Who is the RCB Owner? Know About Net Worth, Business, Controversy & More

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is one of the most loved franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and tops as the richest IPL team. The team has done well in the IPL and won their maiden title in 2025. The team was bought by the popular businessman Vijay Mallya in 2008 for ₹464 crore (about $111.6 million). They were the second-most-expensive team in the tournament. However, things turned south, and the ownership went to Diageo and then, now, to one of the Kannada production houses, Hombale Films, in 2025.

The team played in the finals once in 2016 and has qualified for the playoffs multiple times after the change in ownership. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally won their first IPL trophy at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Fans cheered wildly after 18 years of waiting. Rajat Patidar, being the first captain, led RCB to become IPL Champions for the very first time.

Who is the owner of RCB?

As of 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s owner is Hombale Films. As IPL 2025 was concluded, and RCB won its maiden trophy, but since then, the team has faced a lot of hurdles, from the Trophy Parade Stampede to the Arrest of RCB owners. Since then, RCB has been put on sale, and many businessmen have shown interest in buying RCB and becoming the new RCB owner.

RCB New Owner, Hombale Films, which is yet to be confirmed on paper, and will soon be out with the same confirmation. It is a Kannada film production house that is known for famous movies like KGF, Kantara, and Salaar. The Hombale Films was founded by Vijay Kiragandur and Chaluve Gowda in 2012 and has done well in the film industry.

Business Ventures and Affiliations

Hombale Films, the RCB new owner, has been actively involved in film production and has released some of the famous movies in the Kannada Industry. They have produced some of the blockbuster hits of the industry, like KGF, Kantara, and Salaar.

Apart from that, they also have some top sponsors, including Happilo, KEI Wires and Cables, Qatar Airways, Jio, and Hindware Homes. There are also some renowned brands like PUMA, boAt, Nippon Paint, Bira 91, and DNA Networks, which back the franchise financially. Also, having, king of cricket, Virat Kohli, in their team helps them a lot in terms of brand value.

What is the Net Worth of Royal Challengers Bengaluru?

On and off the field, the RCB franchise went through a lot in 2016, when the owner Vijay Mallya was stuck with loan problems. At that time, he was just a co-owner of the franchise, but after that incident, United Spirits got full ownership. According to reports, RCB net worth is $269 million, which makes the team the richest among other teams. The rise in brand value of the team came after winning the maiden IPL Trophy.

Performance Stats under Hombale Films

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is yet to play a match under the new ownership of Hombale Films. The team will be playing the first match under the new RCB owners in IPL 2026.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Ownership History

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ownership transferred from Vijay Mallya to United Spirits because of the loan concerns that kept rising for Mallya. Before that, he was a dedicated owner of the team who bought it for $111.6 million in 2008. He was the owner of the popular Indian alcoholic beverage brands Royal Challenge and McDowell’s. This is where RCB got its name from. Later, on February 25, 2016, Mallya resigned from his position as director of RC Sports Private Ltd., transferring all the rights to United Spirits. He is currently living in London and remains active on social media often. After the IPL win of RCB, the ownership got transferred to Hombale Films in 2025.

Controversies and Legal Challenges

RCB’s name was involved in multiple controversies during the days when Vijay Mallya used to own the franchise. The popular business tycoon faced some legal trouble over unpaid loans, after which he had to step away from the ownership of RCB. However, since then, the franchise has been competing in the richest cricket league in the world without any further controversies or legal challenges.

The controversies always surround the RCB as they won the IPL 2025 and went on for Trophy Parade, which turned out to be the darkest day of the franchise as the event turned into a stampede, taking several lives of fans, resulting arrest of the RCB event management head.

RCB Squad for IPL 2026

As the IPL 2026 Retention List is official, where they have retained their core team, and rest will be filled in the IPL 2026 Auction. Here is the RCB squad for IPL 2026 before the IPL 2026 auction:

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma.