13 of The Richest People in Horse Racing

If you’re scrolling through a rich list of sports stars, you’ll be searching for hours before you stumble upon a jockey. But that doesn’t mean that horse racing is an underfunded sport. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Some of the very richest people on the planet are fanatics of the sport - the world’s billionaires are far more involved than you think. We’ve looked at information based on Forbes’ rich list to bring you the richest people in the horse racing industry and some of them have pockets bursting at the seams!

 

1. Kenny Troutt, Winstar Farm, $1.41 Billion

 

Age: 69

Nationality: American, Mount Vernon Illinois

Net Worth: $1.41 Billion

 

Kenny Troutt founded Excel Communications in Texas, which was a pioneering movement in the ability to make long distance phone calls. He sold this company in 1998 for $3.5 billion, to a larger telecoms company Teleglobe. The money he made here granted him the billionaire status that he has today, which in turn helped him to buy WinStar Farm, a Kentucky based breeding stables. The investment brought him a wealth of success as some of his horses have claimed huge wins at meets such as the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby.

 

2. Frank Stronach, Stronach Stables, $1.47 Billion

Age: 85

Nationality: Austrian, Gutenberg an der Raabklamm

Net Worth: $1.47 billion

 

Stronach has always been involved in racing one way or another. He was the founder of Canadian motor racing suppliers Magna International, where he now takes a more non-executive role. He has also been actively involved in Austrian politics where he has been the leader of several new parties. Stronach has been involved in Thoroughbred racing for almost 40 years. He owns Stronach Stables and has won over 20 awards for both ‘Outstanding Breeder’ and ‘Outstanding Owner’. Some of his impressive achievements include victories in both the Belmont Stakes (1997) and the Breeders Cup Classic (2004).

 

3. Gerald Harvey, Magic Millions, $1.57 Billion

 

Age: 78

Nationality: Australian, New South Wales.

Net Worth: $1.57 billion

 

Gerald Harvey is a retail tycoon in Australia, specialising in furniture and electrical goods. The wealth he gained from Harvey Norman Holdings allowed him to take co-ownership of Magic Millions - one of the most famous thoroughbred auction houses in the world. He then took full ownership of the business after buying out his partner. The Australian owns his own stud farms too; 5 to be exact, across New Zealand and Australia. It’s suggested that he has over 1,000 horses to his name…

 

4. Charlotte Colket Weber, Live Oak Stud Farm, $1.59 Billion

 

Age: 74

Nationality: American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Net Worth: $1.59 billion

 

Like her cousin Mary Malone (featured below), Weber is an heiress of the Campbell Soup Company, but is no longer on the board of directors. She owns Live Oak Stud Farm, situated in one of the ‘Horse Capitals of the World’, Ocala, Florida. It’s staged on more than 4,500 acres of land and is home to over 40 graded stakes winners on some of the biggest stages. Notably, Miesque’s Approval took the crown at the Breeders Cup Mile in 2006 and the stables’ success has continued year on year.

 

5. Julio Bozano, Haras Santa Maria de Araras, $1.81 Billion

 

Age: 80

Nationality: Brazilian, Rio Grande do Sul

Net Worth: $1.81 billion

 

This former bank owner has been passionate about breeding horses since 1986. Bozano owns various horse farms across North and South America, but most poignant is Haras Santa Maria de Araras, which is located in Ocala, Florida like Charlotte Weber. He supposedly owns over 300 mares and many race winning thoroughbreds including Gold Cup winner Freddy Boy. The history of the farm is something special, as their site claims to have started with just two horses in 1968 and grown year on year. Bozano still manages to devote much of his time to his farms, despite his busy billionaire lifestyle.

 

6. Bradley Hughes, Spendthrift Farm, $2.7 Billion

 

Age: 84

Nationality: American, Gotebo, Oklahoma

Net Worth: $2.7 billion

 

Hughes was the founder of Public Storage, America’s largest self storage company. At one stage of his career, the American was CEO of 18 separate Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)  that eventually became one. Horse racing is a primary hobby of his and Hughes has owned Thoroughbred horses for 45 years. He bought the world famous Spendthrift Farm in 2004, situated in Lexington, Kentucky. It remains one of the most successful farms in racing history, producing horses that have won every Triple Crown race including 9 Kentucky Derby victories

 

7. Gerald J Ford, Diamond A Farms, $2.9 Billion

 

Age: 73

Nationality: American, Pampa, Texas

Net Worth: $2.9 billion

 

Gerald Ford was CEO of the California Federal Bank (Golden State Bancorp) until he sold it for $6 billion in 2002. He’s also busy with in the gold industry; being in a position of authority at Freeport-McMoRan which is the largest public gold trader on the planet. This money contributed to his ownership of Diamond A Farms, where he owns Thoroughbred racers that have taken famous victories at the Breeders Cup and Dubai World Cup. Undoubtedly Ford’s most prolific horse is Pleasantly Perfect, who is still one of the highest earning horses of all time.

