While millions of Americans nationwide experienced or continue to deal with financial hardships amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the rich are only getting richer.
In a study by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), the 64 billionaire sports teams owners in the United States saw a $98.5 billion rise in their collective net worth, an increase of 30% from March 18, 2020 — roughly the beginning of the lockdown stemming from the start of the pandemic — to Jan. 29.
Their combined wealth is now up to a dizzying $426 billion from $325 billion last year, a $101 billion growth that was adjusted to $98.5 billion because two billionaires only reached that status in January 2021.
Three New York City-area teams’ owners are featured in the report. Giants co-owner Steve Tisch made $66 million over the 10-month stretch while Jets owner Woody Johnson made $100 million.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, who took over the team in November, made $681 million to add to his estimated $14 billion net worth. However, this does not reflect recent developments surrounding Cohen’s losses after trying to help Melvin Capital amidst the GameStop fiasco.
Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai saw his fortune increase by 22% after he reeled in $2.2 billion.
| League | Team | Owner | Net Worth, 3/18/20 ($ Millions) | Net Worth, 1/29/21 ($ Millions) | Wealth Growth ($ Millions) | % Wealth Growth |
| NFL | Atlanta Falcons | Arthur Blank | $4,600 | $6,207 | $1,607 | 34.9% |
| NFL | Baltimore Ravens | Stephen Bisciotti | $4,200 | $4,634 | $434 | 10.3% |
| NFL/NHL | Buffalo Bills/Buffalo Sabres | Terrence Pegula | $5,000 | $5,096 | $96 | 1.9% |
| NFL | Carolina Panthers | David Tepper | $12,000 | $12,986 | $986 | 8.2% |
| NFL | Cleveland Browns | Jimmy Haslam | $2,700 | $2,866 | $166 | 6.1% |
| NFL | Dallas Cowboys | Jerry Jones | $8,000 | $8,433 | $433 | 5.4% |
| NFL | Houston Texans | Janice McNair | $4,000 | $3,945 | ($55) | -1.4% |
| NFL | Indianapolis Colts | Jim Irsay | $3,000 | $2,950 | ($50) | -1.7% |
| NFL | Jacksonville Jaguars | Shahid Khan | $7,800 | $7,863 | $63 | 0.8% |
| NFL | Kansas City Chiefs | Hunt Family | $5,800 | $6,283 | $483 | 8.3% |
| NFL/NBA/NHL | LA Rams/Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche | Ann Walton Kroenke | $7,900 | $9,003 | $1,103 | 14.0% |
| NFL/NBA/NHL | LA Rams/Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche | Stanley Kroenke | $10,000 | $8,284 | ($1,716) | -17.2% |
| NFL | Miami Dolphins | Stephen M. Ross | $7,600 | $7,178 | ($422) | -5.6% |
| NFL | New England Patriots | Robert Kraft | $6,900 | $6,646 | ($254) | -3.7% |
| NFL/NBA | New Orleans Saints/New Orleans Pelicans | Gayle Benson | $3,200 | $3,265 | $65 | 2.0% |
| NFL | New York Giants | Steve Tisch | $1,000 | $1,066 | $66 | 6.6% |
| NFL | New York Jets | Robert Wood Johnson, IV | $2,400 | $2,500 | $100 | 4.2% |
| NFL | Philadelphia Eagles | Jeffrey Lurie | $2,700 | $2,732 | $32 | 1.2% |
| NFL | San Francisco 49ers | Denise York | $3,200 | $3,244 | $44 | 1.4% |
| NFL | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Glazer Family | N/A | $1,685 | N/A | N/A |
| NFL | Washington Football Team | Dan Synder | $2,600 | $2,553 | ($47) | -1.8% |
| MLB | Atlanta Braves | John Malone | $5,800 | $7,289 | $1,489 | 25.7% |
| MLB | Boston Red Sox | John Henry | $2,600 | $2,836 | $236 | 9.1% |
| MLB | Chicago Cubs | J. Joe Ricketts | $1,900 | $3,129 | $1,229 | 64.7% |
| MLB/NBA | Chicago White Sox/Chicago Bulls | Jerry Reinsdorf | $1,500 | $1,538 | $38 | 2.6% |
| MLB/NHL | Detroit Tigers/Detroit Red Wings | Marian Ilitch | $3,800 | $4,055 | $255 | 6.7% |
