How wealthy are Sunderland's owners? | OneFootball

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Football League World

·30 September 2023

How wealthy are Sunderland's owners?

Article image:How wealthy are Sunderland's owners?

Sunderland have had a rough few years when it comes to the footballing and ownership side of the game - but that has taken an upturn in recent months.

The Black Cats were promoted after a dull four-year-spell in League One, and in their first Championship season, snuck into the play-offs on the final day - and even with a semi-final defeat to Luton, the signs are looking good for the future.


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With talents such as Jobe Bellingham coming into the club, it's about taking the next step back to the top-flight for Sunderland - and that comes with financial promises from their owners. But just how much are they worth? Football League World takes a look at the net worth of their dual ownership.

Who are Sunderland’s owners?

Sunderland are owned by Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. The duo bought the majority of the club’s shares from former owner Stewart Donald, who was the main boardroom star in the famous Netflix documentary ‘Sunderland Til I Die’.

Aged just 25, Louis-Dreyfus is the youngest owner in the Football League, and after studying Sports and Business Management at Leeds Beckett University, he went onto a career in ownership.

In 2021, Louis-Dreyfus acquired a ‘controlling stake’ in Sunderland, which was 41 per cent of the club; with the other 59 per cent made up of Donald, Charlie Methven and Sartori. However, in June 2022, he increased his shares to 51 per cent, which made him the majority shareholder of the club - with Sartori taking 30 per cent and Donald 19 per cent.

How much is Kyril Louis-Dreyfus worth?

It’s hard to quantify just how much somebody is worth, but net worth does tell a somewhat accurate picture.

The Sunderland Echo have estimated that Louis-Dreyfus is worth £2billion, which makes him arguably the 17th-richest owner in the Premier League - should Sunderland be promoted to the top-flight.

At just 25 years of age, Louis-Dreyfus has accrued an outstanding amount of wealth, and he already has family history of owning football clubs, given that his father was in control of Marseille before it was sold in 2016.

The Louis-Dreyfus group, which stretches back to 1851, is a merchant firm involved in agriculture, food processing, international shipping and finances - with over £800million made in profit in the last financial year, according to Fortune. His father was also Adidas’ CEO before passing away in 2009 - with his mother boasting a £2.95bn net worth, according to Forbes.

How much is Juan Sartori worth?

Sartori is worth much less than Louis-Dreyfus, though that doesn’t mean that he is poor by any standards!

The Montevideo-born politician is a 42-year-old senator from Uruguay, who is the founder of the Union Group - an investment firm which “holds interests in agriculture, technology, energy and real estate.”

The Uruguayan holds a 30 per cent stake in the club, with his wealth standing close to £80million - according to the Sunderland Echo’s report back in November 2020.

However, it is his politics career which makes him famous back in South America, having collected 20.68 per cent of votes to become president of Uruguay back in 2019 - narrowly losing and finishing in second place.

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