Russian Business Tycoons Who Own Sports Teams

There are many Russian business tycoons who have historically been interested in some sports institutions. Perhaps the best-known case was that of Roman Abramovich, who bought Chelsea FC in 2003 and has turned it into a world power thanks to his millionaire investments and his sports project. Well, the truth is that after several years, Abramovich decided to step aside and leave his leadership position.

The Russian business tycoon is thinking of selling the club with which he won 5 Premier League and 2 UEFA Champions League, for an estimated price of 4,000 million pounds sterling. Now, the truth is that he is not the only millionaire interested in sports clubs. On the contrary: we find other great business tycoons who have or had power within some institutions. In this article, we will tell you who they are and what they have achieved.

Dmitry Rybolóvlev

He is one of the richest people in the world according to Forbes. He has an estimated fortune of 8,500 million dollars. This Russian businessman started in the area of ​​the medical industry, but over time he became more and more interested in sports.

https://twitter.com/AS_Monaco_ES/status/1018669351543758848

Well, in 2011 he surprised the market and managed to acquire Monaco from France, investing 220 million euros to try to position the club at the top, after having relegated to the second division. After one season, he managed to get promoted to first and made big millionaire signings. Some examples were James Rodríguez or Falcao, among others. The latter became the seventh most expensive signing in history at that time, as Rybolóvlev invested 60 million euros. Since then, they won the first division title in the 2016-2017 season, although they hope to repeat this record in the following years.

Mikhail Prokhorov

Here is a Russian business tycoon interested in basketball. More specifically, in the NBA, where he owned one of the great institutions in the United States: the Brooklyn Nets. This billionaire was the main owner of this club until in the summer of 2019 he decided to sell 51% of his shares.

ACTUALIDAD #NBA | Mikhail Prokhorov vende el 51% de las acciones de Brooklyn Nets a Joseph Tsai (Alibaba Group) por 2.350 millones de dólares y se convierte en el propietario absoluto del equipo neoyorquino | Tsai ya adquirió el 49% del equipo el año pasado por mil millones | pic.twitter.com/7AhZr15cgc

— Basket Flow (@RealBasketFlow) August 14, 2019

The value? About 2.35 billion dollars, destined for another tycoon: Joseph Tsai. Prokhorov was at the helm for two pretty rocky seasons, investing in expensive pros (Pierce, Garnett, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson, for example), but failing to get rings. Well, previously he had enjoyed a good reputation, which led him to politics. For the year 2012, he had announced that he would run in the presidential elections against Putin through an independent political party, although he ended up obtaining only 7.98% of the votes.

Alisher Usmanov

Here we have another Russian business tycoon interested in sports institutions. According to Forbes Magazine, he is the third richest man in Russia and one of the 100 most millionaires in the world, with assets close to 13 billion dollars, approximately. He was a major investor for Arsenal FC in England.

By 2018 he was one of the largest shareholders of this institution until he decided to sell his shares for 700 million dollars to the American Stan Kroenke, who became the sole owner of the club.

Manifestantes en Ucrania protestan y piden sanciones para los Rusos Román Abramovich (Dueño del Chelsea), Alisher Usmanov (Accionista del Arsenal) y entre otros magnates que se les han acusado de colaborar con las políticas del gobierno de Rusia. pic.twitter.com/YV4P5Dns9i

— Futbol de Inglaterra (@Mercado_Ingles) February 24, 2022

However, this was not all: the Russian oligarch also had millionaire business ties with Everton, through the USM, Megafon, and Yota companies, which were recently broken after knowing their support for Putin. He was also the president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which shows his interest in sports.

Maxim Denim

Finally, we also have another example of a tycoon demonstrating Russia’s interest in English football. Maxim Denim is a Russian businessman in the petrochemical industry who in 2011 became the co-owner of AFC Bournemouth. He reportedly paid £850,000 for his share of the club.

Bournemouth

Dueños: Maxim Denim & Eddie Mitchell
Pais: Rusia (Denim) & Estados Unidos (Mitchell)
Origen de sus fortunas: Petroquimicos
Valor estimado: 110M
En el club desde: 2011
Logros: Ascender desde League Two hasta Premier

Solo encontré foto de Denim. pic.twitter.com/D2fo0diGT6

— NewcastleUy (@NewcastleUy) July 19, 2020

At that time, he played in Football League One, which is the third division in the country. However, by 2015 he was promoted to the Premier League. Back then, he decided to sell a 25% stake in the institution to Peak 6 Investments. Denim is currently looking to return to first, after losing in last season’s promotion playoffs. In short, there are many Russian business tycoons who decided to invest in sports institutions.

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