Owner: Clayton Bennet

Wealth: Diversified

Clay Bennett is the least wealthy owner in the NBA, as he works as the chairman of an investment company called Professional Basketball Club, a company whose sole purpose is to own the Sonics and move them to Oklahoma City. Though he doesn't officially own the team, he acts as chairman of PBC and is the visible owner of the franchise.

Owner: Chris Cohan

Wealth: Cable Television

The owner with the least information about his wealth, Cohan founded Sonic Communications, a cable television provider. He sold the company in 1998 for $200M. However, he is now under investigation that he abused tax shelters on his profits from the company, and potentially owes the IRS back taxes and penalties of $160M. He's also been in court over supposed hand-shake agreements to sell portions of the teams to potential investors. He's been embroiled in court proceedings nearly the entire time he's been owner.

Owner: Leslie Alexander

Wealth: Student Loans

Leslie Alexander worked on Wall Street after graduating from NYU and excelled in the Derivatives department of Lawrence Kotkin Associates, specializing in options trading. He eventually left to start his own investment firm, The Alexander Group. His massive wealth came from a 20% investment in the student loan company First Marblehead, which is worth about $750M.

Interesting Note: Alexander is an ardent vegetarian, which explains the "Animal Rights" signs the Rockets dancers usually wear.

Owner: Stan Kroenke

Wealth: Married Rich

For all the entrepreneurs on this list, none had a better path to wealth than Stan Kroenke. He married Anne Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. To be fair to Kroenke however, he had a very successful real estate development company before he married. After his marriage however, his company oftentimes had exclusive rights to develop the plazas and stores around new Wal-Marts in the Rocky Mountain region. Not a bad business deal if you can get it.

Owner: Michael Heisley

Wealth: Sewer Drain Equipment

Heisley was determined to be an entrepreneur, and sold his house for $150,000, borrowed $10M, and bought Conco, a maker of sewer and drain equipment. He borrowed again to buy Rust Belt, a car parts company. He's purchased other companies through the years, and they are collectively held under the name Heico. He's worth just over $1B today.

Owner: George Shinn

Wealth: Business Colleges

Shinn graduated from Evans Business College in Concord, NC, in 1963. He liked the school so much, he bought it. He continued his buying spree, buying multiple 2 year colleges in the Southeast and consolidating them under the name Rutledge Education Systems. He sold these schools in 1985 for $30M. He bought the Charlotte expansion team for $32.5M a few years later.

Owner: Maloof Brothers

Wealth: Casino Development

The Maloof brothers bought the Fiesta casino in Las Vegas in 1994 for $8M, selling it in 2000 for $185M. They immediately reinvested the money into their newest creation The Palms Hotel and Casino, one of the hottest properties in Vegas. Though the 2 brothers are most famous and well-known, the entire family are owners in the casino business.

Owner: Donald Sterling

Wealth: Real Estate

Sterling started his career towards wealth as a divorce and personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles, but later began to invest in apartment buildings in Beverly Hills, and soon quit his law position to focus exclusively on real estate. He parlayed the money from his apartments to buy the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5M.

Interesting Note: Jerry Buss got his money to buy the Lakers by selling many of his apartment complexes to Donald Sterling. Buss later repaid the favor to Sterling by helping him buy the Clippers.