Teams/Atlantic Division

Brooklyn Nets

Joe Tsai has controlled the Nets since 2019, when he completed a two-step purchase at a $2.35B team valuation. Forbes values the team at $6.5B; it has had eight owners or ownership groups since 1967.

Team value$6.5BForbes, October 2026 · +16% in a year

Current owner paid$2.35B$2.35B valuation, 2019

Growth since 199841x$157M on the 1998 Forbes list

Owners since founding8Atlantic Division

Owner pagesJoe Tsai$12B · Technology Compare with another team

Snapshot

Owner today: Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, with 85% of parent company BSE Global; the Koch family holds 15%
Founded: 1967, as the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association (ABA); NBA since 1976. New York Nets 1968-1977; New Jersey Nets 1977-2012; Brooklyn Nets since 2012
Championships: None in the NBA; two ABA titles (1974, 1976)
Arena: Barclays Center, opened 2012; owned by a New York State agency and leased for $1 to a Tsai company; 17,732 seats
Bought: 49% in 2018 and the other 51% in 2019, from Mikhail Prokhorov
Price paid: A $2.35B valuation for the team, plus nearly $1B for the arena company; Forbes records $3.2B for both
Team value now: Forbes $6.5B (Oct 2026); Sportico $7.45B (2026)
Growth since purchase: About 2.8x the $2.35B team valuation; held seven years
Revenue and operating profit: Forbes: revenue $467M, operating profit $119M (2025-26 season)

Every owner since the start

2019-present
Joe Tsai
Bought 49% from Mikhail Prokhorov in 2018 at a $2.3B valuation and 51% in 2019 at $2.35B
2010-2019
Mikhail Prokhorov
Invested $223M for 80% of the team and 45% of the arena company; bought the rest in 2015
2004-2010
Bruce Ratner group (Forest City Ratner)
Bought the team from YankeeNets for $300M, to move it to Brooklyn
1999-2004
YankeeNets
Merger, not a sale: the Nets and New York Yankees went into one company
1998-1999
Lewis Katz and Raymond Chambers group
Bought the team for $150M, aiming to move it to Newark
1978-1998
Joseph Taub and Alan Cohen group
Bought from Roy Boe when the team had about $19M of debts; price not found
About 1969-1978
Roy Boe
Bought the whole team from Arthur Brown for $1.1M
1967-about 1969
Arthur J. Brown
Founded the team as the New Jersey Americans

Value over time

Forbes estimatePrice in an actual sale

11998 Katz-Chambers group buys, $150M
21999 Merged into YankeeNets
32004 Ratner group buys, $300M
42010 Prokhorov buys 80%, $223M
52019 Tsai takes control, $2.35B

Forbes annual team values, 1998 to 2026. Forbes published no list in 2001, 2006 or 2010. Numbered lines mark changes of control.

Show the numbers

Year	Forbes value
1998	$157M
1999	$166M
2000	$179M
2002	$169M
2003	$218M
2004	$296M
2005	$271M
2007	$338M
2008	$295M
2009	$269M
2011	$312M
2012	$357M
2013	$530M
2014	$780M
2015	$1.5B
2016	$1.7B
2017	$1.8B
2018	$2.3B
2019	$2.35B
2020	$2.5B
2021	$3.2B
2022	$3.5B
2023	$3.85B
2024	$4.8B
2025	$5.6B
2026	$6.5B

Year	Sale	Team valued at
1998	Lewis Katz and Raymond Chambers group buys the team	$150M
2004	Bruce Ratner group buys the team from YankeeNets	$300M
2018	Joe Tsai buys 49% at a $2.3B valuation	$2.3B
2019	Tsai buys the other 51% at a $2.35B valuation	$2.35B
2024	Koch family buys 15% of BSE Global (Nets, Liberty, arena rights) for $688M at a $6B enterprise value Not on the chart: this values the parent company, not the team alone.	$6B

Forbes valued the Nets at $157M in 1998 and $6.5B in 2026, about 41 times as much. The biggest one-year jump was $950M in 2024, from $3.85B to $4.8B; by percentage it was 2015, up 92%.

How the current owner bought it

The seller was Mikhail Prokhorov. Stage one, agreed in October 2017, bought 49% at a $2.3B valuation, with an option on the rest.
In August 2019 Tsai exercised the option on the other 51% at a $2.35B valuation, then a record for a US team.
He bought the Barclays Center operating company separately for nearly $1B.
Owner loans to BSE Global funded part of the purchase; $550M was still outstanding in 2024.
In June 2024 the Koch family paid $688M in cash for 15% of BSE Global; $492M of it repaid owner loans.

Partners in the team

Partner	Stake	Who they are
Julia Koch and family	15% of BSE Global, bought in June 2024 for $688M; that valued BSE at $6B including debt	Forbes put the family's fortune at $65.7B in 2024
Clara Wu Tsai	Shares the 85% holding with Joe Tsai; the split is undisclosed	Co-owner, vice chair of BSE Global and governor of the New York Liberty

How the team is run

Tsai is chairman of BSE Global and the team's NBA governor. He says owners should stay in the background and let professional managers run the team.
Since mid-2024 he has backed a full rebuild. The team used five first-round draft picks in 2025.
Joe and Clara Wu Tsai announced their divorce on 31 July 2026. They said ownership and roles will not change.

Quick answers

Who owns the Brooklyn Nets?

Joe Tsai has controlled the Nets since 2019, when he completed a two-step purchase at a $2.35B team valuation.

How much are the Brooklyn Nets worth?

Forbes values the Brooklyn Nets at $6.5B in its October 2026 list, up 16% from $5.6B a year earlier. That makes them the 8th most valuable of the 30 teams; in 1998 Forbes put the team at $157M.

How much did the current owner pay for the Nets?

$2.35B valuation (Joe Tsai, 2019). Forbes now values the team at 2.8 times that price.

Who owned the Brooklyn Nets before the current owner?

Mikhail Prokhorov (2010-2019). Invested $223M for 80% of the team and 45% of the arena company; bought the rest in 2015.

Open questions

How BSE Global's equity will be divided in the divorce is not disclosed.
The team-only price is reported two ways: $2.35B by CBS Sports, and $2.26B in cash plus assumed debt by Sportico.
Commercial Observer reported $1.7B for Prokhorov's 2015 buyout of the team and arena; the cash actually paid was not found.
Roy Boe bought the team in 1968 or after the 1968-69 season; sources differ.