#1 — Stan Kroenke (SoFi Stadium): ~$21 to 22 billion
Here's the man who did what no one else did. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, with a fortune estimated between $21 and $22 billion, is the richest billionaire who actually owns his stadium — and what a stadium: SoFi Stadium, the most expensive ever built in history, which he financed almost entirely out of his own pocket, with more than $5 billion.
And his name is familiar to Brazilian fans for a reason: Kroenke also owns Arsenal, of the Premier League. While the Hunt family has a bigger fortune, they play in a public stadium; Kroenke is in a class of his own among those who actually own the building. He didn't rent, didn't split it with the state — he single-handedly built the most expensive cathedral in world sport.
Put it all together and the lesson of the ranking is clear: spending billions on a stadium doesn't always mean owning it. Most of these billionaires have the famous team, but play in a public building — the taxpayer is the silent owner of much of the World Cup's stages. Those who truly own the stadium, like Kroenke, Ross, and Kraft, are the exception. And the richest of all, the Hunts, owe their connection to the World Cup not to money, but to having helped found American soccer decades ago.
