14 NBA Owners In Forbes' 'Richest 400 Americans'

[RealGM Wiretap]

Forbes' "Richest 400 Americans" includes 14 owners in the NBA, headlined by Paul Allen of the Portland Trail Blazers, who also owns the Seattle Seahawks.

The richest NBA owner is Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, who comes in at No. 60 on the list with a net worth of $6.8 billion.

There are 12 other NBA owners on the list, including Kroenke (Nuggets), Micky Arison (Heat, $5.9 billion), Dan Gilbert (Cavaliers, $3.9 billion), Charles Dolan (Knicks, $3.3 billion), Tom Gores (Pistons, $2.7 billion), Mark Cuban (Mavericks $2.5 billion), Josh Harris (Sixers, $2.5 billion), Robert Pera (Grizzlies, $1.95 billion), Herb Simon (Pacers, $1.95 billion), Donald Sterling (Clippers, $1.9 billion), Glen Taylor (Timberwolves, $1.7 billion) and Tom Benson (Pelicans).

The richest person involved in the sports world is Nike chairman Phil Knight.

Via Darren Rovell/ESPN

[IMHO]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

[Rated T By CBRA]

Kobe, amongst other NBA superstars, are chump change compared to these guys - the faces we rarely see shown on TV. It must be good to be a franchise owner - prices of each franchise just keeps going up, no matter how bad their team or market are!

[Mr Grant Hill]

Is Charles Dolan actually the owner of the Knicks? I thought it's his son, James.

The "richest person involved in the sports world" should be Alisher Usmanov, one of the majority owners of soccer club Arsenal FC, and the richest Russian.

Why do you write that DeVos is "the richest NBA owner" when you wrote before that they are "headlined by Paul Allen"? Because it's true, Allen is way richer than DeVos.

Why don't you list the net worth of Kroenke and Benson?

Other than that, nice read...

[Btrue2life]

@Mr Grant Hill, Cablevision Owner Charles Dolan owns the Knicks, Rangers & MSG but his son James runs them

[captlopez0012]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

for starters kobe has been worth every penny the lakers have paid him to this point. 5 championships not to mention the truckloads of money he made them. his contract was backloaded and that is why he makes 30 mil next season. he was the best player in the game (and if you say lebron than we agree to disagree) when he signed this deal and deserved to be paid as such. that being said, he still a top 5 player in this league and far from a bad contract. especially when you consider you got the likes of gilbert arenas and amare stoudamire making over 20 mil next season.

[IMHO]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

for starters kobe has been worth every penny the lakers have paid him to this point. 5 championships not to mention the truckloads of money he made them. his contract was backloaded and that is why he makes 30 mil next season. he was the best player in the game (and if you say lebron than we agree to disagree) when he signed this deal and deserved to be paid as such. that being said, he still a top 5 player in this league and far from a bad contract. especially when you consider you got the likes of gilbert arenas and amare stoudamire making over 20 mil next season.

yes that was my point

[ontnut]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

for starters kobe has been worth every penny the lakers have paid him to this point. 5 championships not to mention the truckloads of money he made them. his contract was backloaded and that is why he makes 30 mil next season. he was the best player in the game (and if you say lebron than we agree to disagree) when he signed this deal and deserved to be paid as such. that being said, he still a top 5 player in this league and far from a bad contract. especially when you consider you got the likes of gilbert arenas and amare stoudamire making over 20 mil next season.

yes that was my point

No it wasn't...

[IMHO]

for starters kobe has been worth every penny the lakers have paid him to this point. 5 championships not to mention the truckloads of money he made them. his contract was backloaded and that is why he makes 30 mil next season. he was the best player in the game (and if you say lebron than we agree to disagree) when he signed this deal and deserved to be paid as such. that being said, he still a top 5 player in this league and far from a bad contract. especially when you consider you got the likes of gilbert arenas and amare stoudamire making over 20 mil next season.

yes that was my point

No it wasn't...

I guess only way sarcasm is detected on realgm is through green font...

