Ben Johns comes to the right side to hit a short shot against Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquine during the PPA Carvana Mesa Cup 2026 Pro Mixed Doubles division final match at the Arizona Athletic Grounds on February 22, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona.
Bruce Yeung | Getty Images
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide for wealthy investors and consumers. Register to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Last month, the investment companies of the ultra-rich went all-in on sports and played on several fronts.
In early May, billionaire Tom Dundon’s family office teamed up with Apollo’s new sports fund to invest $225 million in Pickleball Inc., the parent company of Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour. Dundon already owns the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
As for the major leagues, Michael Dell, as part of an investor group led by Silver Lake’s Egon Durban, purchased a 25 percent stake in the Las Vegas Raiders football team. Dell is also a minority investor in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and the Austin Gamblers, a professional bull riding team.
Family offices made 51 direct investments in companies in May, flat compared to the April tally, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by Fintrx, a private wealth intelligence platform.
A Goldman Sachs survey released last fall found that 25% of family offices have invested in sports or related assets like ticketing or arenas, and another quarter are interested in doing so. Aside from their love of gambling, many investors are attracted to the sector as a hedge against inflation.
Student housing magnate David Adelman has used his family office to expand his reach in the sports economy. Adelman is a co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, English Premier League club Crystal Palace and the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team and an investor in sporting goods giant Fanatics.
In May, his investment firm Darco Capital co-led a $12 million Series A round for PlayerData with David Blitzer’s family office Bolt Ventures and venture capital firm Pentland Ventures. The British startup makes GPS-enabled vests and soccer balls that help athletes track their performance.
Adelman told CNBC that some teams in his portfolio use PlayerData products. Crystal Palace, for example, uses smart vests and footballs to train its academy players. Applying the technology for athletes at all levels, including youth sports, was part of the startup’s draw, according to Adelman.
“What stood out to me was the ability to take something complex and make it simple, practical and accessible,” Adelman said.