Top 10 Richest NBA Team Owners in 2025: Know All About Their Business, Net Worth and More

NBA team owners are extremely essential for the success and sustainability of their teams because they provide the required direction, support in financial communication, and focused orientation that shape every aspect of the franchise.
Management and personnel for the position of executives, and the front office who manage basketball operations, and invest in the overall development of the player, including setting the tone for the team's culture are all hired by the team owner. The major decisions related to marketing, branding, and community outreach ensure that the team remains relevant locally and globally. Moving ahead we will find out who is the richest NBA Team Owner.

Who is the Richest NBA Team Owner?

The wealth of an NBA owner is important as it helps in building or upgrading arenas, to attract elite players, coaches and staff, is in a way very lucrative for the owner but also very appealing to the players, coaches, and the staff. Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has a net worth of $139 billion, is the richest NBA Team Owner. This financial stability and power help them to absorb luxury tax payments when assembling championship rosters and investing in long-term projects that may not provide immediate returns but strengthen the value of the franchise and competitiveness. A lot of people have their doubts about who is the richest NBA team owner.

Top 10 Richest NBA Team Owners

The NBA team owners who top this list are extremely rich because they either are former Chief Executive Officers, or the owners of mega companies that have established their empires through out and added to that, have a huge amount of generational wealth. For example, if we take a look at Steve Ballmer, we understand that he was a former CEO of Microsoft and the margin between him and the second richest NBA owner is quite a lot. Approximately a difference of $90 billion.
Other owners are either owners of Casino empires like Las Vegas Sands; inherited wealth, hospitality, founders of companies like Rocket Mortgage; real estate, fintech, real estate development; or founder of companies involving tech hardware or wireless systems. Their financial power enables them to invest heavily in their teams’ infrastructure, rosters, and global branding.

#10: Micky Arison ($8.9 billion)

Micky Arison, Miami Heat's billionaire owner, has a net worth of approximately $8.9  billion as of 2025. That earns him the 10th spot on the list of richest NBA team owners. He built his wealth as chairman and former CEO of Carnival Corporation, transforming his father’s small cruise line into a global empire with over 100 ships and revenues exceeding $21 billion in 2023.Arison purchased the struggling Miami Heat in 1995 for about $168 million.
Since acquiring the team, Arison has invested heavily, notably constructing the Kaseya Center via a public-private partnership in 1999, funding top-tier facilities, supporting marquee player acquisitions (Shaq, Wade, LeBron, Bosh), and maintaining consistent playoff appearances, culminating in three NBA championships, in 2006, 2012 and 2013. With a willingness to financially support the team's needs, he has shaped a sustained culture of competitiveness and established the Heat as one of the NBA’s premier organizations.

#9: Tom Gores ($9.4 billion)

Tom Gores is a self made billionaire whose net worth is around $9.4 billion as of 2025, which earns him the 9th place in this list of NBA team owners. His first major breakthrough was when he founded Platinum Equity in 1995, launching a private equity powerhouse that manages over $48 billion in assets, specializing in acquiring underperforming companies and strategizing appropriate methods to turn them around. In 2011, Gores purchased the Detroit Pistons and their arena for $325 million, further becoming the sole owner by 2015.
Since almost 15 years, he has invested heavily in the team and Detroit, has spent $40 million renovating the Palace, relocating the franchise to downtown Little Caesars Arena in 2017, and opening the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center that is a $90 million headquarters and training facility in 2019.

He has also spearheaded community initiatives that have been renovating 60 basketball courts, funding Flint Water Crisis relief, launching a $2.5 billion redevelopment plan with Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University. He has also been consistent in demonstrating his belief that the Pistons should be a catalyst for civic revitalization, not just sports success.

#8. Tilman Fertitta ($10.8 billion)

Owner of the Fertitta entertainment, Tilman Fertitta is also a self-made billionaire with an estimated net worth of $10.8 billion in mid-2025, making him the richest individual in Houston and among the top 20 wealthiest sports team owners globally. His fortune was built on the stepping stones of two companies, one that he founded that was Landry's Inc. and the other was Fertitta Entertainment that he owns, transforming a single seafood eatery into a hospitability empire.

This includes a chain of more than 600 restaurants, Golden Nugget casinos, luxury hotels like The Post Oak ad entertainment ventures. In the September of 2017, the NBA approved his record breaking $2.2 billion purchase of the Houston Rockets, including the Toyota Center arena. Since acquiring the franchise, Fertitta has significantly boosted the value of the organisation, and now estimated at $5.7 billion by investing in a cutting edge practice facility, upgradation in arenas, high-value player contracts, and expanding the Rockets' brand through enhanced community engagement and luxury amenities.

He also used his wealth to improve Houston's sports and hospitality landscape, showcasing how deep pockets and strategic leadership can rejuvenate a franchise and a city together.

#7. Joseph Tsai ($11.3 billion)

A well known name, in the overall rankings of business mega giants, along with being a prominent figure among NBA team owners, Joseph Tsai is a Taiwanese Canadian billionaire with an estimated net worth of $11.3 billion as of June 2025. He has built his fortune as a co-founder and former CFO/executive vice chairman of Alibaba Group, playing a pivotal role in structuring the company, securing early funding that includes SoftBank’s investment.

In October 2017, Tsai purchased a 49% minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets for approximately $1 Billion, with a formal valuation of the franchise at $2.3 Billion. In 2019, he acquired full ownership of the team and the Barclays Center, with his total investment exceeding $2.3 billion. Tsai has transformed the Nets into one of the NBA’s most valuable franchises, backing major player acquisitions like signing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden that further led to him demonstrating his commitment to a championship push. Beyond basketball, Tsai has been able to invest heavily in operations, upgraded team facilities, integrated the New York Liberty into his sports group, and promoted social justice initiatives through his and his wife Clara’s foundation, solidifying his legacy as a forward-thinking, community-focused owner.