[Donnyxc]

There should never have been a lockout. It sickens me that NBA owners would even think to reduce players' BRI. Some of these guys are a**holes who don't deserve their wealth nor their position of power. Not all. But some.

[ontnut]

I guess only way sarcasm is detected on realgm is through green font...

Lol if you want people to detect your sarcasm online, you need to work on your delivery, sir. Maybe emoticon use will help get your important point across.

[oaktownwarriors87]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

In his 17 years he has been paid 250 million by the Lakers. To put that into perspective the Lakers got 3.6 billion for 20 years of broadcasting rights from Time Warner. You can thank Kobe for that.

If anything he and other super stars are underpaid.

[Mr_President]

I think we need to talk about how Kobe is overpaid at 30m.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TONYROMOHOF]

the more money you have, the higher you are on a list of the richest ppl

[BadMofoPimp]

There should never have been a lockout. It sickens me that NBA owners would even think to reduce players' BRI. Some of these guys are a**holes who don't deserve their wealth nor their position of power. Not all. But some.

FYI. They made their money outside of basketball. There is no reason they should lose money once they purchase a team.

[IMHO]

the more money you have, the higher you are on a list of the richest ppl

you don't say?

[Donnyxc]

There should never have been a lockout. It sickens me that NBA owners would even think to reduce players' BRI. Some of these guys are a**holes who don't deserve their wealth nor their position of power. Not all. But some.

FYI. They made their money outside of basketball. There is no reason they should lose money once they purchase a team.

I completely disagree. There are many reasons for losing money when purchasing a team. They should lose money if they made a bad investment. This is not the point though. When the asset you own affects financial security of others, you have a lot of explaining to do. Anyone who owns any public share has this accountability. Don't buy a ball club if you're going to complain about player's related-income. It's selfish, and the difference in your losses will not affect your own lifestyle decision, especially when you're worth over any several hundred million. It DOES however affect the lives of the fan-base, who miss games because of selfish top-down decisions.

[BadMofoPimp]

There should never have been a lockout. It sickens me that NBA owners would even think to reduce players' BRI. Some of these guys are a**holes who don't deserve their wealth nor their position of power. Not all. But some.

FYI. They made their money outside of basketball. There is no reason they should lose money once they purchase a team.

I completely disagree. There are many reasons for losing money when purchasing a team. They should lose money if they made a bad investment. This is not the point though. When the asset you own affects financial security of others, you have a lot of explaining to do. Anyone who owns any public share has this accountability. Don't buy a ball club if you're going to complain about player's related-income. It's selfish, and the difference in your losses will not affect your own lifestyle decision, especially when you're worth over any several hundred million. It DOES however affect the lives of the fan-base, who miss games because of selfish top-down decisions.

If that is the way you think, then the price of games would continue to rise with inflated player salaries being owners are barely making a profit as is. If you think playing in front of half empty arenas are fun now, then imagine what would happen with no salary cap.

FYI. NBA players make more than enough money and have guaranteed contracts in which the NFL does not have with much better parity. I have absolutely no sympathy for NBA athletes. If they want no salary cap, then they deserve no guaranteed contracts. They can most likely have one or the other. But, not both. The owners put their money on the line and own the NBA, not the other way around.

I cannot force my boss to pay me more than him even if I do most of the work and decision making. It is his company and he has the right to pay what he wants regardless how talented I am. If NBA players don't want to work for the NBA at NBA salaries, they are free to go elsewhere. Players work for the NBA, not the other way around. This is a JOB, not a right.

[Donnyxc]

FYI. They made their money outside of basketball. There is no reason they should lose money once they purchase a team.

I completely disagree. There are many reasons for losing money when purchasing a team. They should lose money if they made a bad investment. This is not the point though. When the asset you own affects financial security of others, you have a lot of explaining to do. Anyone who owns any public share has this accountability. Don't buy a ball club if you're going to complain about player's related-income. It's selfish, and the difference in your losses will not affect your own lifestyle decision, especially when you're worth over any several hundred million. It DOES however affect the lives of the fan-base, who miss games because of selfish top-down decisions.

