Arsenal’s billionaire owner Stan Kroenke has flexed his financial muscle to become the largest private landowner in the US, according to a new ranking.
Trade publication The Land Report’s annual list of the top 100 US landowners places Kroenke top following his acquisition of almost 1m acres of New Mexico last month.
The real estate and sports tycoon, whose other teams include the NFL’s LA Rams and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, now owns 2.7m acres across the country, according to The Land Report.
That includes the Hollywood Park development in Inglewood, California, which contains the $5.5bn SoFi Stadium, the most expensive sports arena ever built.
Kroenke is estimated to be worth $21.3bn (£15.8bn), placing him just outside the world’s top 100 wealthiest people, and is married to Ann Walton, an heir to the Walmart empire.
His investment in Arsenal has also paid off, with the club now considered to be worth roughly double the £1.8bn valuation at which he took full control in 2018 – and rising.
Kroenke Arsenal bets now paying off
He has sanctioned unprecedented spending in north London during recent seasons, which has paid off with the club reaching last season’s Champions League semi-finals and on course for a first Premier League title in 22 years.
Kroenke’s expertise in developing venues could be an asset as Arsenal look to expand their 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium amid excess demand for tickets.
His purchase of the 937,000-acre Singleton Ranches in New Mexico last month was the biggest US land transaction by area in more than a decade.
He also owns the 535,000-acre Waggoner Ranch in Texas, which he bought in 2016 and the 124,000-acre Broken O Ranch in Montana, as well as 60m square feet of commercial space.
Kroenke’s expanding empire saw him replace West Coast timber magnates the Emmerson family as the largest private landowner in the US.
“Capital is moving into American land for a variety of reasons,” said The Land Report editor Eric O’Keefe. “It’s a proven return on investment in terms of the slow, steady appreciation.”