Arsenal FC are one of the most recognisable brands in British football. They are worth a huge amount of money, so who is it that owns Arsenal?
Who owns Arsenal FC now? US Billionaire businessman Stan Kroenke is the owner of Arsenal Football Club. Kroenke is a very experienced sports investor, owning multiple sports franchises around the world.
Technically, Arsenal FC are 100% owned by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which is an American holding company set up by Stan Kroenke. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment was set up originally to be the holding company for Stan Kroenke’s sports investments and it was through the company that he bought Arsenal FC.
KSE has since also moved into Real estate as well, with the company being 100% owned by its founder Stan Kroenke. You would consider Stan Kroenke to be an Arsenals holder as he is the owner of the company that owns Arsenal.
Who is Arsenal FC owner?
Stan Kroenke is the owner of Arsenal FC. Born in Columbia, Missouri, Kroenke began his business career through real estate development in the 1980s, getting a lot of his money thanks to marrying Ann Walton who was the heiress to Walmart.
Originally Kroenke founded Kroenke Group in 1983, with the firm building a shopping centre and apartment buildings. Kroenke made a large profit through real estate development and got into sports investing in 1999, the same year that he founded Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.
Kroenke made his first investment into sports in 1995 when he bought 30% of the Los Angeles Rams and moved the team to St Louis. He became the team’s full owner in 2010 and has also since become the owner of American sports franchises like the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids and Colorado Avalanche.
Kroenke first began investing in Arsenal in April 2007 when his subsidiary bought 9.9% of the stake in Arsenal holding company. He slowly increased his proportion of ownership in the football club, joining the board of directors just over a year after he began investing in Arsenal.
In 2011 Kroenke began entering into talks to take over the club as a whole, increasing his holding to 62.89% of the club. In 2018 he made an offer to buy the remaining shares of the club and eventually became the team’s sole owner. Kroenke is the team’s full owner through his holding company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.
Is Wenger a shareholder in Arsenal?
Arsene Wenger is a crucial part of the history of Arsenal Football Club over the last two decades. I am sure that during his long stint with the red side of London, Wenger was certainly compensated well for his importance to the club.
Despite that, Arsene Wenger is not a shareholder in Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal only really have one shareholder, with Stan Kroenke’s holding company buying 100% of Arsenal in 2018, with Kroenke having first started investing in the club in 2007.
Who is the owner of Arsenal Stadium?
The Emirates is one of the most valuable buildings in London and a huge asset to Arsenal Football Club. Stan Kroenke is a major investor in Arsenal Football Club and part of his investment into buying 100% of the shares of the club was Kroenke buying the Emirates Stadium.
Emirates Stadium is technically owned by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment which is the holding company for all of Stan Kroenke’s sports and real estate investments. This company also owns the Arsenal Training Centre, as well as Highbury Square which is the apartment complex built on the site of Arsenal’s former stadium Highbury.
How much would it cost to buy Arsenal FC?
Arsenal Football Club are one of the biggest football brands in the world despite mixed results over the last decade. They have been one of a few British clubs to have received bids to buy the team over the last few years. None of these have been successful but there has been an estimation on how much it would cost to buy the team.
At the time of writing, it would likely take between $2.5B and $3B to buy Arsenal FC. This is based on a few different factors. Forbes ranks Arsenal as having a team value of $2.05B based on their revenues through broadcasting and commercial deals as well as the assets that come with the club like Emirates Stadium and the training complex.
We can also assume that it would require this sort of figure because it is what Spotify owner Daniel Ek bid for the team in 2021. Ek is an Arsenal fan and wanted to buy the club from its current owner Stan Kroenke. In reality, it seems unlikely that there is a figure that would be enough to buy Arsenal FC.
When the team’s owners rejected the bid that Ek had put in for the team they said that they simply don’t need the money. Stan Kroenke Is already a billionaire and one of the richest people in the world. He likely sees Arsenal FC as a long-term investment, with the value of the team continuing to increase.
Due to this, it seems unlikely that there is a figure that would be enough for someone to buy Arsenal FC as the owners are sure that they do not need the money, which was also the response of the fan group involved with Arsenal ownership.
Stan Kroenke’s Net Worth
Football fans will know Stan Kroenke as the sole owner of Arsenal FC, having purchased the entire available shares of the team in 2018, eleven years after he began investing in the club.
Stan Kroenke’s estimated net worth is $12.9B, making him the 141st richest person in the world according to Forbes at the time of writing. Kroenke is a real estate and sports mogul who has amassed a large portfolio of sports franchises outside of just Arsenal FC.
Kroenke made most of that net worth through real estate, having started his real estate career over 40 years ago. Part of Kroenke’s net worth comes from being married to Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke who is also a Billionaire.