Ex-Sunderland owner Ellis Short makes rich list - how his stunning wealth compares to other football owners

Former Sunderland owner Ellis Short has been named alongside a whole host of familiar names on the Times Rich List 2023.
By Mark Carruthers
Published 19th May 2023, 12:40 BST

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The Missouri-born businessmen secured a controlling interest in the Black Cats in September 2008 and claimed ownership at the Stadium of Light just under eight months later. However, his time in charge failed to produce much success in the Premier League, with a tenth place finish in 2011 proving the be the high point of his tenure.

There were two runs to the last eight of the FA Cup and a visit to Wembley for the Capital One Cup Final in 2014 as Fabio Borini’s early opened dared Sunderland supporters to dream before reality hit with goals from Yaya Toure, Samir Nasi and Jesus Navas handing silverware to Manchester City.

The American looked like the answer to Sunderland fans' prayers when he took over the reins at the Stadium of Light after recession left Niall Quinn's Drumaville consortium struggling to support the club. But the dream turned into a ten-year nightmare and Short finally walked away in 2018 after the club had suffered its second successive relegation. Celebrity Net Work values him at $1.4billion - the equivalent of £1.15billion - but the site doesn't seem to have taken into account the £140million hit he took by agreeing to sell off the club and clear all its debts.The American looked like the answer to Sunderland fans' prayers when he took over the reins at the Stadium of Light after recession left Niall Quinn's Drumaville consortium struggling to support the club. But the dream turned into a ten-year nightmare and Short finally walked away in 2018 after the club had suffered its second successive relegation. Celebrity Net Work values him at $1.4billion - the equivalent of £1.15billion - but the site doesn't seem to have taken into account the £140million hit he took by agreeing to sell off the club and clear all its debts.
The American looked like the answer to Sunderland fans' prayers when he took over the reins at the Stadium of Light after recession left Niall Quinn's Drumaville consortium struggling to support the club. But the dream turned into a ten-year nightmare and Short finally walked away in 2018 after the club had suffered its second successive relegation. Celebrity Net Work values him at $1.4billion - the equivalent of £1.15billion - but the site doesn't seem to have taken into account the £140million hit he took by agreeing to sell off the club and clear all its debts.
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The final two years of Short’s ownership brought the appointments of David Moyes, Chris Coleman and Simon Grayson, as well as successive relegations that took the Black Cats from the Premier League to the third tier of the English football for only the second time in their history - but by the time the 2018/19 League One season had got underway, Short has sold the club to Stuart Donald.

Yet Short still retains considerable wealth and is placed at 184th in the top 350 of this year’s Times Rich List. With an estimated worth of around £900m, Short sits just above Harry Potter creator JK Rowling and narrowly beneath the likes of Beatles legend Paul McCartney, controversial Arcadia businessman Sir Phillip Green and former Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans.

Indian-born British billionaire businessman Gopi Hinduja tops the list with an estimated value of £35billion with prospective Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in second place with £29.688billion. The family of Newcastle United co-owner Jamie Reuben are ranked in fourth with an estimated value of £24.399billion.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has been named as the richest UK-based majority owner in the Premier League and is 112nd on the list. He is then followed by West Ham’s David Sullivan and family, who are worth £1.18billion, leaving them 159th, with the Hammers’ Daniel Kretinsky also featuring with a worth of £4bn but he is not a majority owner.

Two other top flight owners feature as well. Brighton and Hove Albion’s Tony Bloom is joint-189th with Tottenham Hotspur’s co-owner Daniel Leavy on £500million.

Related topics:SunderlandPremier LeagueStadium of Light

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