Much has been written about the current West Ham ownership, yet as a lifelong suffering fan, I recall similar issues with previous incumbents—Terry Brown and, dare I say, the Icelandic consortium. The latter paid £80m to buy the club in 2006, initially seen as a safer bet than Kia Joorabchian and his financial backers, most notably Israeli property and hotel tycoon Eli Papouchado.
What cannot be ignored is that football is a business. David Sullivan and the late David Gold saw a lucrative opportunity when they bought into the club in 2010. Daniel Křetínský’s £125m cash injection in 2021 valued the club at around £627m. If Sullivan sold his shares today, he would make approximately £230m profit, while Vanessa Gold would earn around £160m.
As reported by Sean Whetstone in November, the club has the fourth richest owners in the Premier League, with a combined wealth of £16bn, trailing only Newcastle, Manchester United, and Manchester City.
Sullivan (£1.1bn) owns 38.8%, the Gold family (£650m) 25.1%, and Křetínský (£13bn) 27%, are well-known figures. But what about the other minority shareholders?
Kretinsky’s influence is growing at West Ham
West Ham: Minor shareholders
Daniel Harris, son of John Harris, is one such figure. John Harris, who sadly passed away in 2021 aged 88, founded and chaired Alba Group, which included brands like Grundig, Alba, Goodmans, Pulse, and Bush. A lifelong West Ham fan born in Seven Kings, John Harris initially imported sweets from Japan before diversifying into electronics, acquiring Bush in 1988 and Goodmans in 1993. His son Daniel, CEO of the group since 1992, is now a Non-Executive Director on the West Ham board. With 52 active appointments focused on real estate, the Harris family is reportedly worth £200m, and own 0.85%.
J. Albert “Tripp” Smith, an American with an 8% holding in the club, has a reported net worth of £1bn. Founder of GSO Capital Partners in 2005, he later sold the firm to Blackstone, serving as Managing Director before leaving in 2018. He now leads Iron Park Capital Partners, a global investment manager acquired by General Atlantic in 2023.
Terry Brown, aged 82, faced significant criticism as Chairman of West Ham alongside the Warner and Cearns families. Brown made £33.4m from the 2006 sale to the Icelandic consortium. Now a non-board member, he retains a small stake in the club (0.25%), reinvested in 2010 alongside the Harris family. Brown, whose wealth comes from the caravan park business, is reportedly worth £50m.
Brown was invited back to West Ham despite his unpopularity
While the idea of wealthy owners excites fans dreaming of transfer war chests, the reality is that PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) limits the financial upside.
The latest accounts showed a £57.2m net profit, primarily driven by Declan Rice’s sale and Europa Conference win income. However, this year’s results may not be as rosy, with potential losses projected between £60m and £80m
I certainly hope that Daniel Kretinsky’s growing influence at the club and 27% share ownership leads to him becoming our majority shareholder and a complete transformation in our future direction. His personal wealth is estimated to be £6 billion and he led his EP Groups recent takeover of the Royal Mail which had been valued at over £5.3 billion, so a hugely successful businessman and exactly who we need for future success. If he were to purchase the Gold family’s 25% stake that would give him a majority shareholding.
I have no doubt that he would not have invested £125 million without a plan to grow the club.
Trouble is half the fanbase peddle out how Sully and Gold saved the club. Other consortiums were ready to step in with offers so the club would never have gone out of business, just Sully and Golds offer was the best of a bad bunch.
Then you have people like me who always think the grass is greener, wanting the Cearns and Brown out, only to be faced by the flash in the pan Icelandics.
Fact is the club has a bloody curse on it so nothing ever changes irrelevant of owners, manager, or players.
Literally everything wrong with this club is still Sully…..SULLIVAN OUT
Ability in board members is more important than their financial worth. Appoint a good manager is invaluable. Realising that penny pinching costs money is another important thing.
We have one owner who treats the club like a football game and another who has very little direct involvement is too much of both extremes.