Check out this interesting, but very surprising list! Find out the top 10 biggest match-fixing scandals in sport history
Note: This list includes every man who has a percentage stake in a football club, however small.
10) Roman Abramovic (Chelsea, England) $10.2 billions
Since purchasing the club way back in 2003, The Russian oil barren has overseen three Premier League title wins, countless FA and League Cups, a Champions League and a Europa League. He’s spent ludicrous amounts on countless players, and gone through managers like they’re going out of fashion!
Norway’s richest man was actually a high-school drop out, but went on to make billions in the oil tanker and shipping business. He once turned down a £180m offer from Roman Abramovic for his house! Fredricksen doesn’t pour cash into his football side though, and they haven’t won the league since 2005.
Allen, along with Bill Gates, is a co-founder of one of the world’s most famous companies, Microsoft. His Seattle Sounders team became an MLS franchise in 2009.
7) Francois Pinault (Stade Rennes, France) $15.0 billions.
Billionaire art dealer Pinault has never splashed the cash on his French side Rennes, who have never won a Ligue 1 title.
6) Rinat Akhmetov (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine) $15.4 billions.
Akhmetov became president in 1996 following a mysterious assassination of the club’s previous owner. Under his command, Shakhtar have won the domestic title in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013! His policy is to buy expensive young Brazilian talent, and then sell them on for huge profits.
The steel magnet bought shares in the London club back in 2007, joining Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone on the board. Briatore sold his shares though, and QPR are now fighting for Championship promotion following a miserable Premier League campaign last year.
Usmanov is Arsenal’s richest man, and bought shares in Arsenal back in 2007. He has heavily criticised the club’s transfer policy, and wrote an open letter to the board (and majority owner Stan Kroenke) lamenting them for not being ambitious enough, and allowing Robin Van Persie to join Manchester United! Gunners fans would love him to pour his millions into Arsene Wenger’s transfer fund.
Back in 2009, controversial Billionaire Hungarian born Soros acquired a roughly 1.9% share in United. His sporting interest doesn’t end there, and he also has part ownership of DC United and MLB side Washington Nationals. Ominously, he’s known as ‘The man who broke the bank of England’ for his involvement in the 1992 Black Wednesday Currency Crisis.
Ortega is the third richest man in the world, and has a stake in La Liga club Deportivo. He owns the Inditex fashion group, which high-street clothes chain Zara is a part of. Last year his daughter’s wedding was delayed by an hour because of a match between Deportivo and Barcelona B!
Slim was officially the richest man in the world between 2010 and 2013, but he has now been overtaken by Bill Gates once again. Slim’s America Movil company bought a 30 percent stake last year in Grupo Pachuca, whose holdings include first division Mexican football clubs Pachuca and Leon. He also has share in Real Oviedo in Spain, although isn’t very generous with his ludicrous funds for transfers.
***Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, owner of PSG were left out because their wealth is family owned.
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