ATLANTA — Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur M. Blank fared rather well in Forbes.com's annual survey of the world's richest billionaires (released Tuesday), ranking 394th overall.
This annual listing covers the 2,073 active billionaires (including ties), ranging from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (ranked No. 1) and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (No. 2) to Star Wars creator George Lucas (No. 325), President Donald J. Trump (No. 715) and Kylie Jenner, the youngest self-made billionaire to reach the countdown.
In terms of sports ownership, Blank (estimated valuation: $4.7 billion) ranks sixth among NFL owners (behind David Tepper, Stan Kroenke, Jerry Jones, Shahid Khan, Robert Kraft) and third among Major League Soccer owners (behind Kroenke, Kraft).
Blank's path to amazing wealth began in 1978, when he and Bernie Marcus (No. 337 on the list) co-founded Home Depot in metro Atlanta.
From there, Blank and his AMB Group company acquired the Falcons (2002) and United (debut season in 2017; MLS Cup in 2018), while putting serious money toward Mercedes-Benz Stadium – one of the country's best venues for football, soccer and rock concerts.
CELEBRITY BILLIONAIRES
George Lucas (No. 325)
Mark Cuban (No. 478)
Steven Spielberg (No. 568)
President Trump (No. 715)
Oprah Winfrey (No. 916)
NOTABLE SPORTS BILLIONAIRES
Jerry Jones (No. 224)
Robert Kraft (No. 224)
Arthur Blank (No. 394)
Vince McMahon (No. 691)
Michael Jordan (No. 1,281)
GEORGIA-CONNECTED BILLIONAIRES
Bubba Cathy (No. 272)
Dan Cathy (No. 272)
Bernie Marcus (No. 337)
Arthur Blank (No. 394)
Randall Rollins (No. 478)
Ted Turner (No. 1,057)
Sara Blakely (No. 1,941)
