The world's richest individuals are seeking new ways to invest their wealth beyond luxury cars and yachts, and the latest trend is football. Greg Penner, the chairman of Walmart and one of the multi-billionaires, has just added European leagues to his ever-expanding sports investment portfolio. With rugby and baseball already in his collection, football is now another sport he covers.
A consortium supported by top private equity billionaires and ultra-high net worth investors has agreed to acquire a 42% stake in the Spanish football club Valencia CF. Based on the deal, the club is currently valued at 1.2 billion euros (1.34 billion US dollars). This transaction is led by Pitchwise Holdings, with well-known investors including KKR co-founder Henry Kravis (with a fortune of 17.4 billion US dollars) and George Roberts (with a fortune of 17.7 billion US dollars). Another important supporter is Penner Sports – a family and sports investment platform operated by Penner and his wife Carrie; Carrie is the granddaughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
As part of this investment, the Valencia club will also receive a capital injection of approximately 100 million euros (nearly 112 million US dollars).
The general partners of Pitchwise, Ann Rodriguez and Corey Woolfolk, stated in a press release: "This club possesses all the fundamental conditions necessary to become a leading club in European men's and women's football." They added, "However, we are also aware that the regulatory and competitive environment of modern football means that potential alone is not enough; a clear investment strategy and dedication are also required."
This investment comes against the backdrop of billionaires such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and American real estate mogul Stanley Kroenke investing in European football clubs as another way to keep their wealth circulating. And this is not the first time that Walmart's chairman has made a major bet on sports; Valencia CF is just the latest in his global investments.
Fortune then contacted Walmart and Pitchwise to seek their comments.
Investment layout of Greg and Carrie Penner from NFL to MLB
Greg and Carrie Penner have been building sports investment portfolios for many years, starting with one of NFL's most valuable teams, and then expanding to new sports projects and international markets.
In 2022, Walton - Penner Family Ownership Group (now Penner Sports Group) acquired a controlling stake in the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion.
Today, the Walmart chairman has served as the owner and CEO of this NFL team for five seasons, and this investment has also brought considerable returns: Forbes estimates that the Broncos are now worth $9.4 billion, more than doubling in value since the Penner couple purchased them.
Moreover, this team seems to have also made a comeback on the competitive front; the Denver team returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 in 2024, and in 2025 they had a record of 14 wins and 3 losses, making it to the division championship game. Penner once stated that the potential criticisms and challenges faced in managing a competitive NFL team – coupled with his responsibilities as an executive – are all worth it.
In an interview in 2022, he said: "We enjoy challenges and also competition. NFL is one of the best places to achieve this. At the same time, we have the opportunity to build a business around it, to do it in a way that combines family and career, which is very interesting."
Earlier this year, this couple further expanded their sports asset portfolio through their investment in the Colorado Rockies via Penner Sports Group.
They are currently the largest minority shareholders of this MLB team, although the acquisition price has never been disclosed. Forbes estimates that the value of this team is currently $1.68 billion, so the shareholding value of the Penner couple is approximately $672 million. Multiple sources also state that the Penner couple "intends to take over" the Rockies team, replacing the main owners Dick and Charlie Monfort, and plans to purchase an additional 35% of the shares next year after MLB has recovered.
Billionaires who support European sports leagues
Penner is not the only ultra-high net worth individual from the United States to invest funds in European sports leagues.
Earlier this year, Bezos joined a consortium that acquired approximately 30% of shares in Liverpool Football Club. Led by British-Indian investor Amit Bhatia, the consortium made a provisional offer to Fenway Sports Group ( FSG ) to acquire a minority stake for £1.35 billion (nearly $1.8 billion), which valued this Premier League club at around £4.5 billion (about $6 billion).
In 2022, a consortium led by Todd Boehly, the CEO of holding company Eldridge Industries, acquired Chelsea Football Club for £4.25 billion, which was approximately $5.2 billion at that time. This American businessman, with a net worth of about $9.2 billion, bought the team from the Russian business oligarch Roman Abramovich who was forced to sell it.
Stanley Kroenke, with a net worth of $29.1 billion, also gradually acquired the popular Premier League team Arsenal over a period of ten years. As early as 2007, Kroenke first purchased 9.9% of the shares in Arsenal's holding company, and by 2011 had increased its stake to 62%, becoming the controlling shareholder. Finally, in 2018, they achieved full ownership of the club. Overall, it is estimated that they spent about $1 billion on acquiring this club.
