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After months of speculation, a Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle United has finally been completed.
The three-party consortium in the takeover includes the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), venture capital and private equity company PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports and Media.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the involvement of the PIF in the takeover. However, the consortium was apparently able to successfully demonstrate that Saudi Arabia would not have control over the club and therefore were able to pass the Premier League's litmus test.
Where do Newcastle United's owners rank among the richest in the world?
With the successful completion of the takeover, Newcastle United have become one of the richest football clubs in the world. Fans were no doubt excited to see Mike Ashley's stingy ownership come to an end and will be looking forward to seeing the club return to its glory days. But where do the Magpies' owners rank among the richest football club owners in the world?
Here we take a look at the 10 richest football club owners with the highest net worth.
#10 Guo Guangchang (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - £5.2 billion
Guo Guangchang, the chairman of the Fosun Group, is the 10th richest owner in world football with a networth of £5.2 billion.
Hailing from the Eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, Guangchang has been the chairman of the company since 1994. The conglomerate is based in Shanghai and Hong Kong and initially worked on market research. However, after expanding and finding success in the healthcare and real estate industries, Fosun became one of the biggest investment firms across the globe.
They turned their attention to investing in sports and brought Wolverhampton Wanderers from previous owner Steve Morgan in 2016 for around £45 million. They quickly transformed the club from Championship mediocrity to a Premier League mid-table side in the space of five years.
#9 Zhang Jindong (Inter Milan) - £6.2 billion
Despite Inter Milan's recent financial issues, the Serie A side have one of the world's wealthiest owners.
Zhang Jindong, 58, is the founder and majority stakeholder of retailer Suning and purchased a majority stake in the Italian giants through his own private holding company in June 2016.
The owners started investing heavily in the squad and appointed Antonio Conte in 2019 while also striking deals for the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
The club eventually reaped the rewards of their investment after the Nerrazurri ended their 11-year wait for a Serie A title in 2020-21. However, the club found itself in financial trouble this summer which saw Conte leave his managerial role while the likes of Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi were also sold.
#8 Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) - £6.8 billion
Arsenal are just one of the many global sports teams owned by American Stan Kroenke, including the LA Galaxy Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids.
Kroenke married Ann Walton, the heiress to the US supermarket Walmart, in 1974 and just nine years later founded a real estate development group - the Kroenke Group.
The company specializes in shopping centers and apartment buildings, with most of them located near existing Walmart stores.
Kroenke first brought shares at Arsenal in 2008, before increasing his stake to around 62 per cent in 2011.
The American is not a fan favorite at the Emirates. His lack of investment in the club has seen them fail to compete at the top of the Premier League in recent years. He did however spend £150 million on transfers this summer, making Arsenal the highest spenders during the window.
#7 Philip Anschutz (LA Galaxy) - £8.1 billion
Philip Anschutz ventured into sports after previously being involved in the family business of oil drilling.
The 81-year-old billionaire was one of the founding members of the MLS and owned a whole range of clubs. These included the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes and DC United.
Anschutz later sold all of his stakes to his other clubs while only keeping a majority portion of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
LA Galaxy remains one of the most prominent clubs in America and earned recognition across the globe when they landed David Beckham in 2007. They have also boasted the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier Hernandez on their roster in recent years
#6 Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) - £10.5 billion
Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003 and immediately transformed them into one of the leading clubs in the Premier League and Europe.
Abramovich made a fortune in 1990s, initially trading timber, food products and even plastic ducks, but his biggest revenue came in petrochemicals and oil trading.
The 54-year-old was able to use the changing Russian economy to gain wealth in the 1990s, and in 1995 obtained a controlling stake in Sibneft, one of the country's largest oil companies.
Under Abramovich's ownership, Chelsea have won several major trophies including five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and five FA Cups.
#5 Andrea Agnelli (Juventus) - £14 billion
Andrea is the son of former Juventus chairman Umberto, and his family has a long history at the club, having managed the Bianconeri almost continuously since 1923.
