Arsenal’s two largest shareholders combined worth is double that of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, figures from Forbes have revealed.
The American business magazine’s latest survey on the world’s billionaires showed that minority shareholder Usmanov, who owns just over 30 per cent of Arsenal, increased his wealth by nearly $3billion to $15.2bn in the last year, his net worth having slipped from an $18.6bn peak in March 2014.
Forbes rank Usmanov the 66th richest individual in the world and the fifth richest in Russia.
With majority shareholder Kroenke’s wealth remaining steady at $7.5bn the combined worth of Arsenal’s two most significant owners is over double that of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich ($9.1bn), whose arrival in English football in 2003 revolutionised the game.
Among the other Premier League owners on Forbes’ billionaire list are Tottenham majority shareholder Joe Lewis ($5.6bn), Crystal Palace’s Josh Harris ($2.7bn) and Farhad Moshiri ($2.3bn), who owns 49.9 per cent of Everton.
Moshiri was a close ally of Usmanov on the Arsenal board before selling to the Uzbek-born Russian billionaire to take control of Everton.
The Merseyside club have since negotiated a five-year deal with Usmanov’s firm USM Holdings to rename Everton’s training ground, with USM also gaining access to “global marketing rights”.
Deloitte Football Money League 2017
Usmanov has largely found himself frozen out at Arsenal, where he has no formal position on the board, and in August was forced to deny claims that he was considering selling his stake in the club.
Kroenke, who also owns franchises in the NFL (Los Angeles Rams), NBA (Denver Nuggets) and NHL (Colorado Rapids), has faced criticism for his perceived disinterest in Arsenal. He last attended one of the club’s matches in May 2016, a 4-0 home win over Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
Though Arsenal’s spending power has grown over recent years his stewardship of the club has not been defined by the same financial extravagance that Abramovich has displayed, especially in his early years at Chelsea.
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Even at Stamford Bridge spending has not been quite as generous in recent years, with the sale of young assets such as Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Oscar helping to fund additions to Antonio Conte’s squad.
Indeed in net terms Chelsea (c. £15m) have spent significantly less than Arsenal (c.£80m) this season, though the Blues find themselves well clear at the top of the Premier League standings.
