Playing a professional sport and rising to superstar status is a good way to make big money. Top-rank pros take down many millions per year. Then there are guys like Stan and Josh Kroenke.
They don’t play the game. Instead, they run the game – and earn more than enough money to warrant the responsibilities that come with being in charge.
According to Sportskeeda, Josh Kroenke’s net worth is $1.5 billion.
Josh’s dad, Stan Kroenke, is said to be worth $18 billion.
Between them, they are deep in the business of slam dunks, shots on goal, and fights for gridiron yardage.
MANY JOBS AND MANY RESPONSIBILITIES
To earn his considerable keep, Josh Kroenke, 45, is heir to Stan Kroenke’s corporation, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
As such, Josh helps run the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team, the Colorado Rapids (a franchise within Major League Soccer), and Arsenal Football Club in the UK. At the moment, 888sport's Premier League betting market offers plenty of action for or against Arsenal.
Clearly, a man for all seasons, Josh has games to gamble on from one end of the calendar to the other.
And his father, Stan, 78, is president/owner of the Los Angeles Rams, a team that is perfect for fall and winter wagering in NFL betting at 888sport.
BORN TO RUN THINGS
Some people bootstrap their way into owning a sports franchise. That was not the way things came together for Josh Kroenke.
He was born into a family with no shortage of money and influence. His mother, Ann Walton Kroenke, is a member of the family that owns the giant retail chain Walmart. His dad, Stan Kroenke, made his fortune in real estate and sports.
Fitting right in, Josh was a world class athlete. He excelled at downhill skiing, soccer, and basketball.
Standing 6’ 4” with a great shot, he snagged a spot on the University of Missouri basketball team – and a full ride to go along with it. Josh did not get drafted into the NBA, but he had summer league opportunities from the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls.
Kroenke told Sports Business Journal, “The easiest thing I could have done would have been to go work for one of my family’s businesses somewhere. But I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s the best experience for me.’”
At least for the moment…
MAKING HIS OWN WAY AND FINDING HIS WAY HOME
Rather than opting for the easy route, in 2004 Josh Kroenke moved to New York City and landed an entry level job with the NBA. From there he floated to the real estate department of Lehman Brothers, an investment bank that flamed out horribly in 2008.
But, in 2007, one year before the company filed for bankruptcy, Josh made his next move. Having paid some dues and picked up experience on the outside, he took a job in the family business.
According to Sports Business Journal, after starting at his dad’s sports-team enterprise, Josh did everything from working in the marketing department to rebounding basketballs as players perfected their shots.
He asked questions, he found answers, he learned about team ownership from the ground up.
RUNNING THE SHOW
In 2010, Josh’s father Stan became majority owner of the St. Louis Rams football team (now the Los Angeles Rams).
Abiding by NFL rules, which, at the time, did not allow cross ownership, the Nuggets and Avalanche were put into a trust. Josh, at the relatively tender age of 30, took the reins. Now, 15 years later, he continues to hold them.
Since assuming the top spot, Josh has shown himself to be a big booster of using analytics to optimize play of his various franchises. This math-driven approach paid off for the Nuggets in 2023 when the team won its first ever NBA championship.
While the Nuggets disappointed fans by being routed in the seventh game of the second-round playoffs earlier this year and some of Josh’s management decisions drew heat, the team boss has long believed in looking forward rather than back.
As he stated in 2018, “I don’t rest on my laurels. It’s how can I be better today and how can I make the people around me better.”
No doubt, it’s a way of thinking that his dad would agree with.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
