Stan Kroenke Enos Stanley " Stan " Kroenke ( ; born July 29 , 1947 in Columbia , Missouri ) is an American business entrepreneur . He is named after St . Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers Enos " Country " Slaughter and Stan " The Man " Musial . His wife , Ann Walton Kroenke , is the daughter of Wal - Mart cofounder Bud Walton . Kroenke is also the owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises , which includes the Denver Nuggets of the NBA , Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer , Colorado Avalanche of the NHL , Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and St . Louis Rams of the NFL ( the Colorado sports properties are in the name of Josh Kroenke , one of his children , to satisfy NFL ownership restrictions that forbid a team owner from owning teams in other markets ) . Kroenke is also the majority shareholder of English football club Arsenal . He currently lives in Columbia , Missouri . Kroenke was estimated to be worth $ US 4 billion by Forbes in 2012 . Business career . Real estate . Kroenke obtained a Bachelor of Arts , Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Missouri . He founded the Kroenke Group in 1983 , a real estate development firm that has constructed numerous shopping centers and apartment buildings . Since his marriage to Walton , he has been in the special position to develop many of the plazas near Wal - Mart stores . He is also the chairman of THF Realty , an independent real estate development company that specializes in suburban development . He founded this corporation in St . Louis in 1991 . Kroenke was already a wealthy man in his own right , but became even more so in 1995 , when he and Ann inherited a stake in Wal - Mart upon the death of Bud Walton . That stake is now worth over $ 6 billion . Kroenke Sports Enterprises . Kroenke is a well - known sports mogul . As the head and owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises , he bought a 40 percent stake in the National Football League ' s St . Louis Rams after their relocation to Missouri in 1995 . In 2000 , he became full owner of both the National Basketball Association ' s Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League ' s Colorado Avalanche , purchasing the team from Charlie Lyons ' " Ascent Entertainment Group " . In 2002 , he partnered with Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Bronco quarterback John Elway to become part - owner of the Arena Football League ' s Colorado Crush . He continued to grow his sports empire in 2004 , when he purchased the National Lacrosse League ' s Colorado Mammoth and Major League Soccer ' s Colorado Rapids from Phil Anschutz . In 2010 , Kroenke exercised his right of first refusal to buy the remaining interest in the St . Louis Rams from the estate of late owner Georgia Frontiere . On August 25 , 2010 , he became full owner of the Rams by unanimous consent of the NFL . To gain approval from NFL owners , Kroenke agreed to turn over control of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his son , Josh , by the end of 2010 , and he must give up his majority stake in both teams by December 2014 . The NFL does not allow its owners to hold majority control of major league teams in other NFL markets . Kroenke Sports Enterprise also owns Pepsi Center in Denver , home of the Nuggets and Avalanche , and co - owns Dick ' s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City , home of the Rapids . Both venues were built by his development company . In 2004 , Kroenke launched his own competitor to FSN Rocky Mountain ( now known as Root Sports Rocky Mountain ) , Altitude , a new regional sports network which became the official broadcaster for both of Kroenke ' s teams on launch . Kroenke also established TicketHorse , a ticket company that provides in - house sales for all of his teams . Kroenke is a somewhat reclusive man who stays out of the limelight . He is popularly known as " Silent Stan " because he almost never gives interviews to the press . He rarely interferes in his teams ' day - to - day operations . Kroenke is the largest shareholder of Premier League football club Arsenal . Arsenal already had a technical link - up with Kroenke ' s Colorado Rapids when in April 2007 Granada Ventures , a subsidiary of ITV plc , had sold their 9 . 9 % stake in Arsenal Holdings plc to Kroenke ' s KSE UK inc . Kroenke went on to buy further shares in the club , taking his total stake up to 12 . 19 % . The club ' s board initially expressed skepticism that a bid would be in its best interests , but gradually warmed to him as part of counteracting Alisher Usmanov ' s rival bid for the club . By June 2008 the board had prepared to let Kroenke take over the club , and on 19 September 2008 it was officially announced that Kroenke had joined the Arsenal board of directors . Kroenke has a beneficial interest in , and controls voting rights over , 18 , 594 Shares , representing 29 . 9 % of the issued Shares meaning he is nearing the 29 . 99 % threshold , beyond which he would be forced to make an offer for all the remaining shares . On 10th April 2011 , it was reported that Kroenke was in advanced talks to complete the takeover of Arsenal . The following day , it was announced that he increased his shareholding in Arsenal to 62 . 89 % by purchasing the stakes of Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell - Smith , and agreed to make an offer for the rest of the club at £11 , 750 per share , valuing the club at £731M . Other businesses . In 2006 , Kroenke , in partnership with the money manager Charles Banks , acquired the Napa Valley winery Screaming Eagle . ( In April 2009 , Banks stated he was no longer involved with Screaming Eagle ) .