 

8. Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, Iron Spring Farm, $3.3 Billion

 

Age: 67/68

Nationality: American, Coatsville, Pennsylvania

Net Worth: $3.3 billion

 

Malone is an heiress to the Campbell Soup Company founded by her grandfather John Dorrance. She devotes her life to the equine world and has used some of her fortune to possess Iron Spring Farm in Pennsylvania. She is a master of importation and scours the globe to find the best stallions around to breed champions of the sport. Iron Spring is the home of Judgement - the most decorated American jump horse of all time. The farm is not Malone’s only equine residence, she has various centres across the states.

 

9. Robert ‘Bobby’ McNair, Stonerside, $3.8 Billion

 

Age: 79

Nationality:  American, Tampa, Florida

Net Worth: $3.8 billion

 

Bobby is a familiar face in the US, being at the centre of the Nation’s most popular sport. He is the owner of american football side Houston Texans, where he now resides. McNair’s involvement in horse racing has declined over the years, where he once owned one of the biggest breeding stables in the world, Stonerside. It has been nominated numerous times for the Eclipse Outstanding Breeder award for its success with over 250 horses. In 2008, McNair and his wife sold the business to the Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai.

 

10. Walter Haefner, Moyglare Stud Farm, $4.3 Billion (Deceased)

 

Age: Died age 101 (2012)

Nationality: Swiss, Zurich

Net Worth: $4.3 billion at time of death

 

Although he has now passed away, swiss-born Walter Haefner still holds the record as the world’s oldest billionaire when he held over four billion dollars aged 101. He made his money when becoming majority shareholder of CA Information Technology, something he had worked towards for many years, after starting from the very bottom with his own software company. At the same time, Haefner was very interested in horse racing and saw Ireland as a hotspot for thoroughbred breeding. This is where he bought his own stud farm, Moyglare, which is now owned by his daughter. Some of his horses have claimed huge wins including the Melbourne Cup (Media Puzzle) and the Belmont Stakes (Go and Go).

 

11. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Stonerside, $4.5 Billion

 

Age: 68

Nationality: Emirati, Dubai

Net Worth: $4.5 billion

 

The UAE Prime Minister has been labelled as the biggest spender in horse racing history, the Sheikh owns many stables and centres across the world. He bought Robert McNair’s Stonerside in 2008. His first win as a rightful horse owner was in 1977 at Brighton, United Kingdom and he has gone from strength to strength ever since. He has made a name for himself at auctions across the world, where likes to be present at his own deals whenever possible, accompanied by heavy security.

 

12. Kirsten Rausing, Lanwades Stud Farm, $7.7 Billion

 

Age: 65

Nationality: Swedish, Lund

Net Worth: $7.7 billion

 

Kirsten Rausing’s grandfather was the inventor of multi-billion pound packaging company Tetra-Pak which her family are the sole owners of. Her primary occupation is breeding horses at her residence on Lanwades Stud Farm in Newmarket. Rausing has claimed her horses have accumulated nearly 1500 wins in the last 18 years, a feat unlikely to be matched by many other farms in the world. Madame Chiang took £65,000 at Ascot in 2015, and Lanwades took in a huge total of £697,476 in 2016 just from race winnings alone.

 

13. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, La Presle Farm, $23.8 Billion

 

Age: 69 and 66

Nationality: French, Paris

Net Worth: $23.8 billion combined

 

The Wertheimer brothers are two of the richest people in the world, inheriting the entire Chanel business from their father Jaques. Their inheritance also came with a horse racing business based at Le Presle Farm, which is now branded Frere et Wertheimer. They’ve had their fair share of success on the track too, claiming wins in both the Breeders Cup and American Horse of the Year Awards.

 

So it appears there are some seriously rich people who take an interest in horse racing. In fact  it seems to be the most popular hobby around when billionaires are concerned. Although we may never achieve the success of these giants, it gives a good indication at just how respected it is as a sport, and how you can mix with some of the wealthiest people around, just by loving horses! To look at buying your own horse, check our horses for sale page now!