How Aston Villa and Birmingham City's owners made their millions | OneFootball

FLW looks at how the Second City rivals' owners made their money

Aston Villa and Birmingham City are two of the fiercest rivals in the whole of English football.

But, at this point - at least on the field - the two Second City rivals currently have a gap between them which hasn't been there since the mid-1990's, when Blues were last in League One.

Relegation for the B9 outfit was compounded by the fact that their B6 neighbours had qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1983 under the guidance of Unai Emery.

However, the current outlook is as positive as its ever been at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, thanks to heavy investment from Knighthead, as well as the American investment group's well-documented short and long-term plans.

With that being said, Football League World has looked into how Tom Wagner made his name in the world of business, alongside Villa's joint-ownership, fronted by Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.

Aston Villa boast some of the wealthiest owners in English football

At present, the Claret and Blue side of Birmingham are controlled by V Sports - with Sawiris and Edens currently two of the wealthiest owners in the country, with them being ranked as the third-highest in terms of net worth in the Premier League, behind Newcastle United and Manchester United.

According to Forbes - as of November 13th 2024 - Sawiris is ranked as the 379th-richest person in the world, with a valuation of $7.7bn to his name, which makes the 63-year-old the wealthiest person in his native Egypt as per Good Returns.

Sawiris runs and holds stakes in a variety of fields, including the running of OCI - one of the largest nitrogen fertilisation products in the world - as well as following in his father's footsteps by controlling Orascom Construction, who are dual-listed in Egypt and the UAE.

Furthermore, he also holds a five percent stake in Madison Square Garden Sports, and an approximately six percent stake in Adidas, who have produced the Villans' kits for the current campaign.

His business partner, Edens, who also helped save the club from the brink back in 2018, has a valuation of $2.6bn and is the chairman of Fortress Investment Group, as well as owning the only private-passenger trains in the US, which run from Miami to Orlando.

The 63-year-old is also the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA franchise, as well as Portuguese side, Vitoria Guimaraes.

The background behind Birmingham City's current ownership group

Meanwhile, the man behind well-documented ambitious plans in B9 started his career working for investment firm Goldman Sachs, before co-founding Knighthead Capital Management alongside Ara Cohen back in the summer of 2008.

The firm, fronted by the hedge fund manager, specialises in distressed credit, and as of 2023 - just prior to Wagner acquiring a 45.64% stake in the club through the holdings company of Shelby Companies Ltd - held a valuation of approximately $9bn (£7.25bn).

Despite Wagner also having the services of former NFL quarterback Tom Brady as a minority shareholder of the Blues, Brady's individual net worth is only said to come in at a figure of $300m at this moment in time.

Birmingham City will hope to emulate Aston Villa's recent success

Of course, it wasn't all that long ago that the Second City Derby was a regular fixture in the Championship, prior to Villa's eventual promotion under Dean Smith in May 2019.

The last feud between the two sides came just two months before, with Jack Grealish famously netting the winner at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park after being attacked by a Birmingham fan in the first half.

But, whilst the landscape of the two clubs have drastically changed since, Blues will be hoping to emulate the Villans' recent trajectory which has seen them become European contenders once more.

Wagner has publically stated his ambition to see Birmingham return to the top flight by 2026, meaning back-to-back promotions would have to be achieved to keep that dream intact.

Furthermore, the club hold plans to build a 'Sports Quarter' complex - including a 62,000 seater stadium - on the former Birmingham Wheels site, having acquired the 48 acres of land, which could set Wagner back a reported £2-3bn and see the club move out of its current home by 2029.

Meanwhile, in B6, it has been common knowledge that Villa Park is set to see its capacity rise above 50,000 in the coming years.