Who is Daniel Ek? The Spotify billionaire who wants to buy Arsenal

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 26 Sept 2021 17:41 BST
• 4 min read

Daniel Ek announced in April that he wanted to buy Premier League side Arsenal from Stan Kroeke.

And his name reappeared in the news during September's north London derby as he was spotted watching the game with Gunners legend Thierry Henry.

Henry and Spotify owner Daniel Ek?👀 pic.twitter.com/W9U0AOwM5w

— AFC Daily (@afcdailyy) September 26, 2021

For the Gunners, it has been a turbulent year. On the field, their fall continues to be profound as they finished in eighth position in the Premier League last season.

Meanwhile, off it, the failed breakaway into the European Super League served only to bring owner Stan Kroenke’s leadership into question.

The Arsenal owner since 2018, the American is under pressure from supporters to leave and Ek has said he would like to be considered as a possible buyer.

“As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I’d be happy to throw my hat in the ring,” he said in April, tagging the Gunners in his tweet as he informally announced his interest in the club.

Who is Daniel Ek?

Ek is best known for being the co-founder of music streaming service Spotify.

Indeed, on his private Instagram account, Ek bio reads: “Proud father to Elissa, Colinne and Spotify.”

Ek started his career building websites and was earning $50,000 by the time he turned 18. From there, he graduatred to a variety of other digital projects, including Advertigo, the sale of which earned him enough money to retire by the time he was 23.

However, Ek launched Spotify in 2008, with the streaming service now earning revenue of €7.88 billion in 2020.

He is a talented musician, who plays guitar, bass, piano and harmonica. He is also a close friend of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

How much is Daniel Ek worth?

According to his Forbes profile, Ek is worth $4.7 billion as of April 2021.

He is placed at No.622 on the Forbes list of billionaires as of 2021.

Compared to present owner Stan Kroenke, this represents a significantly smaller fortune. Kroenke is estimated to be worth $8.2bn.

How old is Daniel Ek?

Born in Stockholm, Sweden on 21 February 1983, Ek is 38 years old.