Sunderland AFC ownership: A look at Kyril Louis-Dreyfus & Juan Sartori's source of wealth + Net worth | OneFootball

Sunderland's main shareholder and chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus acquired a stake in the Black Cats back in February 2021, but he only became the majority owner in the summer of 2022 after it was revealed months prior that he did now own as much as was thought.

Since Louis-Dreyfus has been at the club, the Black Cats have enjoyed a mostly successful time, winning promotion from League One to the Championship in 2022, before reaching the second tier play-offs at the first time of asking in 2023.

The Mackems would fall to defeat at the semi-final stage to eventual play-off winners Luton Town, before enduring a far less enjoyable 2023/24 season, which saw the Wearside outfit finish 16th in the Championship after a thoroughly unimpressive second half of the campaign.

When Louis-Dreyfus first bought into the club, Stewart Donald - part of the previous ownership group and made famous by the Netflix documentary series Sunderland 'Til I Die - was still around, along with Charlie Methven.

Donald officially left the Stadium of Light in May 2023, when Juan Sartori - who has held shares in the club since 2018 and still co-owns the Black Cats - bought the remainder of Donald's shares.

According to Sunderland AFC News, Louis-Dreyfus owns 64% of the club, while Sartori owns the remaining 36%.

Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' source of wealth

As per The Guardian, Louis-Dreyfus is the heir of his parents, Robert and Margarita's wealth, and the pair owned the Louis-Dreyfus Group trading empire.

Per The Guardian, Robert Louis-Dreyfus was the chief executive of Adidas as well as the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi before taking over his family's firm.

The Louis-Dreyfus family has long since held an interest in football, as Kyril's father - Robert - owned French Ligue 1 giants Olympique Marseille until his death in 2009.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' net worth

The Sunderland Echo reported in February 2024 that Louis-Dreyfus' net worth is £2 billion, which would rank him 17th among the 2023/24 Premier League owners if the Black Cats were in the top-flight.

That same Sunderland Echo also states that the Louis-Dreyfus group, who were established in 1851, have been involved in agriculture, food processing, international shipping and finance.

Juan Sartori's source of wealth

According to The Athletic, 34 per cent Sunderland owner Sartori studied at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, before founding the Union Capital Group, which is one of the biggest agricultural companies in his native Uruguay.

Sartori's wife, Ekaterina, is due to inherit an estimated wealth of £6 billion, as she is the daughter of Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, who has been the majority shareholder of former Ligue 1 Champions AS Monaco since 2011.

Interestingly, the 43-year-old ran to become the president of Uruguay in 2019, and came second in the race to become the National Party's presidential candidate behind Luis Lacalle Pou, who went on to win the election.

Juan Sartori's net worth

According to the Sunderland Echo, Sartori is worth £80 million, a figure which is unfathomable to most, but dwarfed by the wealth of both his father-in-law, and Louis-Dreyfus, who are both reported billionaires.

The Sunderland Echo also reported that the Uruguayan is famous in South America for his participation in the 2019 Uruguay presidential election, and that he received 20.68% of the vote.