Below we have carried out a full-scale Glazer family net worth examination to see just how wealthy the Manchester United owners are.
Glazer Family Background
The Glazer family are some of the most talked about owners in the sporting world due to their controversial involvement with Premier League giants Manchester United, whom supporters have been trying to force out for over a decade.
It all started with Malcolm Glazer, an American businessman from Rochester, New York. In 1943, he inherited his father’s wholesale jewellery business and at the time he had just $300 to his name. Within five years, he began to start investing in other businesses.
He started off in real estate, buying multiple mobile home parks in the 1970s in Florida before purchasing TV stations. In 1984, he founded First Allied Corporation – a holding company for his different business interests.
In 1995, he bought the NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $192m. Seven years later, they won their first Super Bowl. In 2005, he paid almost $1.5bn for 28.7% of Manchester United, despite the takeover being hugely opposed by supporters.
A year later, Malcolm suffered two strokes that caused impaired speech and loss of mobility on the right side of his body. He passed away in May 2014 and his six children equally acquired the bulk of United’s shares, a 90% controlling stake.
Malcolm’s sons Joel and Avram are in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the club, serving as co-chairmen whilst Bryan, Darcie, Edward and Kevin serve as directors.
Glazer Family Net Worth and Income
Back in 2015, Forbes estimated the value of the Glazer family at around £4.1bn – but this was before the ever-increasing prices in football and Tampa Bay’s further success in the NFL, which saw Tom Brady come to Florida and win a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.
With all assets included, we can imagine the Glazer family has a net worth of at least £6.5bn.
What are Joel and Avram Glazer in charge of?
Officially, Joel and Avram share the same title – co-chairmen of Manchester United. Joel tends to be involved in discussions about player targets in the transfer window, and is believed to be the more hands-on worker of the pair.
Joel has been described as a ‘sleeves rolled-up’ executive compared to the ‘globe-trotting billionaire’ Avram. The family have a much more active involvement in running the Buccaneers and many think they simply see the Red Devils as a cash cow.
Avram sold £70m of shares in March 2021 – to which United received nothing – and now owns around 14% of voting rights. Joel has the largest stake in United of any of Malcolm’s children at 19%.
Directors Kevin and Edward sold a combined £9.5m in shares in October 2021, reducing the family’s holding to 69%.
The Glazers are currently in the process of selling the club as a whole, and are likely to begin proceedings by offloading a 25% minority stake to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe worth around £1.25bn.
INEOS and Qatari banker Shiekh Jassim both tabled bids of over £5bn to buy the club in its entirety, but neither bidder was able to meet the family’s valuation of the club. The latter withdrew from the process in October.
Glazer Family Controversies
The Glazer family are attempting to sell the club because of debt. The club was debt-free until the Glazers took ownership in 2005, which was met with extreme resentment from supporters but didn’t stop the deal from being completed.
The purchase agreement, recommended and guided by former CEO Ed Woodward, is also said to have added more than £500m of debt. Malcom Glazer used a leveraged buyout scheme to finance a large bulk of the takeover, instead of using his own money.
This means he borrowed funds against a future asset to purchase the club. Interest payments come to more than £60m every year and the buyout has cost Manchester United over £1bn in interest and other expenses during the Glazer era.
Following the pandemic, United’s debt increased by 133% to almost £500m by the end of 2020. Despite this, the family continue to take dividends out of the club every year as the debt rises.
The club’s 2018/19 financial statements included dividends of £23m, with the six Glazer children sharing £18m of it. Manchester United are the fourth highest revenue-generating club in the world and should not be in this position.
Red Devils fans have staged a number of protests across the years against the club’s ownership, such as the 2021 Old Trafford protests which saw protestors able to gain access to the stadium prior to a behind-closed-doors fixture against Liverpool and get the match postponed – for the first time in Premier League history.
If you spot a United fan wearing a green and gold bar scarf, this is a symbol of the club’s former identity – Newton Heath – who were founded in 1878, before being changed to Manchester United in 1902.
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