Who is the Owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL? Name, Age, Net Worth, Controversy, & Background

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are one of the most loved franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the original franchises of the tournament when it started in 2008. The team has done well in the IPL but have failed to win a trophy yet. They have been to the finals thrice (2009, 2011, 2016) but couldn’t win the title. 

The team was bought by the popular businessman Vijay Mallya in 2008 for Rs 464 crore (about US$111.6 million). They were the second most expensive team in the tournament. However, things turned south and the ownership went to Diageo India in 2015. Diageo conquered the United Spirits and hence the changes happened. Since then, RCB has been handled by the United Spirits. The team played in the finals once in 2016 and have qualified for the playoffs multiple times after the change in ownership. 

Who is the owner of RCB?

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s owner as of 2025 is the United Spirits Limited. But, Prathmesh Mishra is the Chief Commercial Officer at United Spirits Ltd and the chairman of RCB. Hence, he is the owner of RCB. Born on October 18, 1969, Mishra worked as the Vice President-Operations at the Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd. Later, he was the Chief Operations Officer at Diageo India Pvt Ltd. 

He joined the company in 2014 and since then he has been a valuable member. The business operations in India come under him. Prathamesh has worked for over three decades and holds a lot of experience in promoting IMFL & Scotch Whiskies and has been the face of building Scotch whisky’s brand in India. 

Business Ventures and Affiliations

Talking about the company, the United Spirits Limited comes under Diageo which is a British multinational beverage alcohol company. They have their headquarters in London, United Kingdom. United Spirits are a vast company with many brands working around them. They work with spirits, beer, wine, scotch whisky, IMFL whisky, brandy, rum, vodka, and Gin. 

Apart from that, they also have some top sponsors including Happilo, KEI Wires and Cables, Qatar Airways, Jio, and Hindware Homes. There are also some renowned brands like PUMA, boAt, Nippon Paint, Bira 91, and DNA Networks which back the franchise financially. Also, having Virat Kohli in their team helps them a lot in terms of brand value.

What is the net worth of Royal Challengers Bengaluru?

On and off the field, the RCB franchise went through a lot in 2016, when the owner Vijay Mallya was stuck with loan problems. At that time, he was just a co-owner of the franchise but after that incident, United Spirits got full ownership. As per reports, in 2024, the net worth of the RCB franchise is USD 70 million, which is almost equal to INR 585 crores. 

Performance Stats under United Spirits

When Vijay Mallya was the owner of RCB, he used to be present in most of the games along with his son. The team did well since the start of the tournament but failed to win titles. Before the shift in ownership, RCB went to the finals twice, in 2009 and 2011 where they lost to Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings, respectively. However, after the change in ownership, the performance of the team has dripped. They qualified for the finals only once in 2016 and failed to win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB have qualified for the playoffs multiple times but couldn’t make it to the finals.  

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Ownership History

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ownership transferred from Vijay Mallya to the United Spirits because of the loan concerns that kept on rising for Mallya. Before that, he was a dedicated owner of the team who bought it for $111.6 million in 2008. He was the owner of the popular Indian alcoholic beverage brands Royal Challenge and McDowell’s. This is where RCB got its name from. Later, on February 25, 2016, Mallya resigned from his position as director of RC Sports Private Ltd., transferring all the rights to the United Spirits. He is currently living in London and remains active on social media often.

Controversies and Legal Challenges

RCB’s name was involved in multiple controversies during the days when Vijay Mallya used to own the franchise. The popular business tycoon faced some legal trouble over unpaid loans after which he had to step away from the ownership of RCB. However, since then, the franchise has been competing in the richest cricket league in the world without any further controversies and legal challenges.