(Stan Kroenke via Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
Billionaire Stan Kroenke is now the largest private landowner in the United States.
According to The Land Report, which tracks private landholdings, Kroenke’s recent purchase of 937,000 acres of ranchland in New Mexico brought his total holdings to 2.7 million acres. For context, 2.7 million acres of land is twice the size of Delaware, more land than Yellowstone National Park or Los Angeles County, and roughly the combined size of Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and San Antonio.
As someone who covers the business side of sports, Kroenke is one of the industry’s most unique figures. After making billions in real estate, Kroenke has spent decades buying sports teams across leagues, states, and even continents. Kroenke’s holding company, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, now holds majority ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Rams (NFL), Arsenal FC (EPL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Colorado Mammoth (NLL).
In 2025, CNBC valued Kroenke Sports and Entertainment’s collection of assets at $21.17 billion, making it the world’s most valuable sports empire (by a country mile).
But we aren’t here just to talk about how Stan Kroenke used his wealth to buy sports teams. You see, Kroenke is famously private. Despite owning public-facing assets with millions of fans worldwide, Kroenke never gives interviews or holds press conferences. His nickname is “Silent Stan” because he operates in the shadows.
So for today’s newsletter, I’m going to peel back the curtain on Kroenke’s business. We’ll start by talking about how the 78-year-old billionaire really made his money (hint: there is enough controversy here for a full newsletter all by itself), but then we’ll dive deep into the strategy he deployed that every sports team is now trying to copy.
I apologize in advance for writing nearly 3,000 words on this topic, but I wanted to be comprehensive. Kroenke is the architect of the anchor-tenant + land-control + long-timeline strategy that has become prevalent in sports today. I had to dig through decades of financials, articles, and interviews to make this newsletter happen, but I promise you it will be the most comprehensive breakdown anywhere on the internet.
