Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour – 4 things to know about the supercar-loving UAE royal with a US$527 million superyacht
Few Middle Eastern royals are as internationally recognised as Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the UAE, who sparked headlines across the globe when he bought the UK’s Manchester City Football Club in 2008.
His subsequent investments in the club – of more than US$1.6 million over the first decade alone – projected a novel form of soft power on the world stage, but only made minor dents in his fortune, estimated at more than US$30 billion.
But what else do you know about the 49-year-old figurehead? Here are four things you need to know about the beloved Emirati royal.
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Sheikh Mansour was educated in the UAE and the US
He studied at Santa Barbara Community College, California, in 1989, before returning to the UAE, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the United Arab Emirates University, the oldest in the country.
His love of City is beyond dispute
Since Sheikh Mansour took over the reins from former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, City have gone on to win four English Premier League titles, four League Cups and two FA Cups – causing the City Football Group’s value to skyrocket to US$4.8 billion, and making MCFC one of the most valuable sporting franchises in the world.
Sheikh Mansour’s City Football Group also owns Melbourne City FC, New York City FC, which it founded in 2015. He also owns a stake in the China League Two club Sichuan Jiuniu FC and was last year reportedly eyeing an Indonesian team as his next investment.
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His ambitions are in outer space
Sheikh Mansour also owns a 32 per cent stake in Virgin Galactic, British tycoon Richard Branson’s groundbreaking commercial space tourism company, and holds substantial stakes in German automotive company Daimler AG and Barclays.
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At home, he runs the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), a media empire that operates Sky News Arabia in partnership with the British Sky Broadcasting.
He also chairs the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), a body set up by the Abu Dhabi government in 1984 to forge a new future for its citizens by investing in energy and other sources of power.
Living in style
Sheikh Mansour is not shy when it comes to enjoying the finer things in life. His superyacht, Topaz, is worth US$527 million, and is the seventh-largest in the world. It was famously rented by Leonardo DiCaprio for the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
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His luxury car collection is said to include five Bugatti Veyrons, a Ferrari 599XX, McLaren MC12, Ferrari F40, Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and a Lamborghini Reventón. However, he is usually spotted around town in a Mercedes-AMG G63 SUV or Range Rover – painted in white, as is the region’s regal style.
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He turned MCFC into one of the world’s biggest sporting franchises and is funnelling money into Richard Branson’s space tourism programme Virgin Galactic