How Sunderland AFC's owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus created a net worth of £2billion | OneFootball

The Frenchman has been in charge at The Stadium of Light for over three years

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus made history at Sunderland when he first acquired a stake in the club in February 2021.

With the Frenchman took over from previous owner Stewart Donald as president at the Stadium of Light, and at 23-years-old, he became the youngest to do so in the Football League.

Since securing those initial stakes in the club, Louis-Dreyfus has gone onto buy into the Black Cats even more, to become the central figure behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, there has been an upturn in fortunes on the pitch as well for Sunderland, since the arrival of Louis-Dreyfus.

Sunderland recovering since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus takeover

The Frenchman has overseen Sunderland re-establish themselves in the Championship

At the time Louis-Dreyfus first bought a stake in the club, the Black Cats were in their third consecutive season in League One.

That campaign would end in disappointment for the club, as they were beaten in the play-offs by Lincoln City.

However, things would change in Louis-Dreyfus' first full season in charge during the 2021/22 campaign, when Sunderland were promoted back to the Championship via the play-offs.

Since then, the Black Cats have quickly re-established themselves in the second-tier, making the top six in their first season back at that level.

Last season was a more underwhelming campaign after the decision to replace Tony Mowbray with Michael Beale midway through the season backfired.

Even so, under new manager Regis Le Bris, Sunderland are now currently in a position to challenge for promotion again during the current campaign.

Off the pitch, meanwhile, it emerged in February 2022 that Louis-Dreyfus originally only bought a 41% stake in the club, therefore not a controlling stake.

He has, though, since increased the stake he owns in the Black Cats twice more, and he does now have a controlling 64% stake in the club.

Juan Sartori, meanwhile, owns the other 36% worth of stakes, with Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven's associations with Sunderland coming to an end in that period.

With a reported net worth of £2billion, Louis-Dreyfus does have plenty of funds he can invest at The Stadium of Light if he wants to, but where did those funds come from?

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is part of a wealthy family

Sunderland owner's net worth explained

In the case of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, much of his wealth has come through inheritance, with the businessman part of his family's merchant trading firm.

Originally founded in 1851, the Louis-Dreyfus group emerged as a global power in the sale of agricultural commodities, as well as management of hedge funds and sea vessels.

That was under the current Sunderland chairman's late father, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who also added to his wealth with rescue acts of companies such as Adidas and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Back in 2022, the group reported assets worth a total of £17billion, while Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is said to be in control of a trust fund worth £2billion.

He may therefore have more money to work with in the future, if he looks to take the Black Cats even further.

The Sunderland chairman also holds a 5% stake in French side Marseille - who his father Robert previously ran - and the eSports organisation Ovation.