Net Worth: $12.1 billion Owns: Chelsea Football Club The Russian-Israeli oligarch and general boss man, Roman Abramovich was one of those people who was seemingly in the right place at the right time. The investor, businessman, and politician saw the time was right and made his fortune following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite humble origins, Abramovich climbed his way to the top, and now sits as one of the top 100 richest people in the world.
As well as owning the private investment company Millhouse LLC, he is best known outside of Russia as the owner of Premier League’s Chelsea F.C. Keeping the club alive has been funded by Abramovich’s investments in steel and nickel, as well as real estate. Purchasing Chelsea F.C. in 2003, the club has experienced some nice successes. With $12.1 billion to his name, it’s no wonder Abramovich owns some of the most expensive art in the world, as well as a 767 private jet and a couple of yachts. Just a couple. No big deal.
Mark Attanasio
Net Worth: $700 million Owns: Milwaukee Brewers Mark Attanasio has quite the credentials when it comes to higher education. Born in the Bronx, the now-businessman and Milwaukee Brewers owner attended Brown, before moving on to acquire his Juris Doctor in 1982 from Columbia Law School. Who would’ve thought this bright spark would go on to own an MLB team?
Attanasio made his money in finance, in Los Angeles, where he also lives. The senior exec of Trust Co. of the West, as well as for Crescent Capital, Attanasio isn’t short of a buck. It seems that he made quite a fortune to purchase the MLB team for a cool $223 million. Looks like we’re all off to law school and then straight into finance!
Ted Lerner
Net Worth: $4.8 billion Owns: Washington Nationals The owner of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals is billionaire real estate developer Ted Lerner. Yes, another real-estate tycoon. It seems that owning property and owning sports teams go hand in hand. Lerner himself was raised in Washington D.C., so it makes sense that he’s invested in his local team. Lerner founded Lerner Enterprises, a real estate company that is the largest private landowner in D.C.
As well as the Washington Nationals, Lerner owns Chelsea Piers, which are located in the Big Apple. Fun fact: Lerner borrowed $250 from his wife Annette, and turned that into a billion-dollar money-making machine. Now that’s a great investment on Annette’s part, don't you think?
Stephen Bisciotti
Net Worth: $4.4 billion Owns: Baltimore Ravens The Philadelphia-born Bisciotti founded Aerotek, a home health and medical staffing company based out of Columbia, Maryland, where Bisciotti now resides. He also cofounded Allegis Group, an international talent management firm. There’s a whole chain of businesses contained under Bisciotti’s umbrella, but we know you’re here for the sport.
Bisciotti owns the Baltimore Ravens, and his ownership of the team comes from a history of watching sports games and being interested in the NFL. He’s ranked in the Forbes 400, coming in at number 150, since we last checked!
Jerry Jones
Net Worth: $8.4 billion Owns: Dallas Cowboys (NFL) Born in Los Angeles, Jerry Jones is one of those untouchable billionaire businessmen. He’s also owned the Dallas Cowboys since 1989! Now that’s a long time with one team. After Jones graduated in 1965, he sought out a number of business ventures before he began oil and gas exploration in Arkansas. This proved very successful, and his privately held company is now moving into natural resource prospecting.
Anyway, he purchased the Cowboys for an easy $140 million, fired the long-time coach Tom Landry, fired the general manager and set off in a new direction. But it seems that it paid off – the Cowboys are worth roughly $4.2 billion now!