JPMorgan Chase’s super-rich clients are stepping up investments in sports teams as rising values attract more and more capital from institutional firms and the sector matures as an asset class.
About 20% of the 111 billionaire families served by the Wall Street giant now own majority stakes in sports teams, up from 6% three years ago, JPMorgan said in a report.
Roughly a third of households surveyed this year — with combined net worth exceeding $500 billion — have invested more broadly in sports teams or stadiums, making that their top specialized asset, ahead of art and cars, according to the bank in its 2025 Top Talks Report.
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Sports “have become more than just a passion investment,” said Andrew L. Cohen, executive chairman of private banking JPMorgan global, in an interview. “It became a real part of the portfolio.”
Some of the world’s richest families are teaming up with multibillion-dollar asset managers such as Apollo and Ares to deepen investments in sports as team values soar, driven in part by strong television ratings that generate attractive revenues.
NBA and NFL team owners have also made more room for investment funds. private equity in recent years, helping to drive up valuations.
Last month, NBA owners approved Mark Walter’s $10 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers, surpassing the $6.1 billion record set in March by the Boston Celtics. In October, the NFL’s New York Giants sold a 10% stake to Julia Koch and the Koch family at a valuation of $10.3 billion, setting a new record for sports team value.
“The U.S. is obviously the dominant market for sports investing,” said Cohen, who also leads JPMorgan’s 23 Wall team that serves the ultra-rich and authored the report. But “the ubiquity of opportunities is growing.”
Wealthy individuals buying sports teams outside the U.S. include munitions magnate Michal Strnad, who acquired a majority stake in Czech soccer club FC Viktoria Plzen for an undisclosed sum this year. British industrialist Jim Ratcliffe took control of Manchester United’s football operations last year after spending around $1.5 billion to buy approximately a third of the traditional team, expanding a sporting empire that already included French and Swiss football clubs.
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The two have a combined net worth of nearly $30 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Leaders of billionaire families are also stepping up their activities in private markets as companies hold off on going public any longer as investors deal with tight liquidity and higher borrowing costs.
Nearly 70% of top investors JPMorgan interviewed in hour-long conversations said they now prefer active roles in private investing, such as board seats, up from 43% three years ago. Most still operate their original family businesses.
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“They are betting even more” on private investments, Cohen said. “They are not backing down.”
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
