Report: 53-year-old who wants to buy Chelsea completely trumps Abramovich's net worth by some margin
Ken Griffin is certainly not strapped for cash.
The CEO of Citadel LLC, a mega financial service company, has put his wealth towards buying Chelsea.
It was recently confirmed that Griffin, 53, had jumped on board the bid fronted by the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs.
Whilst the Ricketts are pretty well equipped on the money front, they probably couldn’t afford Roman Abramovich’s kingdom on their own.
Hence why they enlisted the help of one of the wealthiest men in the American businesses game.
Griffin provides the extra dollars
By adding Griffin to their team, the Ricketts have access to his £21.7 billion (Athletic) net worth.
That is reportedly triple the value of Abramovich’s wealth, which has probably plummeted since the UK government froze his assets.
It is partly because of Griffin’s funding that the Ricketts are apparently viewed by some of the other candidates as the favourites to be selected by the Raine Group.
Another aspect in their corner is that they already know how a sports team operates, having owned the Cubs since 2009.
Also, they have experience in redeveloping a stadium, doing so with the fabled Wrigley Field.
Stamford Bridge could do with a makeover of its own.
Family failures
However, for all the pros, there is one major con holding them back right now.
Chelsea fans have made their feelings known about the bid via the #notoRicketts campaign gathering serious ground on social media.
This has been directed towards Joe, father of the family, in response to some disgraceful emails he sent out a few years ago and were subsequently leaked.
Joe is apparently not involved in the buying process, leaving the movement to his various children.
Tom is leading the charge, with brothers Pete and Todd on board, alongside sister Laura.
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