Stan Kronke Biography, Age, Net Worth And Career

Stan Kroenke has been the majority shareholder and owner of Arsenal since April 2011.

He first bought a stake in the club from Granada Ventures, a subsidiary of ITV, and later bought out the shares owned by Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith.

Alisher Usmanov has been his main rival for control of the Premier League side since 2007 but in August 2018 the Uzbek-born Russian business magnate announced that he had agreed to sell up and cease his interest in taking over the Gunners.

Kroenke owns a number of a professional sports franchises and other businesses in the United States and is a multi-billionaire.

However, despite his wealth the American is also known as ‘Silent Stan’ due to his preference to stay out of the day-to-day operations of his teams and reluctance to give interviews to the press.

Despite his reclusive nature, he is a common topic of discussion among fans of Arsenal, especially those unhappy with the level of spending on players and an apparent lack of ambition at boardroom level.

Who is Stan Kroenke?

Born: Enos Stanley Kroenke in Columbia, Missouri

Birthday: July 29, 1947

Wife: Ann Walton Kroenke

Children: Josh Kroenke, Whitney Ann Kroenke

Nickname: Silent Stan

Stan Kroenke was born in Columbia, Missouri and grew up in the small community of Mora where his father owned a lumber company. His first job was sweeping floors at the yard and he later helped with bookkeeping.

During his youth he played baseball, basketball and was a track runner. At university he studied business administration gaining a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri.

Kroenke met his wife Ann Walton, the heiress to the Walmart business empire, on a skiing trip. They married in 1974 and the future Arsenal owner inherited significant wealth after the death of her father, James Walton, in 1995.

Stan Kroenke net worth

According to Forbes, Stan Kroenke has a net worth of $8.8billion or £6.8billion as of September 12, 2018.

That would rank him 183rd in the list of world’s billionaires, millionaires and other super rich people.

Forbes attribute his wealth to real estate and sports and he owns 30 million square acres in the USA, making him the country’s ninth biggest landowner thanks to his interest in Walmart stores and their shopping plazas and the many ranches he owns across North America.

How Stan Kroenke compares to other Premier League owners

According to Forbes, Stan Kroenke is the second richest owner of a Premier League club when it comes to his personal net worth.

Name	Club	Estimated net worth (£)	Source of wealth
Roman Abramovich	Chelsea	£8,597,120,000	Gas, oil and steel
Stan Kroenke	Arsenal	£6,754,880,000	Real estate and sport
Shahid Khan	Fulham	£5,833,760,000	Automobile parts
Guo Guangchang	Wolves	£5,296,440,000	Co-owner of Fosun
Joe Lewis	Spurs	£3,838,000,000	Currency trading
Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahayan	Manchester City	£3,761,240,000	Inheritance and oil
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha	Leicester City	£3,761,240,000	Duty free retail
The Glazer family	Manchester United	£3,607,720,000	Real estate and sports
Joshua Harris	Crystal Palace	£2,916,880,000	Private equity
Mike Ashley	Newcastle United	£2,609,840,000	Retail
John W. Henry	Liverpool	£1,995,760,000	Trading
Farhad Moshiri	Everton	£1,304,920,000	Financial services
Tony Bloom	Brighton	£1,200,000,000	Professional gambling
Gao Jisheng	Southampton	£1,074,640,000	Clothing
Vincent Tan	Cardiff City	£629,432,000	Gambling, property and retail

Who owns Arsenal?

Stan Kroenke is the majority shareholder of Arsenal as of September 2018. He owns 67.05% of the parent company, Arsenal Holdings PLC.

Arsenal Holdings PLC has historically been owned by descendants of the Bracewell-Smith and Hill-Wood families.

In August 2018, Kroenke’s offer to purchase the shares owned by Usmanov was accepted, triggering a takeover that will require the American to purchase every available share in the club, including those owned by fans, former players and other minority shareholders.

This would make Kroenke the sole shareholder enabling him to take the Premier League team private.

Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) oppose private ownership as they believe it would lead to money being taken out of the club and an end Annual General Meetings that allow fans to hold the board to account.

Josh Kroenke has joined the club as non-executive director.

Stan Kroenke’s other business interests

Stan Kroenke founded the Kroenke Group in 1983, a real estate development firm that has built shopping malls, housing and a number of large construction projects tied in with his other business activities in the sport world. He is also chairman of an independent real estate development company called THF Reality.

Outside of the building industry, Kroenke has previously owned a stake in Napa Valley winery called Screaming Eagle and owns a number ranches.

He set up Kroenke Sports Enterprises in 1999 as a parent company for his sports holdings with its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. It was later renamed to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, or KSE.

The group owns the Pepsi Centre in Denver, home to the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets, and co-owns Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids. Both venues were built by Kroenke’s real estate firm.

A new stadium is also planned for the Los Angeles Rams after Kroenke relocated the team from St. Louis.

It is expected to open in 2020 and will also play host to the Los Angeles Chargers, a professional baseball franchise previously based in San Diego.

The KSE portfolio also includes four radio statsions, four television channels, an internet TV channel and 19 magazines under the brand of the Outdoor Sportsman Group.

In 2017, Kroenke face criticism for launching a new channel that screened hunting programmes that saw vulnerable African animal species killed for sport on camera.

The American has also branched out into sports broadcasting with his own network called Altitude and a ticket company, TicketHouse – the official broadcaster and ticket sales companies of Kroenke’s US sports teams.

Kroenke owns eight professional sports franchises or teams through KSE in the UK and the USA:

Arsenal

A professional association football club that competes in the English Premier League and is one of the most famous and successful sides in England.

Colorado Avalanche

A professional ice hockey franchise that competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) – Stan Kroenke transferred ownership of Colorado Avalanche to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, to satisfy NFL ownership rules.

Colorado Crush

A professional arena football franchise that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL).

Colorado Rapids

A professional association football team that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) – Stan Kroenke transferred ownership of Colorado Rapids to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, to satisfy NFL ownership rules.

Colorado Mammoth

A professional lacrosse team that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).

Denver Nuggets

A professional basketball franchise that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Los Angeles Gladiators

A professional Esports team that compete in the Overwatch League.

Stan Kronke Biography, Age, Net Worth And Career