How Leeds United and Man United's owners made their millions | OneFootball

FLW compare the way both Leeds United and Man United's ownership groups made their wealth and net worth.

Leeds United are one of the UK's most notoriously disliked clubs, meaning that they have many rivals in the football pyramid, but for many, their most bitter rivals are Manchester United.

That's despite the two not playing each other as regularly following Leeds' first relegation from the Premier League in 2004. As the largest cities in the North within the historic counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, animosity between the regions date back to the Wars of the Roses.

The iconic managers of Don Revie and Matt Busby saw the clubs compete for league titles and cups in the 1960s and 1970s. The rivalry has been described as one of the fiercest in world football, even with Man United also sharing a strong rivalry with Liverpool and Manchester City.

Alex Ferguson himself has even described Elland Road as 'hostile' and 'frightening', and stated that the ferocity of games between the two surpassed the ones with Liverpool, in his view. On the pitch, the clubs have also competed well in the top-flight in the 1990s and early 2000s with Ferguson in charge.

Both clubs won titles in that period. Players such as Johnny Giles, Gordon Strachan, and Eric Cantona have been highly successful after moving between the clubs as well.

Leeds will be hoping to return to playing games with their famous enemy soon. They have Daniel Farke at the helm to try and gain promotion back to the top-flight at the second time of asking.

But how do Leeds' owners - 49ers Enterprises - stack up compared to the club's bitter rivals? We explore below.

How 49ers Enterprises made their money prior to Leeds takeover

Leeds are one of the biggest clubs historically in the EFL, but also through the size of their fanbase. That means that they are one of the clubs who have the most commercial potential in English football. 49ers Enterprises wish to tap into much of that potential, even though plans to expand Elland Road's capacity up from 37,645 to near to 53,000 will be expensive.

Leeds' investors have also been joined by other famous faces, with the likes of Jordan Spieth also taking particular interest in the club following the takeover of 49ers Enterprises, alongside huge names in American sports, such as Michael Phelps and Larry Nance. Will Ferrell is among the latest to invest alongside actor and Leeds fan, Russell Crowe.

In terms of their net worth, according to Forbes, the investment arm of the 49ers is worth a staggering $5.97B (£4.79B) and they are the 11th richest sports entity on the globe at the time that figure was estimated. More recent figures from Christina Gough in Statista have suggested the franchise value amounts to $6B now.

It's difficult to estimate beyond that, given the number of smaller investors who have a smaller piece of the pie, including the aforementioned celebrities, as well as Red Bull's 10% stake in the club as well. Marie Denise DeBartolo York has been the face of the franchise, 49ers Enterprises, for many years.

She is an American billionaire businesswoman, who is the owner and co-chair of the San Francisco 49ers American football team as well as Leeds through 49ers Enterprises. She grew up in a family famous for real estate development. After graduation, she then joined the family business, The DeBartolo Corporation, and became its executive vice president.

They are an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. Through a merger, Denise continued to grow the business through luxury multifamily communities to retail centers and hotels.

Not only that, but DeBartolo Development has successfully invested in approximately $5B in assets across the U.S. since 2003. She, and they, are not the face of the club most Leeds fans are accustomed to; Leeds President and Chairman, Paraag Marathe, continues to oversee the strategic direction of the club.

Leeds' ownership compared to Manchester United's net worth

Per Give Me Sport, Leeds' ownership group dwarf other Premier League sides in net worth terms. However, not against some of the league's biggest hitters. The likes of Chelsea, Man City, and Aston Villa are all worth in excess of £12B in net worth-terms, whilst Newcastle United have the richest owners in the world, and Leeds' net worth finances pale in comparison on that front.

Man United are the second most, with the Glazer Family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe valued at around £19.2B. Their net worth is somewhat more complicated, although the Glazer's grew in a similar way to the DeBartolo Corporation through real estate investing and other business ventures.

Malcolm Glazer is the father of Avram and Joel, who started out with a watch repair concession at Sampson Air Force Base. After the base closed in 1956, he invested in real estate, including single-family homes, duplexes, and commercial buildings in Rochester. He eventually owned commercial real estate across the United States.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe is a chemical engineer and businessman who was born in Greater Manchester in 1952. He graduated with a chemistry diploma in 1974 and received an MBA from London Business School in 1989. He made his money by founding and growing the petrochemicals company INEOS.

In 1998, Ratcliffe bought a single site in Antwerp for £84 million and started INEOS to lead the buyout of a BP chemicals company. He mortgaged his house to fund the deal, and his family agreed to take the risk with him. Ratcliffe has also acquired other assets, including two chemicals businesses from BP for $5B.

In 2022, INEOS formed petrochemical joint ventures with Sinopec worth more than $7B. More recently, they acquired $1.4B of U.S. onshore oil and gas assets from Chesapeake Energy. They are among the wealthiest owners in world football, although both Leeds and Man United are dwarfed by Newcastle's PIF ownership group's net worth of close to £500B.