Owning a high profile sports team is one of the world’s biggest status symbols.

In an industry worth hundreds of billions, you have to be in the top one percent to afford a stake in a club, let alone an entire team.

Billionaire businessman, reality television star and now sports mogul. Tilman Fertitta has joined the list of major sports team owners and secured his place among America’s most successful.

Tilman Fertitta becomes Houston Rockets owner

The Houston-born hospitality magnate (and star of CNBC show Billion Dollar Buyer) has successfully completed the takeover of National Basketball Association team Houston Rockets.

Fertitta splashed out $2.2 billion to become the sole Houston Rockets owner. While unconfirmed by the club, that’s according to a report on the official NBA website.

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Former owner Leslie Alexander confirmed that the club was on the market back in July. A number of Houston’s biggest names have since expressed an interest in completing a takeover.

Former Rockets star Hakeen Olajuwon showed interest. Likewise, “Queen Bee” Beyoncé was reportedly considering a purchase.

However, Fertitta seemingly wanted it more, or simply had more to spend.

The multi-billion dollar deal broke the NBA record. No buyer has ever paid more for a basketball team.

The previous record stood at $2b. That was set by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer when he took over the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014.

Fertitta’s purchase means that NBA’s current 30 owners have spent close to $10b purchasing majority stakes in their respective clubs. Here’s how much each owner spent:

NBA’s big spenders: How much did each owner pay for their team?

 Team Owner Purchase amount
 Houston Rockets Tilman Fertitta  $2.2b
 Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer $2.0b
 Brooklyn Nets Mikhail Prokhorov $1.7b
 Atlanta Hawks Tony Ressler $850m
 Milwaukee Bucks Marc Larsy and Wesley Edens $550m
 Sacremento Kings Vivek Raadive and co. $534m
 Denver Nuggets Kroenke family $450m
 Golden State Warriors Joe Lacob $450m
 Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert $375m
 Boston Celtics  Wyc Grousbeck  $360m
 Memphis Grizzlies Robert J. Pera $350m
 Oklahoma City Thunder Clay Bennett $350m
Detroit Pistons Tom Gores $325m
Washington Wizards  Ted Leonsis $310m
Philadelphia 76ers Joshua Harris and co. $297m
Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban $285m
Charlotte Bobcats Michael Jordan $275m
Orlando Magic Richard DeVos $85m
New Orleans Pelicans Tom Benson $70m
Portland Trail Blazers Paul Allen $70m
Los Angeles Lakers Buss family $67.5m
Utah Jazz Gail Miller $9.5m
Chicago Bulls Jerry Reinsdorf $9.2m
Indiana Pacers Herbert Simon $4.5m