Move over, Steve Cohen. There will be a new richest owner in Major League Baseball, and he will preside over the much-maligned Los Angeles Angels.Tuesday’s news that Stan Kroenke will purchase a controlling stake in the Angels through his holding company, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, caused a significant power shift in the sport. Cohen, who is the majority owner of the New York Mets, has an estimated net worth of $23 billion, according to Forbes. Kroenke’s estimation: $24.3 billion.The Angels’ majority sale, an MLB-record $4 billion valuation, first reported by The Athletic, is the second record sale this year. The San Diego Padres were sold for $3.9 billion to a group led by Jose E Feliciano in a deal finalized last month. Feliciano is in the top half of the richest MLB majority owners on the Forbes list, though his net worth doesn’t come close to Cohen’s or Kroenke’s. Cohen purchased the Mets in 2020 for $2.4 billion, a record at the time. The least wealthy majority owner as of this year is believed to be Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini, who was succeeded by his son, Phil, in February. Bob has a reported net worth of $400 million.
While the timing of the Angels sale may be curious from Arte Moreno’s standpoint, it’s ideal for Kroenke.Multiple industry sources told The Athletic they felt the Angels were worth more than $4 billion, and any incoming owner is almost assuredly hoping the league will succeed in instituting a salary cap, which has historically caused franchise valuations to skyrocket when implemented in other professional sports. There’s also the potential to develop the land around Angel Stadium, which is about 150 acres and owned by the city of Anaheim.A previous attempt by Moreno to buy and develop that land for mixed use ended in controversy and political scandal. Tuesday’s $4 billion valuation only includes the team and its regional sports network, Angels Broadcast Television. There is no real estate agreement in place, though it seems likely that Kroenke, the largest private landholder in the United States, would find that potential attractive.The Angels’ majority sale comes amid recent speculation that Moreno, a typically hands-on owner, had retreated significantly in baseball operations. Perhaps the most public display of this was team president Molly Jolly’s in-season hiring of interim general manager John Mozeliak, who told the press after he was introduced that he hadn’t spoken with Moreno as part of the hiring process.Mozeliak operated with an unprecedented amount of autonomy during this year’s trade deadline that his predecessors did not experience. It’s unclear what the future holds for Mozeliak, though, once new ownership is finalized, which is expected in early 2027. Historically, Kroenke’s sports teams have prioritized internal promotions and growing from within.Kroenke’s sports portfolio also includes the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the MLS team Colorado Rapids and Arsenal of the Premier League.
