ARSENAL owner Stan Kroenke is worth a staggering £8.15BILLION and has a property portfolio to match.
The American sports tycoon and his Walmart heiress wife purchased the largest ranch in the United States in 2016 and it’s so big you could fit the entire cities of New York and Los Angeles inside its borders.
At a whopping 535,000 acres, the W.T Waggoner Ranch in Texas was bought by Kroenke and his wife Ann Walton for a cool £500million.
The ranch includes thousands of cattle, hundreds of horses and oil wells, and 30,000 acres of farmland.
The 72-year-old billionaire’s company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment owns Arsenal and a raft of other teams in the US.
He also owns NFL side LA Rams, NBA team Denver Nuggets, NHL franchise Colorado Avalanche and MLS side Colorado Rapids.
And he has recently invested billions of dollars into the construction of the 70,000 seat SoFI Stadium in Inglewood, California, which will be home to the Rams and fellow NFL side LA Chargers.
When he secured the ranch in 2016, Kroenke said: “This is an incredible opportunity and an even greater responsibility.
“We are honoured to assume ownership of the Waggoner – a true Texas and American landmark – and are deeply committed to continuing the proud legacy of W.T. “Tom” Waggoner, his family and his descendants.
“Our gratitude to them and to the many parties involved in this process is immense. We will continue to preserve and protect this uniquely American treasure.”
Kroenke is a fairly unpopular figure at Arsenal and last summer Gunners fans issued a joint statement calling on him to reinvigorate the club while accusing him of using it as an investment vehicle.
The statement said supporters had “never felt more marginalised”. The club have since sacked Unai Emery and hired Mikel Arteta.
However, Kroenke’s wealth was brought into question again last month when Mesut Ozil refused to take a pay cut amid the coronavirus crisis.
Some of the Arsenal squad agreed to reductions but Ozil refused shortly before it emerged Kroenke’s fortune soared by £323m in the opening months of 2020.
Reports also suggested Kroenke would make a large cash injection into Arsenal to ease the financial impact of Covid-19 on the club.
Kroenke is married to Ann, whose father Bud was an early partner in Walmart, which was founded by his brother Sam.
In 2012, Kroenke bought another historic property, the 124,000-acre Broken O Ranch in Montana.
He also owns ranches in Wyoming, Arizona and British Columbia.