| MLB | Houston Astros | Jim Crane | $1,300 | $1,346 | $46 | 3.5% |
| MLB | Los Angeles Angels | Arte Moreno | $3,300 | $3,396 | $96 | 2.9% |
| MLB | Los Angeles Dodgers | Mark Walter | $2,700 | $4,295 | $1,595 | 59.1% |
| MLB | New York Mets | Steve Cohen | $13,900 | $14,581 | $681 | 4.9% |
| MLB | Oakland Athletics | John J. Fisher | $2,100 | $2,813 | $713 | 33.9% |
| MLB | Philadelphia Phillies | John Middleton | $3,300 | $3,397 | $97 | 2.9% |
| MLB | San Francisco Giants | Charles B. Johnson | $4,200 | $5,015 | $815 | 19.4% |
| MLB | Texas Rangers | Ray Davis | $1,700 | $1,881 | $181 | 10.7% |
| NBA | Atlanta Hawks | Antony Ressler | $2,700 | $3,948 | $1,248 | 46.2% |
| NBA | Brooklyn Nets | Joseph Tsai | $10,000 | $12,200 | $2,200 | 22.0% |
| NBA | Charlotte Hornets | Michael Jordan | $2,100 | $1,615 | ($485) | -23.1% |
| NBA | Cleveland Cavaliers | Dan Gilbert | $6,500 | $44,771 | $38,271 | 588.8% |
| NBA | Dallas Mavericks | Mark Cuban | $4,300 | $4,243 | ($57) | -1.3% |
| NBA | Detroit Pistons | Tom Gores | $5,700 | $5,728 | $28 | 0.5% |
| NBA | Golden State Warriors | Joe Lacob | $1,200 | $1,190 | ($11) | -0.9% |
| NBA | Houston Rockets | Tilman Fertitta | $4,300 | $4,164 | ($136) | -3.2% |
| NBA | Indiana Pacers | Herb Simon | $2,500 | $2,974 | $474 | 19.0% |
| NBA | Los Angeles Clippers | Steve Ballmer | $52,700 | $79,838 | $27,138 | 51.5% |
| NBA/NHL | LA Lakers/LA Kings | Philip Anschutz | $11,000 | $10,129 | ($871) | -7.9% |
| NBA/NHL | LA Lakers/LA Kings | Edward Roski Jr. | $3,100 | $5,480 | $2,380 | 76.8% |
| NBA | Los Angeles Lakers | Patrick Soon-Shiong | $6,400 | $7,013 | $613 | 9.6% |
| NBA | Memphis Grizzlies | Robert Pera | $7,000 | $17,106 | $10,106 | 144.4% |
| NBA | Miami Heat | Micky Arison | $5,100 | $6,030 | $930 | 18.2% |
| NBA | Milwaukee Bucks | Wes Edens | $1,000 | $1,036 | $36 | 3.6% |
| NBA | Milwaukee Bucks | Marc Lasry | $1,800 | $1,776 | ($24) | -1.3% |
| NBA | Milwaukee Bucks | James Dinan | $2,200 | $1,991 | ($209) | -9.5% |
| NBA | Minnesota Timberwolves | Glen Taylor | $2,900 | $2,469 | ($431) | -14.9% |
| NBA | Oklahoma City Thunder | George Kaiser | $5,600 | $5,315 | ($285) | -5.1% |
| NBA/NHL | Philadelphia 76ers/New Jersey Devils | Joshua Harris | $4,000 | $4,886 | $886 | 22.1% |
| NBA | Utah Jazz | Ryan Smith | $1,300 | $1,300 | $0 | 0.0% |
| NBA/NHL | Washington Wizards/Washington Capitals | Theodore Leonsis | $1,400 | $1,385 | ($15) | -1.1% |
| NHL | Anaheim Ducks | Henry Samueli | $3,500 | $6,023 | $2,523 | 72.1% |
| NHL | Boston Bruins | Jeremy Jacobs Sr. | $3,200 | $2,618 | ($582) | -18.2% |
| NHL | Dallas Stars | Bob Gagliardi | $2,500 | $2,800 | $300 | 12.0% |
| NHL | Edmonton Oilers | Daryl Katz | $3,200 | $3,600 | $400 | 12.5% |
| NHL | Florida Panthers | Vincent Viola | $2,000 | $2,704 | $704 | 35.2% |
| NHL | Pittsburgh Penguins | Ron Burkle | $1,400 | $1,420 | $20 | 1.5% |
| NHL | San Jose Sharks | Hasso Plattner | $12,400 | $15,200 | $2,800 | 22.6% |
“These billionaire sports barons have seen their wealth rise as their fans lose their lives, livelihoods, health, and wealth,” Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies, Program on Inequality, said. “As a country, we should be investigating pandemic profiteering and taxing windfall gains during these extraordinary times.”
Such profits in these trying times make the taxpayer handouts received by these billionaires that much more troublesome. According to data maintained by sports stadium news and analysis site, Field of Schemes, 26 of these team-owning billionaires have received $9 billion in taxpayer subsidies to help build or update venues and “make other investments billionaires could presumably afford on their own.”
