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Premier League Owners: An Introduction To The Owners Of All PL Teams

Premier League Owners: An Introduction To The Owners Of All PL Teams

The Premier League is the most popular and commercially successful sporting league in the world. Top-flight English clubs have enormous wealth, thanks largely to the division's huge global broadcasting deals and astronomical viewing figures. It's what has made struggling Premier League teams able attract some of the hottest managerial talents in Europe in recent years — think Unai Emery to Aston Villa or Julian Lopetegui to Wolves, for example.

Behind these clubs are are some extraordinary rich people. Premier League owners are some of the wealthiest football club owners on the planet. Some are extremely successful local businesspeople, but mostly the money comes from abroad, either from the owners of huge corporations or from national sovereign wealth funds. In this article, we'll take you through every single one, providing a comprehensive list of all the Premier League owners in 2023.

Who Owns Arsenal FC?

Owner: Stan Kroenke

Arsenal's rise under Mikel Arteta has been accompanied and boosted by increased spending in the transfer market, with players like Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus coming in to improve the squad. That spending is thanks to owner Stan Kroenke, an American businessman with a huge portfolio of teams. As well as Arsenal, Kroenke (who took over the Gunners in 2018 and has a staggering reported net worth of 14.6 billion USD) also owns sports teams such as Colorado Rapids, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Gladiators.

Who Owns Aston Villa FC?

Owner: Nassef Sawiris and Wesley Edens

Aston Villa have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, with huge amounts of cash being pumped into the club to improve the squad, coaching personnel, and infrastructure and turn Villa into a competitive European outfit. The owners are Nassef Sawiris — an Egyptian billionaire who inherited his family's vast construction empire — and Wesley Edens, an American investor who founded Fortress Investments and joined forces with Sawiris to acquire Aston Villa in 2018.

Who Owns AFC Bournemouth?

Owner: William P. Foley

Another Premier League club, and another American owner; last year, Bournemouth was sold by previous owner Maxim Demin to Black Knight Football Club, a partnership group led by Bill Foley, with various minority stakeholders including NBA star Michael B. Jordan. The deal was reportedly worth in excess of £100 million, a huge amount of money for a club that was in England's fourth tier just 13 years ago.

Who Owns Brentford FC?

Owner: Matthew Benham

Brentford have received widespread praise for their innovative methods since reaching the Premier League in 2021; from their forward-thinking set piece coaching to their smart recruitment, they've been a breath of fresh air, and the man behind the club's unique vision is British businessman Matthew Benham. Benham made his fortune from Smartodds, a statistical research company he founded for professional gamblers, and his background in data and analytics has been absolutely crucial to Brentford's footballing strategies in recent years.

Who Owns Brighton & Hove Albion?

Owner: Tony Bloom

Tony Bloom's time as owner of Brighton & Hove Albion is a serious local success story. Bloom is a lifelong Brighton fan who acquired his wealth through value betting on sports events, before taking over the club from Life President Dick Knight in 2009. Bloom went on to invest £93 million in developing the club's new ground the Amex Stadium, and in the following years the Seagulls have continued to build, solidifying their Premier League status, becoming renowned for player recruitment and development, and eventually qualifying for Europe at the end of the 2022/23 season. Check out our article about the rise of Brighton & Hove Albion for more insight.

Who Owns Burnley FC?

Owner: Alan Pace

Burnley were taken over by American investor Alan Pace's company ALK Capital in November 2020, amid controversial circumstances; the club were immediately saddled with debt, and subsequently relegated to the Championship in May 2022, causing fury amongst fans. However, things have improved since then, with Vincent Kompany taking Burnley back to the Premier League in a glorious 101-point season in 2022/23.

Who Owns Chelsea FC?

Owner: Todd Boehly

Technically, its his private equity firm Clearlake Capital that owns Chelsea, but its Todd Boehly who got all the headlines following the company's reported $3 billion takeover in May 2022. The American businessman has received plenty of attention since his company acquired a 60% majority shareholding at Chelsea, taking over from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic after a sale became necessary due to his ties to Vladimir Putin.

Who Owns Crystal Palace FC?

Owner: John Textor, David Blitzer, Josh Harris, Steve Parish

Since former owner Simon Jordan decided to start selling off minority stakes back in 2010, South London club Crystal Palace has been owned by a group of investors, the current four in control being John Textor (an American businessman with a background in media), David Blitzer (a US investor and owner of multiple sports teams), Josh Harris (also an American investor with ties to US sport including NBA team Philadelphia 76ers) and Steve Parish (the club's British Chairman, who led the 2010 consortium and is a lifelong Palace fan).

Who Owns Everton FC?

