Lakers Minority Owner Dr. Soon-Shiong Among NBA's Richest, Worth $7B

CBS Sports
Posted by Ben Golliver.

When the ongoing NBA lockout is framed as a battle between billionaire owners and millionaire players, it's often not an exaggeration.

Forbes.com released its annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans this week, and more than a dozen NBA owners and minority owners appeared on the list, among the new school technology geniuses and old money investment titans.

The NBA's richest individual owner, according to Forbes, is Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, the overall richest No. 1 ranked person on the list. Allen's net worth is reported as $13.2 billion and he ranks No. 23 overall on the list. He recently decided to sell one of his private islands.

Somewhat incredibly, Allen is more than twice as rich as the next individual NBA team majority owner. In second place is Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, owner of the Orlando Magic, who is ranked No. 60 with a net worth pegged at $5 billion.

Rounding out the top five richest individual NBA owners are Miami Heat owner Micky Arison (No. 75, $4.2 billion, Carnival Cruises), Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke (No. 107, $3.2 billion, Walmart) and new Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores (No. 159, $2.5 billion private equity). The Nuggets are operated by Kroenke's son, Josh.

The other seven NBA majority owners on the list are: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (No. 171, $2.3 billion), Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor (No. 242, $1.8 billion), Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon (No. 273, $1.6 billion), Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert (No. 293, $1.5 billion), Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley (No. 293, $1.5 billion) Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (No. 293, $1.5 billion) and new Philadelphia 76ers owner Joshua Harris (No. 309, $1.45 billion).

Los Angeles Lakers minority owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who recently purchased the ownership stake previously held by Lakers legend Magic Johnson, ranked No. 39 with a net worth of $7 billion.