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Who are the richest owners in American sports today?
Well, some of the names are obvious.
Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft each find themselves in the top 10. As is New York Mets mega-billionaire Steve Cohen.
But a number of the names on the newly released list from Forbes may well catch fans by surprise.
Sitting atop the heap is Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Ballmer, of course, made his fortune as the longtime CEO of Microsoft. Forbes lists Ballmer’s net worth at $101 billion dollars. It’s the ninth consecutive year that Ballmer has topped the list.
Meanwhile, Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton checks in at No. 2 on the list for the second year running.
Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune, is worth a reported $67.4 billion and purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion in June of 2022.
But what about some names you may not have expected?
How about Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli at No. 12 with an estimated net worth of $10. Samueli is the third and final NHL owner on the list behind Phillip Anschutz (No. 6, LA Kings) and Stan Kroenke (No. 7, Colorado Avalanche). But the communications big wig is the only one of the three who owns just one franchise.
Then there’s Rocco Commisso at No. 17. Commisso, worth an estimated $8 billion, owns Italian soccer club AFC Fiorentina. The former Mediacom CEO was born in the Calabria region of Italy and immigrated to the US at the age of 12.
The complete list can be found below.
Fourteen Americans also landed in the top 20 of the global list released by Forbes in April. Ballmer was the highest-ranking American at No. 2, just behind Mumbai Indians (Indian Premier League cricket) owner Mukesh Ambani of India.
| Rank | Owner | Teams | Net Worth |
| 1 | Steve Ballmer | Los Angeles Clippers | $101 billion |
| 2 | Rob Walton | Denver Broncos | $67.4 billion |
| 3 | Dan Gilbert | Cleveland Cavaliers | $21.3 billion |
| 4 | David Tepper | Carolina Panthers | $20.6 billion |
| 5 | Steve Cohen | New York Mets | $19.8 billion |
| 6 | Philip Anschutz | Los Angeles Kings, LA Galaxy | $14.8 billion |
| 7 | Stan Kroenke | Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal FC, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids | $14.6 billion |
| 8 | Jerry Jones | Dallas Cowboys | $14.5 billion |
| 9 | Shahid Khan | Jacksonville Jaguars, Fulham FC | $12.2 billion |
| 10 | Robert Kraft | New England Patriots, New England Revolution | $11.1 billion |
| 11 | Stephen Ross | Miami Dolphins | $10.1 billion |
| 12 | Henry Samueli | Anaheim Ducks | $10 billion |
| 13 | Jimmy Haslam | Cleveland Browns, Columbus Crew, Milwaukee Bucks | $8.7 billion |
| 14 | Robert Pera | Memphis Grizzlies | $8.3 billion |
| 15 (tie) | Tom Gores | Detroit Pistons | $8.1 billion |
| 15 (tie) | Antony Ressler | Atlanta Hawks | $8.1 billion |
| 17 (tie) | Rocco Commisso | ACF Fiorentina | $8 billion |
| 17 (tie) | Tilman Fertitta | Houston Rockets | $8 billion |
| 19 | Arthur Blank | Atlanta Falcons | $7.9 billion |
| 20 | Stephen Bisciotti | Baltimore Ravens | $7.2 billion |