Prospective Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the wealthiest British person to own a sports team, but his fortune is put in the shade by some of his peers in Europe and the United States.
The billionaire INEOS chief, owner of French club OGC Nice, is one of those to publicly express an interest in buying the English club. Ratcliffe, who has pledged to "put the Manchester back into Manchester United," has been joined in the bidding process by the likes of Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.
While Ratcliffe has been described as the richest man in Britain, he is not the richest man in sport. Using data from Forbes ' most recent list of the world's richest sports owners, Mirror Football has more details on those right at the top.
20. Tilman Fertitta ($8.1bn)
One of a number of Americans on this list, Fertitta's fortune comes from - among other things - restaurants and Las Vegas casinos. He is the owner of the Houston Rockets NBA franchise and has dipped his toe into other sports.
19. Hasso Plattner and Family ($8.6bn)
German software billionaire Plattner is the owner of NHL team the San Jose Sharks. He remains chairman of his company SAP SE, which posted more than €30bn in revenue in 2022.
18. John Malone ($9.2bn)
Malone's Liberty Media corporation is the owner of Formula 1, but the 82-year-old also retains an active interest in US sports. His Atlanta Braves baseball franchise won the World Series in 2021.
17. Robert Kraft ($10.6bn)
The first football (soccer) club owner on this list, Kraft's New England Revolution team was a founder member of Major League Soccer and won its first Supporters' Shield in 2021. The manufacturing magnate also owns the considerably more successful New England Patriots, an NFL team whose six Super Bowl titles all came in the 21st century.
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16. Philip Anschutz ($10.9bn)
Anschutz, like Kraft, owns an MLS franchise as well as a team in one of the US' 'big four' competitions. His hockey team the Los Angeles Kings play at the Crypto.com Arena, with the venue also owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, while he was responsible for bringing the likes of David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to MLS during his time as owner of LA Galaxy.
15. Stephen Ross ($11.6bn)
Miami Dolphins owner Ross, a real estate billionaire, bought the NFL franchise in 2008. The 82-year-old has brought a number of celebrity owners on board in the years since, including tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
14. Shahid Khan ($12.1bn)
The first Premier League representative on this list, but not the last, Khan has been Fulham's owner for close to a decade, overseeing multiple promotions and relegations. He also owns All Elite Wrestling - along with his son Tony - and his NFL franchise Jacksonville Jaguars lost to eventual Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022-23 playoffs.
13. Stan Kroenke ($12.9bn)
Arsenal owner Kroenke has overseen significant transfer investment in recent years, with the London club pushing for the Premier League title, though that hasn't always been the case. The American has held a stake in the Gunners for more than 15 years, and also owns multiple US sports franchises including NFL outfit the Los Angeles Rams.
12. Jerry Jones ($13.3bn)
One of the longest-standing sports owners worldwide, Jones first took over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. The Cowboys have won multiple Super Bowls since he took over, but none this century.
11. Robert Pera ($15.5bn)
Still just 45 years old, Pera made Forbes' list of the youngest billionaires in the world when he was in his thirties. The founder of tech company Ubiquiti Networks, he has been the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies - an NBA franchise - for more than a decade.
10. Steve Cohen ($17.5bn)
Hedge fund billionaire Cohen has been owner of the New York Mets in Major League Baseball since 2020, having been a minority owner for a number of years prior. The Mets made it to the 2022 postseason but lost in the wild card round.
9. Dan Gilbert ($18bn)
Perhaps best known outside sports as a co-founder of the company now known as Rocket Mortgage, Gilbert's main sports investment is the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has owned the NBA franchise since 2005, bringing in star names including LeBron James, and oversaw the Cavs' first NBA finals win in 2016.
8. David Tepper ($18.5bn)
Carolina Panthers owner Tepper has more recently dipped his toe into soccer through the MLS expansion side Charlotte FC. The team made its debut in the competition in 2022 but failed to reach the playoffs at the first time of asking.
7. Masayoshi Son ($22.4bn)
One of only a handful of names on the list not from Europe or North America, Son is best known in the business world for his role at SoftBank. On the sports side, he owns the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a baseball franchise which reached the 2022 playoffs in Japan.
6. Jim Ratcliffe ($22.9bn)
Man Utd bidder and INEOS chief Ratcliffe has already dipped his toes into sports ownership through two clubs on the European mainland. OGC Nice have been a fixture in the upper echelons of France's Ligue 1 for a number of years, while he also owns Swiss club Lausanne-Sport and has investments in other sports including cycling.
5. Mark Mateschitz ($34.7bn)
The youngest man on the list at just 30, Mateschitz inherited stakes in multiple Red Bull sports teams when his father Dietrich died in 2022. These include RB Leipzig in Germany and MLS outfit New York Red Bulls, as well as Red Bull Racing in Formula 1.
4. Francois Pinault and family ($40.1bn)
Pinault, owner of Stade Rennais in Ligue 1, is the wealthiest European and wealthiest football club owner on the list. The 86-year-old is among the 50 richest people in the world, per Forbes' 2022 list, but his Rennes side are currently poised to miss out on Champions League football yet again after reaching the group stage of the competition just once in their history.
3. Rob Walton ($57.6bn)
If Ratcliffe is successful in his bid for Man Utd, he could set a new world record for the most expensive sports team purchase. That record is currently held by Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune, who bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65bn in 2022.
2. Steve Ballmer ($80.7bn)
Ballmer is closing in on a decade as owner of the LA Clippers, having purchased the basketball franchise in 2014. The California-based team have yet to win a conference title, but reached the conference finals for the first time in 2021.
1. Mukesh Ambani ($83.4bn)
Top of the list is Indian billionaire Ambani, managing director of multinational group Reliance Industries. It is through this group that the 65-year-old owns cricket franchise the Mumbai Indians, a founder member of the Indian Premier League who won a record fifth championship in 2020.
