Short answer: Bernard Arnault and family, majority owners of Paris FC, are the richest individual club owners in football, worth $117.3 billion on Forbes’ real-time list of 27 October 2026. Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz is second at $43.5 billion and David Tepper third at $28.5 billion. Sovereign funds are listed separately.
2026/27 Key Takeaways (Forbes Real-Time, 27 October 2026)
- Arnault Still Leads: Bernard Arnault and family ($117.3bn), majority owners of Paris FC, are the richest individual club owners in football, even after LVMH’s 2026 share slide.
- The Red Bull Heir: Mark Mateschitz ($43.5bn) holds 49% of Red Bull GmbH, whose clubs include RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and the New York Red Bulls, plus a minority stake in Paris FC.
- Just Outside the Top 10: Como 1907‘s R. Budi Hartono and Roma and Everton owner Dan Friedkin are level at $12.7bn. Hartono’s brother and Como co-owner, Michael Bambang Hartono, died in March 2026.
- Sovereign Funds Sit Apart: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, owner of 85% of Newcastle United, managed about $906bn at the end of 2025. A state fund’s assets are not a personal fortune, so we list sovereign owners separately.
There was a time when owning a football club was a hobby for local businessmen who made their fortune in regional manufacturing or property. Those days are dead and buried.
Today, elite football is the playground of sovereign wealth funds, Middle Eastern royal families, luxury fashion titans, American sports dynasties and private equity firms. When clubs sit down at the transfer negotiation table, they are backed by balance sheets built on oil, energy drinks, luxury goods and banking.
To rank individual owners, we used Forbes’ real-time billionaire estimates as of 27 October 2026. We include every owner of a top-flight club, including MLS, and name the club each owns. Sovereign wealth funds are covered separately below, because a state fund’s assets are not a personal fortune. Here is our ranking of the Top 10 Richest Football Club Owners in the World.
Top 10 Richest Football Club Owners in the World (2026/27)
The table below ranks the wealthiest individual owners and owning families in world football by Forbes’ real-time net worth on 27 October 2026, with their clubs and main source of wealth.
| Rank | Owner | Club(s) Owned | Net Worth (Forbes, 27 Oct 2026) | Primary Wealth Engine | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault & Family | Paris FC (majority, with Red Bull minority) | $117.3 Billion | LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët & Chandon) | France 🇫🇷 |
| 2 | Mark Mateschitz | RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls (via Red Bull GmbH) | $43.5 Billion | Red Bull GmbH (49% equity ownership) | Austria 🇦🇹 |
| 3 | David Tepper | Charlotte FC (MLS) | $28.5 Billion | Hedge Fund Investing (Appaloosa) | USA 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Stan Kroenke | Arsenal, Colorado Rapids (MLS) | $27.6 Billion | Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Real Estate | USA 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Prince Alwaleed bin Talal | Al Hilal (70% via Kingdom Holding) | $24.0 Billion | Kingdom Holding Company | Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 |
| 6 | François Pinault & Family | Stade Rennais FC | $22.1 Billion | Artémis & Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga) | France 🇫🇷 |
| 7 | Philip Anschutz | LA Galaxy (MLS, via AEG) | $19.3 Billion | Anschutz Corporation & AEG | USA 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Sir Jim Ratcliffe | Manchester United (minority stake + sporting control); INEOS also owns clubs in France and Switzerland | $17.5 Billion | INEOS Chemicals Conglomerate | UK 🇬🇧 |
| 9 | Shahid Khan | Fulham FC | $16.3 Billion | Flex-N-Gate (Auto Parts) | USA 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Robert Kraft | New England Revolution (MLS) | $15.2 Billion | The Kraft Group (Packaging, Sports) | USA 🇺🇸 |
Richest football club owners. Source: Forbes real-time billionaires, 27 October 2026. Values change daily.
Just below the top 10 on the same Forbes list are Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank ($13.2bn) and David and Simon Reuben ($13.2bn), whose family holds a minority stake in Newcastle United. They are followed by Como’s R. Budi Hartono ($12.7bn), Roma and Everton owner Dan Friedkin ($12.7bn), Sparta Prague co-owner Daniel Kretinsky ($9.6bn), Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris ($9.5bn) and Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly ($9.2bn).
Who are the sovereign owners in football: PIF, Qatar and Abu Dhabi?
There are billionaires, and then there are entire nation-states. When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought Newcastle United in October 2021, it changed the economics of the Premier League. PIF now owns 85% of the club, and the Reuben family’s RB Sports & Media owns the other 15%.
Chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, PIF reported about SAR 3.4 trillion ($906bn) in assets under management at the end of 2025, down SAR 38bn on the year. At home it still controls Al Nassr. In September 2026 it completed the sale of 70% of Al Hilal to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding, keeping 30%. Qatar Investment Authority, the state fund behind PSG’s owner Qatar Sports Investments, does not publish its assets; third-party estimates are around $600bn. Manchester City belongs to City Football Group, controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi United Group. Sheikh Mansour’s personal fortune is not independently valued by Forbes or Bloomberg, so we do not rank him.
However, Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) prevent PIF from simply writing a £1 billion check for Erling Haaland. Instead, Newcastle’s project has focused on infrastructure spending, upgrading training grounds, modernizing commercial sponsorships with Saudi firms like Sela, and steadily strengthening the squad within the rules.
How did Bernard Arnault & Red Bull buy Paris FC?
In one of the most striking takeovers in recent football history, the Arnault family, who control LVMH, teamed up with Red Bull to buy Paris FC, then in Ligue 2. LVMH was valued at about $212bn on the stock market in October 2026.