The Agnelli family founded Fiat in 1899 and made a fortune in the automotive industry. The family also own Ferrari as part of the giant Exor group.
In May 2010, Andrea was appointed by his cousin as the chairman of the Juventus board and became the fourth member of the family to run the club. His appointment coincided with the club’s aftermath of the match-fixing scandal before being responsible for overseeing the transition to the new stadium.
Under Andrea Agnelli, Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A titles prior to losing their crown to Inter Milan last season. However, the club haven't lifted the Champions League since 1996.
Andrea was also the chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) before he resigned following the European Super League debacle.
#4 Dietrich Mateschitz (RB Salzburg/ RB Leipzig) - £15.7 billion
Austrian Entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz's journey to becoming a billionaire is a really fascinating one.
While on holiday in Thailand, Mateschitz came across the energy drink Red Bull. The drink was already popular among Thai workers following its invention in 1970s by businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya.
Mateschitz really became fond of the drink and as such, he reached out to the Thai company's founders. He was ready to offer them a 49 per cent share in the company if they were ready to let him tweak the formula and expand it globally. They gladly accepted his proposal.
He took it to the world, but it wasn't until 1997 when it was launched in the United States that the brand grew on a large scale.
Mateschitz invested his cash in sports, especially Formula One, but also ventured into football. In April 2005, he acquired Austrian team SV Austria Salzburg and later renamed the club Red Bull Salzburg. He also founded RB Leipzig in May 2009 with the club now becoming one of the powerhouses in German football.
#3 Sheikh Mansour (Manchester City) - £23.2 billion
Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City in September 2008 and immediately transformed them into a global powerhouse in European football.
Mansour is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and comes from the royal family of Abu Dhabi. He is also the chief executive of Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company and a board member of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. He also presides as the Chairman of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirates Global Aluminium.
Since acquiring Manchester City, the 50-year-old has also brought New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Mumbai City FC, among others, via the City Football Group.
The club's daily operations are entrusted to the trusted Lieutenant Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Under Mansour's ownership, City have won several major trophies, including five Premier League titles. But the Champions League continues to elude them.
#2 Qatar Investment Authority (Paris Saint-Germain) - £220 billion
Presided by Nasser al-Khelaifi, Paris Saint-Germain is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund of the country.
Al-Khelaifi was a very talented tennis player when he was young, having participated in two ATP Tour events. A career in Tennis brought Al-Khelaifi close to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim.
Tamin, who was the head of the sovereign wealth fund, entrusted his long-time friend Al-Khelaifi with several senior jobs through the years in his companies.
In 2008, he was appointed as the chairman of the Qatar Tennis Federation. Three years later, Al-Khelaifi became the chairman of Qatar Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority. Said to be worth around £220 billion, it was designed to diversify the country's assets away from oil wealth.
The group decided to buy PSG in 2011, and Al-Khelaifi was immediately made the Chairman and CEO of the club.
Since the takeover, PSG have dominated the French League and even the transfer market, bringing in megastars to the club. The club made Neymar the most expensive transfer in football history by paying €222 million for him in 2017. They also managed to sign Lionel Messi on a free transfer during the summer.
Despite all the spending, just like Manchester City, PSG are yet to win the Champions League.
#1 Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (Newcastle United) - £320 billion
After 14 years of Mike Ashley's tenure, Newcastle United are now owned by the Saudi state's investment fund, making them the richest club in world football by a mile.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund invests on behalf of the government of the country.
After Ashley's poor reign at the club, Newcastle fans can be certain of big spending in the transfer market, with the gulf state one of the richest in the world.
The PIF boasts assets worth a staggering £320 billion, with stakes in companies ranging from Softbank to Boeing, Facebook and Uber.
But while the prospect of large spending may be exciting, some supporters are upset about the country’s appalling human rights record and are upset over the takeover.
Nevertheless, a new era has started for the Magpies and Newcastle will be keen to regain their former glory under the Saudi ownership.
