therefore no coincidence that, with a return of this kind, which can also be guaranteed by other important sports leagues (in the same period in the NFL the growth was around 1,700%), it has become almost a constant for those who it can allow the choice to buy a sports team. In the latest edition of The Forbes 400the ranking of the richest Americans in the world – which will be published soon – there are 54 of them controlling a sports team in a major professional league. Of these, 14 are in the NBA.
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Steve Ballmer still at the top
According to estimates on Forbes as of September 1st, the 20 richest American billionaires who control a sports team boast a combined wealth of 504 billion dollars32% compared compared to last year. Their collective holdings include controlling stakes in ten NBA teams, eight in the NFLF, five in professional soccer (including MLS and major European leagues), three in the NHL, two in the MLB, and one each in the WNBA and Women’s Super. League. Furthermore, both thanks to the continuous increases in the valuations of their sports teams and the growth of the markets, only one of them has not seen its assets grow compared to last year.
For the tenth consecutive year, he is the former CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmerto win the title of the richest American billionaire in the world of sport. In 2014 Ballmer purchased i Los Angeles Clipper for $2 billion and has seen the value of his team more than double in the last decade. We are talking about an estimate of 4.65 billion dollars, the fifth highest value ever NBA rankings of 2023 by Forbes.
Of course, that represents just a small slice of the 68-year-old’s $123 billion fortune. Much of his fortune is in fact attributable to the package of Microsoft shares he owns. Stock that has recorded an increase of 35% in the last 12 months. Today, Ballmer ranks eighth on the Forbes 400 list.
Ballmer is not the only one of this group to own a significant equity stake in a publicly traded company. The heir of Walmart, Rob Waltonwhich owns i Denver Broncos and who ranks second in the ranking of sports owners, thanks to his estimated net worth of 94.3 billion dollars, holds a significant package of shares in the company.
The owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, in third place with 33.1 billion dollars, he holds shares worth approximately 27 billion dollars in Rocket Companies, the fintech company he founded in 1985. In all this, the thirteenth ranked, Ishbia, was, among the Sports owners active in the lending sector earn more. In fact, his assets have almost doubled to 13.1 billion dollars, thanks to the boost recorded by the shares of United Wholesale Mortgage, the company founded by his father in 1986 which the young Ishbia manages as CEO.
The entry fee is raised
Stephen Bisciotti of the Baltimore Ravens, who in 2023 thanks to assets of 7.2 billion dollars was ranked 20th among the richest sports club owners in America, in 2024 was forced to say goodbye to the ranking. This year, in fact, to earn a place in the top 20 you need at least 9.3 billion dollars, a figure which was worth the entry to Josh Harrisowner of the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. Surpassed by Arthur Blank (8.9 billion dollars), owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, Todd Boehly (8.5 billion dollars) and Jimmy Haslam (8.5 billion dollars), owner of the Cleveland Browns and the Columbus Crew.
Miriam Adelson it is the only one in this top 20 that has seen its fortune decrease in the last year (-9%). A decline justified by twelve mediocre months for the stock market performance of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the casino and resort company founded and chaired by her husband Sheldon until his death in 2021. However, it joined this particular list after acquiring last December the Dallas Mavericks by Mark Cuban for an estimated figure of 3.5 billion dollarsthe. Testifying to an increasingly higher entry threshold, with a net worth of 29.8 billion dollars, the new owner of an NBA team is the fourth richest sports company owner in America.
The top 20 American billionaires in sports
- Steve Ballmer
Squadra: Los Angeles Clippers
source of wealth: Microsoft
net worth: 123 billion dollars (annual change: +22%) - Rob Walton and family
Squadra: Denver Broncos
source of wealth: Walmart
net worth: 94.3 billion dollars (annual change: +40%) - Daniel Gilbert
Squadra: Cleveland Cavaliers
source of wealth: Rocket Companies
net worth: $33.1 billion (annual change: +55%) - Miriam Adelson and family
Team: Dallas Mavericks
source of wealth: Las Vegas Sands Corporation
net worth: $29.8 billion (annual change: -9%) - Steve Cohen
Squadra: Carolina New York Mets
source of wealth: Hedge funds
net worth: 21.3 billion dollars (annual change: +8%) - David Tepper
Squadra: Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC
source of wealth: Hedge funds
net worth: 21.3 billion dollars (annual change: +8%) - Stephen Ross
Squadra: Miami Dolphins
source of wealth: Real estate
net worth: 17 billion dollars (annual change: +68%) - Philip Anschutz
Squadra: Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy
source of wealth: Energy, sport, entertainment
net worth: 16.9 billion dollars (annual change: +14%) - Stanley Kroenke
Squadra: Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Arsenal FC, Arsenal Women’s FC
source of wealth: Sports, real estate
net worth: 16.9 billion dollars (annual change: +16%) - Henry Samuel
Team: Anaheim Ducks
source of wealth: Broadcom
net worth: 16.9 billion dollars (annual change: +69%) - Jerry Jones and family
Team: Dallas Cowboys
source of wealth: Dallas Cowboy
net worth: $15.2 billion (annual change: +5%) - Shahid Khan
Squadra: Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham FC
source of wealth: Flex-N-Gate
net worth: 13.3 billion dollars (annual change: +9%) - Mat Ishbia
Squadra: Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury
source of wealth: United Wholesale Mortgage
net worth: $13.1 billion (annual change: +96%) - Robert Kraft
Squadra: New England Patriots, New England Revolution
source of wealth: Manufacturing, New England Patriots
net worth: 11.8 billion dollars (annual change: +6%) - Antony Ressler
Squadra: Atlanta Hawks
source of wealth: Private equity
net worth: 10.9 billion dollars (annual change: +35%) - John Malone
Squadra: Atlanta Braves
source of wealth: Cable television
net worth: 10.7 billion dollars (annual change: +7%) - Tilman Fertitta
Squadra: Houston Rockets
source of wealth: Landry’s Inc., Houston Rockets
net worth: 10.1 billion dollars (annual change: +26%) - Robert Pera
Squadra: Memphis Grizzlies
source of wealth: Ubiquiti
net worth: 10 billion dollars (annual change: +21%) - Tom Gores
Squadra: Detroit Pistons
source of wealth: Private equity
net worth: 9.4 billion dollars (annual change: +16%) - Josh Harris
Squadra: Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils
source of wealth: Private equity
net worth: 9.3 billion dollars (annual change: +35%)