Champions League final: What percentage of Liverpool FC does LeBron James own?
NBA star LeBron James bought a small stake in Liverpool FC in 2011, before becoming a partner in the Premier League club’s ownership company last year.
LeBron James’ investment in Liverpool FC has multiplied in value since he acquired a small stake in the Premier League soccer club just over a decade ago.
Together with business partner Maverick Carter, the NBA star spent $6.5 million on a 2% stake in the club in April 2011.
In March 2021, it was then announced that James, Carter and their business associate Paul Wachter were to “exchange a previously held interest in Liverpool” and become minor partners in Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the company that owns the Reds.
FSG did not confirm the size of the trio’s investment in the sports empire, whose portfolio of teams also includes MLB franchise Boston Red Sox and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
How much are Liverpool worth?
Amid significant on-field success in recent years, the club’s value has rocketed.
In April 2021, Forbes magazine estimated that Liverpool’s worth had in the past decade increased from $619m to $4.1bn. According to the prestigious financial publication, that made the six-time European champions the 12th-most valuable sports team in the world.
Premier League champions in 2019/20, Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 and can win the seventh continental title in their history on Saturday, when they face Real Madrid in the final of Europe’s top club competition.
Since Jürgen Klopp’s 2015 appointment as head coach, the club have also lifted an FA Cup, a Carabao Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
How much are FSG worth?
According to a January 2022 estimate by Forbes, FSG are the third-most valuable sports ownership company in the world, with an overall worth of $9.1bn.
How much is LeBron’s stake worth?
As the scale of James’ investment in FSG has not been specified, it is unclear what the Los Angeles Lakers’ stake in the company is worth.
A KPMG evaluation of James’ Liverpool stake shortly before he bought into FSG estimated that his share in the club had risen in value to more than $45m.
World’s second-top-earning athlete
A four-time NBA champion, James was named by Forbes as the second-highest-paid athlete in 2022, with overall earnings of $121.1m, and was recently reported to have a net worth close to $1bn.
The 37-year-old’s other business interests include the media enterprise the SpringHill Company, the health firm Ladder, and the Blaze Pizza restaurant franchise.