Net Worth: $500 million Owns: Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) Jeanie Marie Buss is one of the leading ladies in the sports world: not so much for her athleticism, but rather for the fact that she heads up one of the most well-loved and famous basketball teams in the world. The president of the LA Lakers, Buss is a bit of a badass, too – did you know she owns WOW? (Women of Wrestling).
But Jeanie’s ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers stems from her father’s family trust. Jerry Buss, businessman, investor, and chemist, was the majority owner of the team, during the team’s Showtime era in the 1980s. When her father passed in 2013, his 66% controlling stake was divided among his children, with Jeanie taking the reins and leading the business operations of the team.
Paul Allen
Net Worth: $20.4 billion Owns: Seattle Seahawks (NFL) The man who co-founded Microsoft, but doesn’t get as much airtime as Bill Gates, is next up on our list. Paul Allen was an extremely wealthy businessman, but also put time into his philanthropy. Sadly, he passed away in 2018 when his cancer came back and finally claimed his life. His family now shares in the $20.4 billion that he left behind.
Onto sport, Allen had a thing for sports clubs – he owned (and has since been passed to his family) Seattle FC and the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. At one stage he also owned the NBA Trail Blazers! At the time of his death, he was within the top-fifty wealthiest people in the world.
Tim McGraw
Net Worth: $85 million Owns: Nashville Kats The renowned country music star is not only into his music: he’s into his sport too! The fifteen-album hard hitter has more awards under his Western-buckle belt than you can count. With a voice like his, it’s hardly unbelievable. Not to mention his awesome guitar-playing skills. And to top it off, McGraw also owns a stake in the Arena Football team, the Nashville Kats.
He’s a man’s man, splitting his time between music, family, and football – do you need anything else, really? But McGraw’s always had an interest in the NFL – did you know he and former NFL quarterback Brett Favre are good buddies, hosting charity events together?
Arthur Blank
Net Worth: $4.8 billion Owns: Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United The founder of every dad’s favorite store, Home Depot, Arthur Blank has certainly pulled in quite a few decent sized paychecks. Founding it alongside his investment banker buddy, Ken Langone, the pair embarked on creating a one-stop-shop for home projects.
Blank enjoyed presiding over the helm of the company for almost twenty years before retiring and sitting as co-chair. Starting up in the late 1970s, the pair made their fortune then, acquiring a net worth which allowed him to purchase the NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons.
Bill Maher
Net Worth: $100 million Owns: New York Mets The sharp-tongued and witty Bill Maher has made his career as a social commentator and comedian. Known for the HBO political talk show 'Real Time with Bill Maher', the New-York born satirist is known for his somewhat caustic commentary. Starting out in showbiz in the late 1970s, he’s on our list because he owns a stake in the New York Mets.
Maher calls his investment “one of his all-time best decisions” – and we couldn’t agree more! We’d be pretty pleased with ourselves if we were worth $100 million, too.