SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Coates family, the founders and largest shareholders of leading online betting operator bet365, have retained the title of highest-ranking digital enterprise owners in this year’s ‘The Sunday Times Rich List’.
With a combined estimated wealth of £5 billion, Denise (CEO), John (COO) and Peter (Chairman) Coates have ranked 22nd in this year’s Rich List. The Sunday Times details that the family’s wealth has grown circa £1 billion in the last 12 months as bet365 continues to expand its online betting business.
Denise Coates (CBE) has been ranked as the UK’s fifth richest woman. During the 2000’s, she transformed bet365, which holds a 5/5 performance rating on Bookmaker Ratings, from a small ‘family owned’ independent bookmaker chain to a digital giant.
Coates’ success has placed her as the highest earning female in the UK and helped her to gain further accolades as one of the leading minds in digital enterprise operations, in 2012 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Staffordshire University .
The family owners of Stoke City Football Club have retained a 93% share in ‘cash cow’ bet365. To date, the family has refused all requests by banks and financiers to take the bookmaker into a public listing, stating that they are simply not interested in the IPO game.
The private family are among the highest charitable donors in the UK, having donated to national charities, international projects founded by Oxfam and University programs, while developing art and cultural foundations.
