Shahid Khan is the sole owner of Fulham Football Club after buying the team in 2013. The American billionaire bought the Craven Cottage side from Mohamed Al Fayed to end his 16-year custodianship.
Al Fayed brought top-flight football back to Fulham during his tenure at Craven Cottage. He funded the west London outfit’s rise to the Premier League in 2001 and cemented their place in the division. While Khan has overseen several seasons in the top-flight and in the Championship since his buyout.
Khan convinced Al Fayed to accept his offer to buy Fulham through his evident successes in business and passion for sport. While Khan stated at the time of the takeover that he did ‘not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham but a custodian of the club’ on behalf of the Cottagers’ loyal fanbase.
When did Shahid Khan become the owner of Fulham?
The Cottagers’ previous owner, Al Fayed, agreed to sell 100% of the shares in Fulham to Khan debt-free in July 2013. Khan paid the Egyptian businessman upwards of $225m (£178m) to gain complete control of the west London outfit. Al Fayed had bought Fulham for a mere fee of $9m (£7m) in 1997.
While the fee Al Fayed paid to purchase Fulham was a bargain by today’s standards, he proceeded to invest a further $300m (£237m). His tenure as the Cottagers’ owner saw Fulham secure their return to the top-flight in 2001. Fulham had not played in the top-flight in 1968 yet they stayed there until 2014.
Fulham suffered relegation into the Championship during Khan’s first campaign as the club’s owner in 2013/14. It took the west London natives four seasons to secure their return to the Premier League. But they endured relegations in 2018/19 and 2020/21 around promotions in 2017/18, 2019/20 and 2021/22.
One of Khan’s first acts as the owner of Fulham was also to remove the statue of Michael Jackson at Craven Cottage. Al Fayed erected the tribute to the late musician on the corner of the Riverside and Hammersmith stands in 2011. But Khan listened to feedback from their fans and removed it in 2013.
Relegation into the Championship failed to change Khan’s commitment to Fulham as the club signed Ross McCormack. The Cottagers paid Leeds United a Championship-record £11m in July 2014. They had also broken their club record to sign Kostas Mitroglou from Olympiakos that January for £12m.
Fulham have broken their transfer record again in the years since after signing Jean Michael Seri from OGC Nice for £25m in July 2018. While Harry Wilson left Liverpool to join the Cottagers for £12m in July 2021. He would help Fulham to win the Championship title during his debut season with the club.
What have Fulham won with Shahid Khan as their owner?
Khan is yet to see the Cottagers add a major title to Fulham’s trophy cabinet since becoming their sole owner. Fulham have also seldom reached the quarter-finals or later rounds of a major domestic cup competition since 2013. But the west London natives have secured promotions for their record.
Fulham ended their four-year hiatus from the Premier League after winning the Championship play-offs in 2017/18. The Cottagers had lost to Reading in the semi-finals during the play-offs in 2016/17. But they built on their disappointment and beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Wembley through Tom Cairney.
Relegation would immediately follow, though, but Fulham bounced straight back up via the play-offs again. Joe Bryan scored twice in extra time to beat Brentford 2-1 at Wembley. Yet relegation followed again in 2020/21 before Wilson’s arrival helped Fulham to lift the Championship title during 2021/22.
What other sports franchises does Shahid Khan own?
As well as being the owner of Fulham, Khan bought the NFL Franchise, Jacksonville Jaguars, back in 2012. He agreed to terms to buy the Florida-based team from Delores and Wayne Weaver and seven other investors for $770m (£607m) in 2011. The Jags have since developed a big presence in the UK.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have an exclusive contract with Wembley to host at least one regular-season fixture each year. NFL owners approved the deal as the Jags are considered a small-market franchise. Forbes named the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 28th most valuable of the 32 NFL franchises for 2022.
As of August 2022, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ net worth was $3.75bn (£3bn) and boasted an operating income of $113.7m (£90m). Forbes had listed the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 26th-most valuable NFL franchise in August 2021. The Jags were worth $2.8bn (£2.2bn) with an income of $68.8m (£54.4m).
How much is Shahid Khan worth? What is his net worth?
According to Forbes, Fulham owner Khan has a net worth of $12.2bn (£9.5m) as of August 2023. It further lists the Florida resident as the 144th richest person in the world and placed Khan in 55th in the Forbes 400 list for 2022. Khan is a self-made billionaire and built his worth in the auto parts industry.
Khan earned a bachelor’s degree in arts and science from the University of Illinois before turning to engineering. He bought the auto parts supplier, Flex-N-Gate, back in 1980 from his former employer. But the majority of his success in the industry came from Khan designing a one-piece truck bumper.