West Ham co-owners Daniel Kretinsky and David Sullivan have rocketed up the Sunday Times Rich List once again as a takeover battle looms large.
West Ham majority owner David Sullivan and the club’s second biggest stakeholder Daniel Kretinsky may soon be the subject of an inside coup.
Albert Tripp Smith, who owns eight per cent of the Hammers, is said to be leading a US bid to buy into West Ham.
It has been claimed Chelsea part-owner Mark Walter, worth an estimated £4.5bn, could also be involved as part of a Smith-led consortium.
A top Hammers source revealed the bid could be part of a coup at West Ham by Tripp Smith, which would target the Gold family’s 25 per cent share to add to his eight per cent – but then also purchase Kretinsky’s 27 per cent stake too.
Potential West Ham takeover battle looms
That, it was claimed, could then give the Tripp Smith and Guggenheim US consortium a controlling 60.1% share of West Ham to outvote the remaining shareholders – chiefly Sullivan.
One of the reasons cited for Smith’s push to lead a US takeover coup is growing belief that Sullivan does not have the financial wherewithal to drive the Hammers forward in a fiercely competitive Premier League.
Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but the Hammers have confirmed early talks are real.
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West Ham have now responded to speculation over the US bid.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
The Hammers’ current key stakeholders are certainly not short of a few quid, though, that’s for sure.
West Ham co-owners Kretinsky and Sullivan have rocketed up the Rich List again for 2025 as a takeover battle looms.
The Hammers face a huge rebuild this summer but have let it be known they are at their limit in terms of PSR, meaning players must be sold to fund signings for Graham Potter.
Where West Ham co-owners Kretinsky and Sullivan sit on Rich List
A prominent West Ham source close to the owners also dropped a £160m bombshell this week, claiming the Hammers are facing a huge financial black hole.
But Kretinsky and Sullivan are certainly doing alright.
West Ham’s main owners are yet again officially two of the 150 richest people in the country.
Kretinsky owns 27 per cent of West Ham but is very much one of the wealthiest club owners in the Premier League.
Photo by VLASTIMIL VACEK/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by VLASTIMIL VACEK/AFP via Getty Images
Sullivan and Kretinsky jump up Sunday Times Rich List for 2025
Last year, the Czech Sphinx rose a massive 14 places on the list from 47th to 33rd with a net worth of over £5bn. That was up £2bn on the year before.
Now Kretinsky has jumped another 11 places on the list to 22nd with an official wealth figure of just under £8bn (£7.79bn).
“Known as the “Czech Sphinx”, Kretinsky has set in motion the takeover of Royal Mail. He owns stakes in West Ham United and J.Sainsbury,” The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 states.
Including assets, Kreinsky’s net worth is actually thought to be nearer to £13bn.
Sullivan, who is listed as David Sullivan and family, jumped nine places from 159th to 150th in last year’s Sunday Times Rich List.
Now the man who has been at the Hammers helm since 2010, has risen a further seven places to 143rd despite his wealth diminishing ever so slightly to £1.118bn.
The Rich List incorrectly states Sullivan owns ‘nearly 40 per cent of West Ham’ and cites his property portfolio in London’s West End as a major element of his wealth.
It means the combined wealth of the Hammers duo is around £9bn – and will be in excess of £10bn for all owners when Tripp Smith and the Gold family are factored in.
At the top of the list is Gopi Hinduja and family with wealth exceeding £35bn.
The Indian-born industrialist sits at the top of the tree for a fourth successive year. Gopi, 85, is the eldest of the three surviving Hinduja brothers.