Forbes released their latest list of the richest sports team owners. And once again, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was the leader amongst his fellow NFL colleagues. Tepper has an estimated net worth of $14.5 Billion according to Forbes.
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The NFL’s next-richest is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, with an estimated net worth of $8.9 billion. Tepper’s net worth went up 21% since last year. The Panthers’ revenue may have declined along with the rest of the NFL’s, but Tepper’s hedge funds have done well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to @Forbes, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is the 321st richest person in the world with a net worth of $5.6 billion:https://t.co/dde9nTAKXC pic.twitter.com/JMaSWwBNVB
— 247Sports (@247Sports) March 7, 2018
Who is Panthers owner David Tepper?
David Tepper has been around in the NFL for a while now. Tepper first purchased a 5% stake in his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2009. And after almost a decade in a minority position, Tepper swooped in and bought the Carolina Panthers in 2018
He beat out a rival bidder with more ties to the Carolinas, Ben Navarro, thanks both to speedy NFL vetting (his Steelers part-ownership allowed the league’s owners to bypass the process) and his $2.2 billion bid, the highest in NFL history, lacking other investors (unlike Navarro’s).
David Tepper will pay $2.2 billion for the Carolina Panthers, which ties the Houston Rockets for the highest whole sale of a team. It’s shockingly less than the $2.3 billion Forbes valued it at. Richardson, at one point, thought he could get $3 billion.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 15, 2018
Davis Tepper started off as a Goldman Sachs trader. He eventually made his wealth Billions after he founded Appaloosa, a hedge fund with its headquarters in Short Hills, N.J. David Tepper was ranked first among NFL owners last year as well, with a net worth of $12 Billion.
Since acquiring ownership of the Carolina Panthers, Tepper also added another sports franchise to the city. David Tepper had expressed his desire to own an MLS franchise and made a bid of $325M to acquire an expansion team. His bid was approved and in December of 2019, Tepper was awarded the Charlotte FC.
Soon pic.twitter.com/WavYhoPLQY
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) July 9, 2020
David Tepper may be the richest NFL owner now, but that might not hold up for very long. Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is linked with becoming the new LA Charger’s owner, and if that happens, he will be the richest owner by a landslide. All of the NFL’s owners combined aren’t as rich as Jeff Bezos, who is listed as the world’s richest person at $177 billion.
