Who is Dan Friedkin? Roma billionaire owner's huge net worth as Everton takeover agreement reached

US billionaire and AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin is closing in on a takeover of Everton. Friedkin Group had stepped away from negotiations with Farhad Moshiri back in July but a deal is now back on with an agreement reached.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club," a statement from the Friedkin Group read. "We are focused on securing the necessary approvals to complete the transaction. We look forward to providing stability to the club, and sharing our vision for its future, including the completion of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock."

Bloomberg reported on Monday that the group had returned to the table in a serious way and talks were progressing towards reaching a positive conclusion. It's said that Moshiri and Friedkin are in advanced stages to confirm a deal that would bring an end to months of uncertainty at Goodison Park. Moshiri currently owns 94% of the football club.

READ MORE: BREAKING Friedkin Group Everton takeover confirmed as Farhad Moshiri agreement reached

READ MORE: Everton takeover LIVE - Friedkin Group deal back on, £500m investment claim, John Textor stance

The news comes as a huge positive for supporters after a sale to Miami-based 777 Partners LLC collapsed earlier this year. London-based lender Leadenhall Capital led the claims that 777 Partners misled lenders by securing huge loans against assets already pledged in other agreements, leading to the complete collapse of the Everton deal, which in turn has meant a whole host of parties have shown interest in jumping in their seat while it's still warm.

Here, the ECHO brings you the lowdown on the potential new owner at Everton, including all of his current ventures.

Who is Dan Friedkin?

Friedkin is the president and owner of Serie A giants Roma, for whom he paid £591million in 2020 for 96% of the club. Friedkin also owns Gulf States Toyota, a company based out of Houston that holds exclusive rights to distribute Toyota vehicles in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

His company's hold in the car industry in those states led to sales worth $9.1billion (£7.1billion) of Toyotas in 2022, which saw his personal net worth skyrocket. In 2020, Forbes estimated the 59-year-old's net worth to be $3.3billion (£2.5billion), but that has seen steady growth year-on-year since then leading to their 2024 estimation of double that - a $6.4billion (£5billion) net worth.

That growth has partly come from his film production studio producing Martin Scorsese's critically-acclaimed epic "Killers Of The Flower Moon" last year on top of Friedkin's luxury hospitality management firm Auberge Resorts, which has properties in Aspen, Colorado and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, as well as Costa Rica, Europe, the Caribbean, and Fiji.

Friedkin also owns the Friedkin Conservation Fund, a company that conducts research and monitoring in order to protect millions of acres of endangered wildlife areas and stimulate community development in East Africa and help to promote effective wildlife management decisions and long-term sustainability of wildlife and their wilderness, with his family leasing 3.2 million acres of land for protected wildlife areas across Tanzania.