If that is the way you think, then the price of games would continue to rise with inflated player salaries being owners are barely making a profit as is. If you think playing in front of half empty arenas are fun now, then imagine what would happen with no salary cap.

FYI. NBA players make more than enough money and have guaranteed contracts in which the NFL does not have with much better parity. I have absolutely no sympathy for NBA athletes. If they want no salary cap, then they deserve no guaranteed contracts. They can most likely have one or the other. But, not both. The owners put their money on the line and own the NBA, not the other way around.

I cannot force my boss to pay me more than him even if I do most of the work and decision making. It is his company and he has the right to pay what he wants regardless how talented I am. If NBA players don't want to work for the NBA at NBA salaries, they are free to go elsewhere. Players work for the NBA, not the other way around. This is a JOB, not a right.

Not necessarily. The prices of games area not directly correlated to inflated player salaries. I could name at several variables that you are missing.
Like any investment, you need to make intelligent choices that are based on sound future expectations. Marketing, player acquisitions, team roster adjustments should be your direct focus.
If you're worried about this investment, let someone else buy the club, and move it to a location where basketball tickets will sell. There is no excuse to remove a fan's experience, which is directly correlated with a lockout. They should have made more informed decisions on this outcome, as they were losing money in the process of games not being played. End result: Don't cut player's salaries.

Comparing NFL and NBA is apples to oranges. But if you're going to do that, how is MLB working with no limit? They're doing just fine.
I have no sympathy for selfish owners who don't appreciate fan or player sentiment. This is game for the fans. This is not a $$$ project for you. Take accountability.

[BadMofoPimp]

If that is the way you think, then the price of games would continue to rise with inflated player salaries being owners are barely making a profit as is. If you think playing in front of half empty arenas are fun now, then imagine what would happen with no salary cap.

FYI. NBA players make more than enough money and have guaranteed contracts in which the NFL does not have with much better parity. I have absolutely no sympathy for NBA athletes. If they want no salary cap, then they deserve no guaranteed contracts. They can most likely have one or the other. But, not both. The owners put their money on the line and own the NBA, not the other way around.

I cannot force my boss to pay me more than him even if I do most of the work and decision making. It is his company and he has the right to pay what he wants regardless how talented I am. If NBA players don't want to work for the NBA at NBA salaries, they are free to go elsewhere. Players work for the NBA, not the other way around. This is a JOB, not a right.

Not necessarily. The prices of games area not directly correlated to inflated player salaries. I could name at several variables that you are missing.
Like any investment, you need to make intelligent choices that are based on sound future expectations. Marketing, player acquisitions, team roster adjustments should be your direct focus.
If you're worried about this investment, let someone else buy the club, and move it to a location where basketball tickets will sell. There is no excuse to remove a fan's experience, which is directly correlated with a lockout. They should have made more informed decisions on this outcome, as they were losing money in the process of games not being played. End result: Don't cut player's salaries.

Comparing NFL and NBA is apples to oranges. But if you're going to do that, how is MLB working with no limit? They're doing just fine.
I have no sympathy for selfish owners who don't appreciate fan or player sentiment. This is game for the fans. This is not a $$$ project for you. Take accountability.

I have no sympathy for greedy and selfish players who get paid Millions to play a game. They have tons of free time off. This is a job and the owners don't have to pay them squat if they don't want to.

If you or any NBA player don't like their contract to do your job for millions of dollars, then go home. You are not needed. The game will still go on without any of you who don't like it. This is a job, not entitlement. You are paid via paycheck, not as an owner. If you want to be an owner, buy a team and run it your way. As long as NBA players are employees, they will get paid what they sign that contract for. Until otherwise, move along here. Nothing to see. NBA players are entitled to nothing more than what they signed on the dotted line for. Sorry, seeya, bye bye if you don't like it. As if they don't have enough as is. I think too many players are paid too much in the first place.