Stephen Ross of Miami Open vs Larry Ellison of Indian Wells: Who is Richer Between Two American Billionaire Sports Investors?

Larry Ellison and Stephen Ross are two of the most famous American billionaire entrepreneurs to have invested a significant sum into tennis. The latter owns the Hard Rock Stadium, the venue of the Miami Open. Ellison, meanwhile, owns the Indian Wells tournament as well as the Tennis Gardens.

The Hard Rock Stadium has proven to be a welcome change from the previous venue at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida. Ross took over the stadium in 2008 and poured in a whopping $755 million to renovate it and the surroundings (Hard Rock Stadium website). A much-transformed stadium attracted IMG, owners of the Miami Open, who moved the tournament here in 2019.

Stephen Ross is most renowned as the principal owner of the NFL side Miami Dolphins. He also operates The Related Companies, a massive luxury real estate development firm. He has also put his money into Equinox Fitness, SoulCycle, and many fast-casual restaurant chains. The 83-year-old has a net worth of $10.1 billion as per Forbes.

Larry Ellison, on the other hand, is most famous as the co-founder and CTO of Oracle. He owns the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens and also the 1000-level tournament held there. The tech honcho purchased both in 2009 for $100 million (Bloomberg), having invested a further $100 million since then to upgrade the facilities. He has upscaled the Indian Wells Open so much that it is now referred to as the ‘Fifth Slam’.

Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and has taken it to great heights. He owns nearly 40% shares of the company, which has played a huge role in increasing his wealth. As per Forbes, Ellison has a net worth of over a whopping $157 billion, making him the fifth-richest man in the world currently. He also owns a chunk of shares in Tesla.

Ellison’s net worth blows Ross out of the water. This kind of reflected in their living arrangements as well. The Indian Wells owner holds properties cumulatively worth over a billion dollars (Forbes). He lives on the Hawaiian island of Lanaii which he owns almost entirely, having spent $300 million for it. Ross, meanwhile, lives in a penthouse in Hudson Yards, a mega-project developed by Related Companies for $25 billion. However, individual houses cost in the range of $4 million to $32 million (Business Insider).