#6: Antony Ressler ($12.2 billion)

The principal owner of the Atlanta Hawks, Antony Ressler, has an estimated net worth of around $12.2 billion as of June 2025 . He made his wealth in private equity, consequentially leading him to co-founding Apollo Global Management in 1990 and Ares Management in 1997, growing Ares into a major alternative-asset manager with approximately $484 billion AUM .

In June 2015, Ressler led a group that eventually purchased the Hawks for about $850 million, taking control through Ares’ investment platform. Since becoming the owner, he has restored the franchise significantly and has led to an improvement in the team's financial footing by driving record sellouts, invested in community linked development projects like Centennial Yards, supported new training facilities, and prioritized black entrepreneurship and financial literacy through multi-million dollar grants via the Hawks Foundation. While fans debate his impact on basketball operations, particularly around nepotism and front-office decisions, there is simply no denying that he has reshaped the Hawks into a more vibrant, community-embedded organization.

#5: Stan Kroenke ($18 billion)

The Denver Nuggets owner is one of the wealthiest NBA owners with a net worth of approximately $18 billion as of now. He has been able to expand his fortune through real estate development, with the founding of Kroenke Group in 1983, later THF Realty in 1991 and then getting married into the Walton family, who are the owners of the mega giant, Walmart.

In July 2000, Kroenke purchased the Nuggets in a $450 million deal, consolidating these assets under his Kroenke Sports & Entertainment umbrella. Since then, he has transformed the organization. He has built Ball Arena, launching the Altitude regional sports network back in 2004 and equipped the team with modernized facilities. Under his stewardship, the Nuggets steadily rose from mediocrity to elite status, culminating in their first-ever NBA championship in 2023. Kroenke’s long-term, multi-sport vision and investment have not only elevated the Nuggets but also built a diversified and championship-winning sports empire across four leagues.

#4: Robert Pera ($19.1 billion)

Robert Pera, the founder and CEO of Ubiquiti Networks, holds a whooping net worth of approximately $15.7 billion as of mid‑2025 . He built his fortune by starting Ubiquiti in 2005, at the time. He started it by using just $30,000 in savings and credit—to revolutionize rural and enterprise wireless networking, leading to a public offering in 2011.

In October 2012, a controlling stake in the Memphis Grizzlies was purchased by him for $377 million. Pera purchased a controlling stake in the Memphis Grizzlies for $377 million. He was able to eventually consolidate full control in 2018, buying out minority partners and valuing the franchise at around $1.3–1.4 billion. Immediately after taking over, Pera retained key veterans and supported the team's first-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals (2013) and the subsequent “Grit & Grind” era, with seven consecutive playoff berths.

#3: Dan Gilbert ($23.7 billion)

The majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has a net worth estimated between $23.7 billion (Forbes) as of mid‑2025 which makes him one of the wealthiest NBA team owners. He collected his wealth by co‑founding Rock Financial in 1985, taking it public in 2020, and building it into the largest retail mortgage lender in the U.S., originating a record $79 billion in mortgages in 2023. Gilbert had purchased the Cavaliers and Gund Arena in March 2005 for approximately $375 million.

Under his ownership, the franchise was able to secure its first-ever NBA championship in 2016 and he now has invested heavily in the city's regeneration, leading to channel over $5.6 billion into Detroit’s down town development, creating more than 24,000 jobs, and funding various civic projects through Rock Ventures.

Additionally, Gilbert acquired other Cleveland teams, operates the Rocket Arena, and established the Gilbert Family Foundation, cementing his status as both a sports magnate and civic leader.

#2: Miriam Adelson & Patrick Dumont ($29-32 billion)

The new duo that has taken up a majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, holds a combined net worth of approximately $29.4–32.6 billion as of mid-2025 . Miriam inherited her wealth as the widow of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and through her controlling stake in Las Vegas Sands, a global casino-resort empire with major holdings in Macao and Singapore. In December 2023, the Adelson-Dumont family bought a 69% ownership stake in the Mavericks for about $3.5 billion.

This was financed in part by selling $2 billion of LVS stock, with Patrick Dumont becoming the team’s governor. 2025 proposed ambitious plans for a new arena-casino complex, and implemented organizational changes, though some moves, such as the controversial Luka Dončić trade, have sparked fan unrest and protest. Their early tenure signals a bold, high-stakes vision aimed at reshaping the Mavericks both on and off the court.

#1: Steve Ballmer ($139 billion)

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, boasts an estimated net worth of $139 Billion as of mid-2025. That massive fortune not only makes him the richest NBA owner, but also answers the question “who is the richest NBA team owner?”. He earned his fortune at Microsoft, where he began as employee No. 30 in 1980, rose to CEO in 2000, and grew annual revenue from $25 billion to $70 billion before leaving in 2014, retaining a significant stake in the company that continues to appreciate. In August 2014, Ballmer purchased the Clippers for $2 billion, a high-profile acquisition that coincided with the ousting of former owner Donald Sterling. Since then, he has been instrumental in transforming the franchise: the team has reached the playoffs six times in seven seasons, shifted to a new private venue, the Intuit Dome, a $2 billion arena that opened in August 2024 and launched Halo Sports & Entertainment, encompassing the Clippers, their G-League affiliate, and event venues like the Forum. Off the court, Ballmer has used his financial muscle for philanthropic efforts committing over $1 million to wildfire relief, matching donations at charity events, and contributing more than $4 billion to education and child mental health initiatives through the Ballmer Group. His approach has been massive investment in facilities, winning culture, and community impact has redefined Clippers owner.