Forbes put Bernard Arnault and family at $117.3 billion on 27 October 2026, down from about $151 billion in April as LVMH shares fell, leaving him 17th in the world. At completion in November 2024, the family’s holding company Agache took 52% of Paris FC and Red Bull 11%. The plan is for the Arnaults to reach about 80% and Red Bull 15% by 2027. Now in Ligue 1, Paris FC left the Stade Sébastien Charléty and have played at Stade Jean-Bouin, next to PSG’s Parc des Princes, since 2025/26.
With Red Bull managing the sporting operations and recruitment pipeline and the world’s largest luxury group behind the club, Paris FC is one of the most ambitious projects in French football.
Who are the Indonesian billionaires behind Como in Serie A?
When casual fans look at Serie A, they think Juventus (Exor / Elkann family) or Inter Milan (Oaktree Capital) represent the peak of Italian wealth. The picture is more surprising.
One of the two richest individual club owners in Italian football is on the shores of Lake Como. The Hartono family, who built their fortune on clove cigarettes (Djarum) and Indonesia’s largest private bank (Bank Central Asia), bought Como 1907 in April 2019 through London-based SENT Entertainment. At the time the club was in Serie D after its 2016 bankruptcy. Michael Bambang Hartono, who co-owned the club with his brother, died in March 2026 aged 86. Forbes puts R. Budi Hartono at $12.7 billion (27 October 2026), level with Roma’s Dan Friedkin.
Rather than splashing money on aging stars, the Hartonos brought in Cesc Fàbregas as minority shareholder and head coach and signed young European talents. Como finished fourth in Serie A in 2025/26 and qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Why are multi-club consortia on the rise?
Looking across the richest owners, one trend stands out: single-club ownership is giving way to networks. Several owners now run interconnected global football groups:
- City Football Group (Sheikh Mansour): 12 clubs in total or partial ownership, headlined by Manchester City, Girona, New York City FC, and Melbourne City.
- Red Bull Group (Mark Mateschitz): RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino, plus Leeds United and Paris FC minority stakes.
- BlueCo (Todd Boehly & Clearlake): Chelsea FC and French Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg. Boehly’s own fortune is $9.2bn (Forbes). Clearlake manages over $185bn of assets, which is investors’ money, not personal wealth.
- The Friedkin Group (Dan Friedkin): AS Roma and, since 2024, majority control of Everton FC in the Premier League.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Who is the richest football club owner in the world?
Among individuals, Bernard Arnault and family, owners of Paris FC, at $117.3 billion on Forbes’ real-time list on 27 October 2026. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns 85% of Newcastle United, controls far more, about $906 billion of assets at the end of 2025. That is a state fund’s assets, not a personal fortune.
Who is the richest individual billionaire owner in football?
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury group LVMH, whose family took majority control of Paris FC in November 2024. Forbes valued Arnault and family at $117.3 billion on 27 October 2026, ahead of Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz at $43.5 billion.
Who is the richest owner in the Premier League?
By assets, Newcastle United’s majority owner PIF, with about $906 billion at the end of 2025. Among individuals, Arsenal’s Stan Kroenke leads at $27.6 billion, followed by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ($17.5 billion) and Fulham’s Shahid Khan ($16.3 billion) (Forbes real-time, 27 October 2026). Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has no independently published personal figure.
Why can’t rich owners just spend all their money on transfers?
UEFA Financial Sustainability Regulations and domestic rules (like the Premier League’s PSR and La Liga’s salary cap) prevent owners from injecting unlimited personal cash. Clubs can only spend what they generate in organic football revenues (broadcast, matchday, commercial sponsorship), with strict limits on allowable multi-year operational losses.
Who is the richest club owner in Italy?
Como’s R. Budi Hartono and Roma’s Dan Friedkin are level at $12.7 billion each on Forbes’ real-time list (27 October 2026). Hartono’s brother and Como co-owner, Michael Bambang Hartono, died in March 2026.
Sources & Method
Individual net worths are Forbes real-time estimates read on 27 October 2026. They change daily and are Forbes’ estimates, not official figures. We made no wealth estimates of our own. PIF’s assets are from its 2025 annual report and refer to the end of 2025. QIA’s figure is a third-party estimate. Ownership stakes and club details are from the reports below, with dates as given in the text.
- Forbes real-time profiles: Arnault, Mateschitz, Tepper, Kroenke, Alwaleed, Pinault, Anschutz, Ratcliffe, Khan, Kraft, Blank, Reuben, R. Budi Hartono, Friedkin, Kretinsky, Sawiris, Boehly.
- Asia Asset Management: PIF assets under management in 2025 (20 August 2026) — about SAR 3.4tn ($906bn), citing PIF’s 2025 annual report.
- MEED: Kingdom Holding buys 70% of Al-Hilal — completed 1 September 2026; PIF keeps 30%.
- Wikipedia: Newcastle United F.C. — PIF 85%, RB Sports & Media 15%.
- Wikipedia: Qatar Investment Authority — estimated $600bn assets (SWFI estimate).
- ESPN: Arnault family and Red Bull’s Paris FC deal (20 November 2024) — 52% and 11%, rising to about 80% and 15% by 2027.
- NSS Sports: Paris FC move to Stade Jean-Bouin (13 February 2025)
- CompaniesMarketCap: LVMH market value (October 2026) and Forbes Australia: Arnault at $151bn (14 April 2026)
- ANSA: Como co-owner Michael Bambang Hartono dies aged 86 (19 March 2026) and Wikipedia: Como 1907 — 2016 bankruptcy, 2019 takeover, fourth place in 2025/26.
- City Football Group: Our clubs — 12 clubs in total or partial ownership.
- Clearlake press release (11 June 2026) — over $185bn assets under management.
- Wikipedia: Charlotte FC — owned by David Tepper since 2019.
