Arsenal and Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke gets huge £600million boost
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Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is laughing all the way to the bank.
That's because one of the teams he owns has broken into the top three of the world's most valuable sports teams meaning his net worth has risen by over £2billion.
Arsenal owner since 2011, the 77-year-old has now accumulated a whopping £13.3bn – an increase of £2.6bn over the last 12 months.
Kroenke is no stranger to riches, having married Ann Walton, heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune in 1944, before entering into real estate.
He later took his savvy business sense to the world of sports, media and entertainment and set up the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment firm in 1999.
It was then that he became the owner of NBA franchise Denver Nuggets followed by the acquisition of NHL side Colorado Avalanche.
Kroenke went on to add the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and MLS side Colorado Rapids but it is the Super Bowl 56 champions that has provided him with his latest cash injection.
Earlier this month, Forbes released its list of the 50 most valuable sporting teams on the planet with the Rams entering taking third spot ahead of the New York Yankees.
The Rams are now valued at a jaw-dropping £6bn, almost £4m above Arsenal who were valued at £2.1bn in Forbes' world football list released earlier this year.
Just six football teams made the top 50 list, those being Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Rams' valuation was up 10 percent year on year (£600m) with substantial increases seen all across the NFL.
Unsurprisingly, North American sports teams dominated the list with the Dallas Cowboys out on top at a staggering £7.95bn ahead of the Golden State Warriors (£6.93bn).
Whilst the Premier League's global reach with fans is not in doubt, the media deals in place for teams from the NFL, in particular, has tipped the scales in their favour.
For example, each NFL team receives around £300m per year on average across the leagues national media rights package which is set to pay around £100bn up until 2033 (£60bn over 11 seasons.)
Kroenke's Denver Nuggets, valued at just over £3bn, failed to make the list despite being crowned NBA champions as late as 2023.
Speaking about the success of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Kroenke's son Josh said: “The benefit of the organisation my dad has built has given us the ability to cross-pollinate certain concepts and ideas across similar but different businesses, and those are our teams."
Kroenke was the subject of fan backlash after Arsenal became one of six English clubs to back to join the European Super League project in 2021.
Gunners fans made their feelings clear with protests calling for Kroenke to sell the club and Josh admits there were concrete offers from different parties around the world to acquire the north London club.
Asked whether there was a temptation to sell, Josh said: “No, there was never really. My dad, our family are long-term investors, long-term holders.
“For me personally, I have been involved with the club for over ten years now, around the board, and I really enjoy it and I love the club. I knew it would be very rewarding to get it back in a position to succeed and prove a few people wrong along the way.
“The real reward is when you enter the stadium, you feel the energy of what’s going on, that is the absolute payback of anything I could have ever imagined.”
