Sports clubs represent the ultimate asset trophy, bringing with them prestige and many times profits. But for a lot of the billionaire buyers, the reason for owning a team may come down to one simple fact: It’s a lot more fun than sitting on a pile of money.
That's even with the risk of being looked upon as a villain by millions of sports fans.
“There is broad risk exposure in acquiring a team and yet the thrill of potentially winning may overshadow potential losses,” said Bennett Cherry, an associate professor of entrepreneurship at California State University in San Marcos. “For owners, trophies don't just come by winning championships. Trophies can also be had simply by showing your colleagues that you own a sports team,”
Observers note sports team ownership is not all glamour and prestige. It also brings vast responsibility—stewardship over what are virtual public institutions that are passionately followed by millions. When those fans don’t like the way their teams are being run, their ire is often directed to the person at the top.
“Most are risk taker, type-A personalities,” said Lee Hutton, a Minneapolis-based attorney who has dealt with sports owners as a counsel to NFL players. “They have to keep fans, athletes and city officials happy."
Sports teams—whether they are baseball, basketball, soccer or football teams—can bring back astronomical returns over the long term, but many owners don’t seem to buy with the intention of selling, according to industry observers.
George Steinbrenner, for example, bought the New York Yankees baseball team in 1973 for about $9 million. The gregarious owner, who was known for not sparing any costs in putting together star-studded lneups, watched the value of the team soar to more than $1 billion over the next three decades. Yet he never put the team up for sale and held it at the time of his death in 2010. The team remains under the ownership of the Steinbrenner family.
"The Steinbrenners are having too much fun to sell the Yankees because New York is such a good market. Fun is the ego of owning the sport and the power of being in the owner’s box during games,” said Bob Weiner, an anti-doping activist who sits on the board of the U.S. Track and Field National Masters. “TheYankees are gold standard because of Yankee stadium and the New York media."
Other wealthy individuals who have benefitted from owning a team include George Soros, Paul Allen and the Tisch family. Last year, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim purchased a 30-percent stake in Grupo Pachuca, whose holdings include first division Mexican football clubs Pachuca and Leon.
About 12 out of 20 who own sports teams around the world have been owners for less than 10 years, according to Wealth-X.