- TKO and Endeavor Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel has been declared a billionaire
- Emanuel’s rise to billionaire status was a result of the UFC and WWE’s success
UFC owner Ari Emanuel has officially become a billionaire after the company made great strides.
A massive progress for the company
The UFC’s parent companies TKO and Endeavor Group Holdings have achieved yet another milestone. According to Bloomberg Billionaire index, TKO and Endeavor Group Holdings CEO Emanuel has reached billionaire status following a huge surge in his personal wealth while running the companies that own both the UFC and the WWE.
It was noted that there has been a staggering 48 percent increase in the share price for Endeavor Group Holdings under Emanuel’s leadership which was the biggest contributor in his significant financial gain. This was the result of the UFC and WWE’s success.
It’s all about trusting talented people
Emanuel reflected on his success and spoke about how having a talented group of associates played a key role in it. According to the CEO, supporting guys like Dana White and Paul Levesque a.k.a. “Triple H” is what made everything possible for them in recent years.
“I don’t think it’s Fight Club,” Emanuel told Bloomberg. “I remember watching WWE — WWF, actually — when I was young. Paul [Levesque] has done an amazing job with the WWE, with Raw, SmackDown, PLEs, NXT. And UFC is a sport that Dana [White] created over 30 years ago. Didn’t exist. His vision. You don’t have to explain the rules of the UFC to anybody in the world.”
“When you have guys that are visionaries, take whatever comes through on the cases with Vince McMahon who is no longer with the company, and now Paul, Triple H, is running that,” he continued. “They understand, kind of, the heartbeat. The skills I’ve maybe learned in the talent agency side have helped, but now we’re partners. So, now, that’s how I look at it. You just have to let the talent — and those guys are talent — do what they do and support them with all that they need.”
Moreover, Emanuel is expected to take another major leap as the UFC hopes to secure a new broadcast rights deal with ESPN after their current deal expires this year. Emanuel and his group are likely to ask for more than $1 billion per year from the premier sports broadcasting company.
