Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has continue his show of commitment to taking control of Arsenal Football Club.
The 62-year-old has said he will look to launch a takeover of the the club once he is done with his projects which is his main focus for now.
Dangote is eyeing the completion of an oil refinery in Lagos sometime early in the current decade, a process that has been delayed several times and one that looks to have ultimately pushed back his ambitions of buying the North London side.
Estimates of Dangote’s considerable wealth vary; some reports put it at $15billion (£11.5billion according to the current exchange rate) following another wonderful year of growth for his business empire.
Forbes, which will likely refresh its list of the world’s richest people before long, puts his wealth around $10billion (£7.7billion), making him the world’s 136th richest person.
The Premier League is already home to some of the world’s richest owners, so how does Dangote’s wealth compare to his Rivals in club business ?
John Henry
Club: Liverpool
Wealth: $2.8billion (£2.2billion)
Liverpool’s chairman has played the waiting game for nearly a decade but his patience paid off as the club lifted the Champions League last season and the UEFA super cup last earlier this season.
A Premier League title is set to be in Liverpool’s trophy cabinet this season and Henry, whose wealth of $2.8billion per Forbes puts him well outside the riches of other Premier League club owners.
Guo Guangchang
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wealth: $7.2billion (£5.5billion)
The backing of Guangchang, chairman of the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, has helped propel Wolverhampton Wanderers from a Championship club to European football in just three years.
Guangchang’s fortune and influence has helped Wolves assemble a squad with Champions League pedigree while still in the Championship.
He hasn’t handed the club a blank cheque in the way some of his rivals have but his financial backing has steered the club to success, the almost got a taste of a Silverware last football season getting to the Semi Finals of FA Emirates Cup.
Stan Kroenke
Club: Arsenal
Wealth: $9.7billion (£7.5billion)
Arsenal’s current owner is a little behind Dangote in the billionaire stakes, with a wealth of roughly $9.7billion according to Forbes.
A collector of sports teams, the American also controls NBA side Denver Nuggets, NHL team Colorado Avalanche and, the jewel in the crown, NFL major the L.A. Rams.
Kroenke has been Arsenal’s sole owner since September 2018 – but has angered fans with his refusal to invest massively.
Roman Abramovich
Club: Chelsea
Wealth: $12.6billion (£9.7billion)
The man largely responsible for the sudden rise in Premier League transfers beginning in the mid-2000s, Abramovich is ranked by Forbes as the 107th richest man in the world.
The Russian has supported Chelsea’s success for nearly two decades, handing the London club £247million last season to corroborate his continued love for investment.
Despite this rumours twisted around Abramovich’s future at Chelsea in 2019 especially in light of problems renewing his visa with the British government.
Sheikh Mansour
Club: Manchester City
Wealth: $20-30billion (£15.4-23billion)
The net worth of Manchester City’s owner varies wildly but it’s fair to say he’s the richest man in the Premier League, being born into the United Arab Emirates royal family.
Having taken control of Manchester City back in 2008, Mansour’s largesse – an investment of some £1.3billion over the previous decade.
Last season marked a change of direction for Mansour and City, as the club were not injected with any fresh capital from their owners and subsided on their own revenues.
With manager Pep Guardiola almost certain to demand a rebuild this summer, Mansour may well provide backing once again.