Owner: Farhad Moshiri

He's currently desperate to acquire some outside investment, but at the time of writing Farhad Moshiri still owns Everton FC. The British-Iranian businessman took over in 2016 and his reign has been criticsed widely, with the club repeatedly battling against relegation despite huge spending. Moshiri is reportedly worth over $3 billion; however, the club are currently struggling to free up money to complete their new stadium build, with American firm 777 Partners in advanced talks to invest in the club and reignite the project.

Who Owns Fulham FC?

Owner: Shahid Khan

Shahid Khan took control of Fulham in 2013, and has overseen a number of promotions and relegations from the Premier League since then, as well as a huge stadium renovation project that recently took the capacity of Craven Cottage up to 29,600. The Pakistani-American businessman made his fortune from automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate, and has invested in multiple sports teams including Fulham and NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars.

Who Owns Liverpool FC?

Owner: John W. Henry and Tom Werner

Fenway Sports Group, an American entertainment company founded by billionaires John W. Henry and Tom Werner, have owned Liverpool since 2010. The club has grown enormously since then and become increasingly profitable; partly as a result, FSG have sold various minority stakes including a 2% share to NBA legend Lebron James.

Who Owns Luton Town FC?

Owner: David Wilkinson

Luton's rise to the Premier League is a remarkable story, made possible by Luton Town 2020, a consortium of fans who took the club out of administration back in 2008. Within that original group was founding member David Wilkinson, and in 2018 the Hatters fan was voted Chairman of the club. His net worth isn't publicly known, but it's dwarfed by most other Premier League clubs, and the Hatters are competing with a fraction of the budget of other EPL teams.

Who Owns Manchester City FC?

Owner: Abu Dhabi United Group

Meanwhile, Manchester City's owners are some of the richest in the world. The takeover of Abu Dhabi United Group, led by Sheikh Mansour, in 2008, has transformed the fortunes of the club, the major Emirati cash injection ultimately leading to their long-awaited 2023 Champions League triumph. Mansour himself is reportedly worth an insane $17 billion, with his family's total fortune coming to a rumoured $1 trillion. No wonder City are dominating the Premier League.

Who Owns Manchester United FC?

Owner: The Glazer Family

One of the most controversial ownership groups in the Premier League, the Glazer family have been criticised and protested against by United fans ever since they came in in 2005. Critics say they are draining money out of a stagnating, under-performing Manchester United, and while rumours of a takeover (perhaps from Qatari Sheikh Jassim) have circulated for a while, the Glazers — an extremely wealthy American family — remain in control for now.

Who Owns Newcastle United FC?

Owner: Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund

In October 2021, the much-maligned era of Mike Ashley ownership finally ended, but the incoming Newcastle owners cut an even more controversial figure. The Toon are owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, a huge sovereign wealth fund created to make investments on behalf of the Saudi government. However, according to the Premier League, the state do not "control" the club, despite this clear link.

Who Owns Nottingham Forest FC?

Owner: Evangelos Marinakis

Nottingham Forest fans waited a long time to get back to the Premier League, and it was manager Steve Cooper's brilliant coaching that ultimately made it happen in 2021/22. However, a big factor behind their remaining their since is the investment of Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis. Marinakis took over in 2017 and has subsequently pumped tons of cash into Forest.

Who Owns Sheffield United FC?

Owner: Prince Abdullah Bin Musa'ad

Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah Bin Musa'ad expects a takeover to happen soon, but for now the Saudi prince — who bought the club outright in 2019 — is still in charge. Abdullah doesn't have anywhere near the funds that P.I.F. do, but he's still been able to oversee two promotions with the club, in 2019 and 2022.

Who Owns Tottenham Hotspur FC?

Owner: ENIC Group, Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy

Spurs have made clear that it's British investment firm ENIC Group that control the club, rather than disgraced businessman Joe Lewis, who was recently charged with 19 counts of insider trading by US federal prosecutors. Joe Lewis and Chairman Daniel Levy took over the club in 2001, meaning that the Spurs ownership is the longest-standing in the Premier League.

Who Owns West Ham United FC?

Owner: David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky

The death of former chairman David Gold (who took over ownership in 2010 alongside fellow British businessman David Sullivan) in January 2023 sent shockwaves through West Ham. Gold's shares are retained by his daughter Vanessa, while Sullivan remains in situ, owning 38.8% of the club, and Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky, who became involved in 2021, owns 27%.

Who Owns Wolverhampton Wanderers FC?

Owner: Guo Guangchang

Since 2016, Wolves have been owned by Chinese multinational firm Fosun International, led by businessman Guo Guangchang. After the reported $45 million deal went through, the men's first team proceeded to leap up the football league and become an established Premier League side, remaining in the top flight ever since 2017. Minority investors include Liang Xinjun and Wang Qunbin.