bet365 Owners Hit Rich List 2016
Published on by Becky M.
The Sunday Times Rich list for 2016 was recently published and the Coates family, owners of bet365, are ranked 24th. This is a very impressive ranking, especially when you consider the fact that the family are the highest-ranked digital owners on the list. Their combined wealth is estimated to be around £3.8 billion, with their wealth growing by £1.4 billion in the last twelve months alone.
The family is made up of Denise Coates (CEO), her brother John (co-CEO) and their father Peter (Chairman). Thanks to the success of the company, Denise holds the distinction of being Britain’s richest self-made woman; she helped transform the company from a regional bookmaker based in retail outlets to one of the country’s most successful digital enterprises. Denise is bet365’s largest shareholder, with 50% equity; the family controls 93% of the company’s holdings.
Online Success
In 2000, Denise saw that the future of the company was online and she decided to purchase the bet365 domain name on eBay for a reported $25,000. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and in the 2014-15 financial year, its profits nearly doubled.
Thanks to the continued success of online gambling and the growing popularity of mobile gambling, other gambling companies are featured in the Sunday Times Richlist. Ranking 38th with a personal wealth of £2.9 billion is Mark Sheinberg, the former owner of PokerStars. Teddy Sagi, the founder of Playtech Plc, makes his first appearance on the list’s top 50 with an estimated personal wealth of £2.5 billion, coming 44th. With a combined wealth of £1.3 billion, Fred and Peter Done, the owners of Betfred, also make their first appearance on the list, coming in at number 82.
First Billionaires
In 2014, the Coates family were the first people in the UK to become billionaires through gambling. Their continued success goes to show just how popular and well respected bet365 is throughout the world.