Ken Kendrick Net Worth

Ken Kendrick has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Ken Kendrick profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $1 billion in 2022.

Ken Kendrick is the managing general partner and largest shareholder of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was part of the group that brought the MLB expansion team to Arizona in 1995. Since 2004, he has handled day-to-day operations and served as the club's designated representative at owners meetings. He is best known in sports as the Diamondbacks' principal owner, but his wealth was built before baseball through software and banking.

Before his baseball role, Kendrick started at IBM and later founded Datatel, a software company focused on colleges, universities and foundations. Datatel bought SunGard Higher Education in 2011 for $1.75 billion, then the combined business became Ellucian. In 2015, Ellucian was sold to TPG Capital for $3.5 billion. Kendrick also became the principal investor in Woodforest National Bank in 1989, adding banking to the businesses behind his fortune.

How Ken Kendrick built his wealth

Kendrick made his money from 2 main areas: software and banking. He founded Datatel after beginning his career with IBM, and the company grew into a major software business serving higher education. A key deal came in 2011, when Datatel acquired SunGard Higher Education for $1.75 billion. The merged company was renamed Ellucian, and that business later sold in 2015 for $3.5 billion.

Banking also played a major role. In 1989, Kendrick became the principal investor in Woodforest National Bank in Texas. Later, sports became another big piece of his business profile. He joined the group that landed Arizona's MLB expansion team in 1995 and became managing general partner in 2004. In 2021, he also joined investors including Larry Fitzgerald, Kevin Durant and Andy Roddick in the $850 million purchase of Collectors, a memorabilia authenticator.

Forbes net worth and other money angles

Forbes has tracked Kendrick as a self-made billionaire in the sports industry. Its annual estimates put him at $1 billion in 2022 and 2023, $1.1 billion in 2024, and $1.2 billion in 2025 and 2026. As of October 20, 2026, Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker also showed $1.2 billion. That wealth comes from banking, his sports team stake, and the software fortune he built earlier in his career.

Another notable asset is his baseball card collection. Forbes says Kendrick owns one of the world's most valuable card collections, with an estimated 9-figure value. It includes a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card. Separately, a Hall of Fame display featured his T206 Honus Wagner and 34 other cards from the D-backs Collection, showing that collectibles are an important part of his money story too.