York is co-chairman of the San Francisco 49ers, a team in the National Football League. The Santa Clara-based club has been controlled by the York family since 1977. Denise York owns about 90% of the 49ers with her husband John York and son Jed York. The 49ers lost the Super Bowl in February 2024.
York's fortune is derived from her family's stake in the San Francisco 49ers, a team in the National Football League.
The sale of a 6.2% stake in the 49ers was approved by NFL owners in May 2025, according to a Blomberg News report. The sale valued the team at $8.5 billion and this figure is used in this analysis. The 49ers were valued at $8.6 billion in an August 2025 analysis by valuation consultants Sportico.
Denise DeBartolo York and her husband are co-chairmen, according to the 49ers website. Their son Jed York is chief executive. Denise York & family are attributed a 90.8% stake in this analysis.
York and the 49ers Enterprises consortium completed a takeover of English soccer club Leeds United in a 2023 deal that valued the club at about 170 million pounds ($215 million). York and her family are attributed a 90.8% stake here.
Joshua Stephens, a spokesman for the 49ers, didn't respond to a request for comment on the net worth calculation.
York was born in 1950.
In 1977, her father, Edward DeBartolo, purchased two sporting teams: the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins and National Football League's San Francisco 49ers.
Denise was appointed president of the Penguins in 1988 before the family sold the team in 1991.
The Yorks retained control of the 49ers and Denise, with her husband John York, appointed their son Jed York as chief executive in 2008.
The 49ers moved into Levi's Stadium, in Santa Clara, California, in 2014.