The 12 richest owners in the 2025/26 EFL Championship ranked | OneFootball

FLW ranks the 12 richest owners in the second tier for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

The upcoming 2025-26 Championship season is set to be another enthralling campaign.

Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City return to the second tier hoping to bounce back to the top-flight, while the latter will have to battle through an impending points deduction.

Meanwhile, American-owned Birmingham City and Wrexham will look to disrupt the apple cart and use their financial resources to push up the table. Charlton Athletic will also hope of being competitive following their play-off triumph under Nathan Jones.

As another Championship season approaches full of twists and turns, FLW lists the top 12 richest owners in the division.

12 Shilen Patel, West Brom - £376 million

First up is West Brom controlling shareholder Shilen Patel, who brought the club from Chinese businessman Guochuan Lai for £60 million.

The American businessman is estimated to have a net worth of $100 million (£75.3 million), as per Birmingham Live, but that is not where his wealth ends.

It has been stated by Birmingham Live in the same article that his father has a net worth of $400 million (£301.3 million), with a combination of these funds being placed into Bilkul Football WBA, LLC.

This means that the combined wealth is £376.6 million, with Shilen leading the running of the club while his father takes a back seat.

11 Dejphon Chansiri, Sheffield Wednesday - £437 million

Dejphon Chansiri has been a polarising figure at Hillsborough.

The club has had recent issues with paying players and staff on time, mounting debts, while there has also been a fragmented relationship between himself and current boss Danny Rohl.

The family’s fortune comes from Thai Union Group, a seafood empire founded by his father, Kraisorn Chansiri.

Thai Union Group is the world’s largest canned tuna producer, generating $4.2 billion in revenue.

As per a report from the New York Times, the Chansiri family is believed to be worth $585 billion dollars, roughly equating to £437 million, although the Owls have clearly been unable to have access to it.

10 Steve Gibson, Middlesbrough - £640 million

Steve Gibson ranks in at 11th, being chairman and owner of Middlesbrough for more than 30 years.

Gibson became an entrepreneur in the early 1980s when he founded Bulkhaul Limited, which was created to transport gases and liquids across the world.

With that going from strength to strength, Gibson built up his fortune to invest in the Riverside Stadium, and currently stands at a whopping £640 million, according to a report by Teesside Live.

9 Michael Eisner, Portsmouth - £870 million

Entering the top 10 is Pompey owner Michael Eisner, who was CEO of The Walt Disney Company for more than 20 years.

It was revealed in March 2017, during Portsmouth's League Two title-winning season, that the American businessman and his Tornante Company were to enter exclusive discussions about buying the club, with a takeover soon completed later in the year for £5.67 million.

As per Forbes, Eisner is worth $1.1 billion, equating to £870 million, as Portsmouth look to maintain their stay in the second tier.

8 The Hemmings Family, Preston North End - £1.1 billion

The Hemmings family still lead Preston North End, with Craig Hemmings, son of the late Trevor, taking on the role following his father’s passing in 2021.

Months before his death, Trevor Hemmings featured in The Sunday Times Rich List, who estimated his net worth to be £1.1 billion.

Hemmings started his professional life as a builder, setting up a company in his 20's.

In this trade he began to accrue quite a bit of wealth, before moving into the leisure and property sector.

At various points in his life, Hemmings owned the likes of Blackpool Tower, Pontins holiday camps and, of course, Preston North End.

7 Dragan Šolak, Southampton - £1.25 billion

Southampton is owned by Sport Republic, an investment firm led by Dragan Šolak, a Serbian billionaire.

Sport Republic acquired an 80% stake in the club in January 2022 for over £100 million ($133 million), taking control from Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng.

An article from Live Score has estimated that Solak’s net worth is around $1.65 billion as of 2024, equating to £1.25 billion, putting him eighth in the list.

6 Tom Wagner, Birmingham City - £1.34 billion

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner possesses the ambition of transforming Birmingham City into an English powerhouse.

The American businessman has pulled the club out of the mire following years of turmoil, getting famous former NFL player Tom Brady involved in the club and finalising plans for a new Sports Quarter in the city centre.

Wagner built his wealth through founding his hedge fund business in the summer of 2008 alongside Ara Cohen.

According to the company website, Knighthead, which operates in New York, Florida and Connecticut, is "managing $9bn (£7.15bn) worth of assets across a variety of investment vehicles", as they specialise in distressed credit.

According to Birmingham Live, Wagner is believed to have a personal wealth of £1.34 billion, with money consistently being invested into the West Midlands outfit to help deliver success on the pitch.

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Up next is The Venky’s, who to have been controversial figures during their time at Ewood Park.

V H Group, originally founded in 1971 as Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt LTD, is well known for its presence within the poultry industry. Based in Pune, India, they oversee a number of companies working within that industry.

That work is geared towards producing a range of products, from processed foods to animal vaccines, as well as human and animal pharmaceutical products. Through the growth of the company within that industry, Venky's now have offices and production plants in a range of countries around the world.

As per the Yorkshire Post, the Venky’s are believed to be worth £1.66 billion, leading to frustration from Rovers supporters about the lack of investment into the club.

4 Stephen Lansdown, Bristol City - £2.3 billion

Stephen Lansdown has had a long-term affiliation with Bristol City, becoming chairman all the way back in 2002.

Lansdown built his fortune back in 1981 when he co-founded the British financial services company, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Providing information to clients on unit trusts and tax planning matters. they were dealing with a high volume of business just six years later, thanks to a frenzy which saw clients eager to get onto the stock market.

This has led to Lansdown possessing a net worth of $3.1 billion, as per Forbes, equating to just over £2.3 billion.

3 John Coates, Stoke City - £2.4 billion

John Coates still remains in charge of Stoke City after the family brought the club all the way back in 1986.

John's dad, Peter, initially made his wealth through founding Stadia Catering in the 1960s and local radio station Signal in 1983, while he also started Provincial Racing, a bookmaking firm.

John would go on to follow in those footsteps, founding the gambling company bet365 with his sister Denise in 2001. Quickly, it became one of the leading betting sites worldwide in the new age of online gambling, and is still one of the biggest of its kind to this day.