Who is the businessman married to a Walmart heiress who irritates half of the sports world?

 

Arsenal 's Premier League title ended a 22-year wait and also added another trophy to the sporting empire of American billionaire Stan Kroenke.

Through his Denver -based holding company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment , the 78-year-old real estate entrepreneur controls professional franchises in American football, basketball, hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, all of which have been champions at least once since becoming part of his group.

Arsenal's success came years after Kroenke acquired a minority stake in the club in 2007. He gradually increased his control until he owned the entire team in 2018, after buying out his rival, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, in a deal that valued the club at around $2.3 billion.

Following the championship, sports business journalist Joe Pompliano told X that Kroenke "is experiencing a historic moment" as a sports investor.

However, the road to this title was marked by significant tensions with Arsenal fans. For years, many supporters harshly criticized Kroenke's management and even organized protests outside the Emirates Stadium in 2019, accusing him of treating the club as a mere "investment vehicle."

In 2021, more than 1,000 Arsenal fans took part in a protest under the slogan “Kroenke Out”, driven by the businessman’s role in the failed European Super League project.

Currently, Kroenke ranks 114th among the world's richest people, with an estimated fortune of $22.2 billion, almost triple the $8.2 billion he had in 2021, according to Forbes .

Last year, he also became the largest private landowner in the United States after purchasing nearly 379,000 hectares of cattle ranch land in New Mexico . With that transaction, his holdings reached approximately 1.1 million hectares, according to Land Report . In addition, his Kroenke vineyards produce wines on two extensive estates located in California's Santa Barbara region.

His wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, is also among the great American fortunes, as she is the daughter of James “Bud” Walton, co-founder of Walmart, and has an estimated net worth of $15 billion, according to Forbes .

Meanwhile, another of Kroenke's teams, the Colorado Avalanche (Stanley Cup champions in 2001 and 2022), made their debut Wednesday night in the NHL Central Division Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. Although they lost 4-2 in the first game, the team remains among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup again this season.

Kroenke bought the Colorado Avalanche in 2000 as part of a deal valued at about $450 million, which also included the Denver Nuggets and Denver's then Pepsi Center, now known as Ball Arena.

Three years later, the Nuggets won the NBA championship.

Other teams within his sports empire also won titles under his management. The Colorado Rapids won the MLS Cup in 2010, while the Colorado Mammoth were crowned champions of the National Lacrosse League in 2006 and 2022.

Although he usually keeps a low profile, which earned him the nickname "Silent Stan", Kroenke is a highly questioned figure in St. Louis for his role in the Rams' move to Los Angeles.

The businessman's history with the franchise began in 1995, when he acquired 40% of the team along with socialite Georgia Frontiere, heir to the Rams after the death of her husband, Carroll Rosenbloom, former owner of the Baltimore Colts.

The St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000 and, after Georgia Frontiere's death in 2008, Kroenke bought his 60% majority stake for $750 million.

However, despite having tried to bring a new franchise to St. Louis in 1993, a city that had lost the Cardinals to Arizona six years earlier, the businessman decided to move the Rams back to Los Angeles in 2016. The move came after a major clash with local authorities over his request for more than $700 million in improvements to the Edward Jones Dome, now called The Dome at America's Center.

The decision sparked outrage among St. Louis fans. Some headlines dubbed him "the most hated man in Missouri," while others posted messages like, "Fuck you, Stan Kroenke." Even St. Louis native Andy Cohen made an obscene gesture at him on his Bravo show.

The resentment still lingers. In 2021, the YouTube channel STL Sport Central posted a video titled " Stan Kroenke is a liar ," where they recalled an old statement by the businessman: "We came to St. Louis to work hard and achieve success."

The video also included the response of a man wearing a Veterans of Foreign Wars cap when asked what he would say to Kroenke if he had the chance: “Goodbye, and don’t let the door hit you on your way out.”

Last year, ESPN reported that many fans attending St. Louis Battlehawks games in the United Football League wore shirts and carried signs with messages against Stan Kroenke.

“It’s a community experience based on two things: a love for spring football and a shared hatred for Stan Kroenke,” commented a fan named John Lewis.

In a 2016 interview on Southern California public radio's Take Two , the businessman defended the decision to move the Rams out of St. Louis. “There’s the emotional argument and then there’s the rational one. And rationally, unless you want to make a huge donation just to support the city, it didn’t make sense to stay,” he said.

When asked if he felt regret, he replied: "Of course I do, but that belongs to the emotional realm."

Later, Kroenke built SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, a $5.5 billion complex built on land he had quietly acquired years earlier, while still negotiating upgrades for the St. Louis stadium.

In 2022, the Rams won the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 with a comeback in the last quarter.

Meanwhile, former US soccer player Tim Howard said on SiriusXM Wednesday that Stan Kroenke, his son Josh, co-owner of the club, and manager Mikel Arteta deserve recognition for Arsenal's Premier League title.

“We have to give credit to the Kroenke family because these days it seems to be fashionable to fire coaches when the managers think they know better,” he said.

“The key is to hire a great manager and let him work. Manchester City did it, Liverpool did it, and now Arsenal has followed the same path. The others haven’t.”