SIR JIM RATCLIFFE is desperately trying to buy a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United.
And if he does, he would become one of the richest owners in the Premier League.
Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim were in a battle to try and buy the Red Devils from the Glazer family.
But the Qatari wanted to purchase United outright then withdrew his £5billion bid because of the Glazers’ “outlandish” demands.
That has left Ratcliffe as the sole bidder – but he only wants a quarter of his beloved Old Trafford club for £1.4bn.
But should the partial takeover eventually get over the line, where would the British billionaire rank in the Premier League owners’ rich list?
1. Newcastle United – Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund – £538bn
Far and away at the top of the pile is the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
The PIF invests on behalf of the country’s government and therefore has astronomical cash reserves, with a latest estimate of around £538bn.
Mohammed bin Salman is the face of the organisation that has bankrolled Newcastle’s return to the Champions League.
The Reuben brothers, David and Simon, own ten per cent of the club and are worth a whopping £24bn – with David’s son Jamie on the board.
Deal broker Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi help with the day-to-day running of the Magpies and are worth approximately £110million.
2. Manchester United – Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £29.7bn
Yes, that’s right. If Sir Jim successfully obtains 25 per cent of Manchester United, he would leap into second spot.
The lifelong supporter made his billions through his petrochemicals company Ineos, which has delved into sport to buy stakes in Ligue 1 side Nice, Lausanne in Switzerland and F1 team Mercedes.
According to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, Ratcliffe’s wealth bolstered a whopping £6bn from 2022 to take him up to £29.7bn.
He initially submitted a bid to buy Chelsea in 2022 before turning his attention to United.
Despite Ratcliffe’s mega wealth, the Glazers would still be the majority owners of United.
In 2015, Forbes estimated they were worth around £3.9bn.
3. Manchester City – Sheikh Mansour – £17bn
Sheikh Mansour purchased the club in September 2008 and has transformed them into a trophy-winning machine, culminating in the 2022-23 Treble.
Mansour comes from the royal family in the United Arab Emirates and is both vice president and deputy prime minister of the gulf state.
He is said to be worth around £17bn these days from his petrol company – although that figure could be a lot higher and will certainly skyrocket when he inherits the £560bn wealth of his Al Nahyan family.
His portfolio includes all 12 clubs in the City Football Group as well as a stake in various media and investment companies, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceship company, a superyacht, stakes in Ferrari and Leonardo Di Caprio as a friend.
4. Arsenal – Stan Kroenke – £12bn
Weighing in fourth is Arsenal boss Stan Kroenke at £12bn.
The Gunners chief made his money through real estate development, particularly shopping centres and apartment buildings.
He has since transitioned into sport and entertainment, owning the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids – as well as a staggering 535,000-acre ranch, the biggest in the USA.
5. Fulham – Shahid Khan – £9.7bn
Like Kroenke, Shahid Khan has plenty of interest in American sports as the owner of NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars.
He also co-owns All Elite Wrestling with son Tony.
Much of Khan’s money was made through auto parts supplier company Flex-N-Gate and he is said to be the richest person of Pakistani origin.
6. Aston Villa – Nassef Sawiris – £5.8bn
Nassef Sawiris invested in Aston Villa in 2018 following their play-off defeat to Fulham.
He is the youngest of Egyptian billionaire Onsi Sawiris’ three sons – with his dad launching the Orascom engineering and construction conglomerate.
Sawiris Jr remains involved in the family business as well as owning a stake in adidas.
Wes Edens also owns part of Aston Villa as a private equity investor – as well as NBA side Milwaukee Bucks – and is reportedly worth £3.4bn.
7. Crystal Palace – Josh Harris – £5.7bn
Harris may only have 18 per cent of Crystal Palace but the American owner of Apollo Global Management is a big-time player.
He has teams in the NBA, NHL and NFL on top of his involvement in a motorsport racing side.
Steve Parish, David Blitzer and John Textor are also part of the ownership ground at Selhurst Park.
Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings Limited also has Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, Olympique Lyonnais, OL Reign and RWD Molenbeek in their portfolio.
8. Joe Lewis – Tottenham – £5bn
Joe Lewis first got into business through helping at his dad’s London catering company before selling it off and delving into currency trading.
He is now worth around £5bn as the key player in the Tavistock Group which has investments in more than 200 companies across 15 countries.
That includes the ENIC Group, co-owned by Daniel Levy who is worth £500m, that has full possession of Spurs.
9. Chelsea – Todd Boehly – £5bn
Boehly is the face of the new era at Stamford Bridge after fronting the £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea in May 2022.
The businessman and investor runs Eldridge Industries and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Boehly has overseen a staggering £1bn worth of spending in just three transfer windows in West London.
But it is not just Boehly providing the money muscle, with Behdad Eghbali (worth £3.1bn), Hansjoerg Wyss (£3.9bn) and Mark Walter (£4.7bn) also part of the Chelsea consortium.
10. Liverpool – John Henry – £4.2bn
John W Henry heads up the Fenway Sports Group that runs Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox.
Henry grew up as the son of soya bean farmers and used that expertise to get into business and went on to become a multi-billionaire.
His portfolio also includes the Boston Globe newspaper while his business partner Tom Werner is worth £1.4bn.
Werner progressed through the ranks at ABC and made much of his money through the TV industry including launching The Cosby Show.
11. West Ham – Daniel Kretinsky – £4bn
Daniel Kretinsky bought his shares in West Ham in November 2021, acquiring 27 per cent of the Premier League side alongside colleague Pavel Horsky.
The Czech businessman is CEO of central Europe’s biggest energy company EPH, is the biggest shareholder in Royal Mail and second most in Sainsbury’s
The Sunday Times valued Kretinsky, who also owns Sparta Prague and is a qualified lawyer, at 47th on the 2023 Rich List at £4bn – citing energy, telecoms, media and football for his wealth.
David Sullivan is the biggest shareholder of the Hammers following David Gold’s death.
Ex-pornographer Sullivan is now worth £1.1bn.
12. Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis – £2.5bn
The Greek media mogul owns the Alter Ego Media company.
But he originally made his billions as boss of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp which boasted 100 ships in its fleet.
Now he is owner and chairman of both Forest and Greek side Olympiacos.
13. Wolves – Guo Guangchang – £2.4bn
Guangchang is executive director of Fosun, a Chinese multinational holding company.
The company bought Wolves from Steve Morgan for £45m in 2016, taking the club into the Premier League, an FA Cup semi-final and the Europa League.
Guangchang runs Wolves alongside fellow Fosun chiefs and billionaires Wang Qunbin and Liang Xinjun.
