How exactly did Birmingham City's owner Tom Wagner make his cash? | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at how Blues owner Tom Wagner made his money before acquiring the club.

Birmingham City are a club whose ambition knows no bounds under their new American owner, Tom Wagner.

Relegation is often the signal of a club that is moving backwards, but Birmingham's relegation to League One at the conclusion of the 2023/24 season has seemingly acted as a springboard to progression.

Having taken over the club in the summer of 2023, Knighthead Capital Management's affiliate company, Shelby Companies Limited, fronted by Knighthead co-founder Wagner, he's been the face of the new era at St. Andrew's.

But how did he make his money? What's his backstory? Football League World investigates.

How Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner made his money

Wagner co-founded Knighthead Capital Management in 2008 after being involved in the distressed credit and high yield bonds business for a number of years.

According to its website, the New York-based company is an investment firm that "manages $9billion/approx £7.2billion of assets across a variety of investment vehicles including a long/short Evergreen Hedge Fund, a number of Closed-End Vehicles including a specialized travel fund, a dedicated Real Estate Lending business and an Insurance Asset Management business."

Prior to founding Knighthead, Wagner was employed by Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he took on the role of managing director responsible for running the distressed and high yield credit trading desks.

The Birmingham owner graduated Beta Gamma Sigma (international business honor society) from Columbia Business School in 1999. Before enrolling into business school, he spent five years working at Ernst & Young, Limited Liability Partnership in the firm’s hedge fund practice, providing audit and consulting services to investment funds.

On top of that, he also graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1992, and the American financier is now estimated to hold a net worth of around £1.34billion ($1.6billion).

Therefore, being a prominent figure in multiple highly successful companies has been a large driving force behind the generation of his wealth.

Tom Wagner hasn't refrained from splashing the cash on Birmingham City project

One thing has become evidently clear since Wagner's takeover of Birmingham City - he isn't here to oversee an EFL club for any longer than is necessary.

In April 2024, it was announced that Knighthead had purchased a 48-acre plot of land in the east of Birmingham for the building of a brand new Sports Quarter, which will include the construction of a state of the art 60,000-seater stadium for the Blues to call their new home.

That project is estimated to cost between £2-3billion, and Wagner hopes to have the club moved into their new stadium by summer 2029. The Birmingham owner will also hope that by that point, not only will they have left their historic St. Andrew's home, but that the club will also have comfortably seen through their plan to become a Premier League outfit by 2026.

Brum look set to make an instant return to the Championship for the 2025/26 season, and if they do, they will no doubt cite the achievements of Ipswich Town as reason for belief and optimism that they can record back-to-back promotions.

Having smashed the League One transfer record to sign striker Jay Stanfield in a deal worth a reported £15m, as well as a host of quality players signing on to the Birmingham City revolution that probably could have taken their talents to higher levels of the game than the third tier of English football respectively, it's clear that Wagner's ambition for the club is infectious and unwavering.

It remains to be seen whether City will reach the promised land in that timeframe, if indeed at all during Wagner's reign, but if they don't, it certainly won't be for a lack of effort or financial backing.