[ is a businessman and ]racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
owner whose horses have won races including the Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte
The Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is sch ...
, Cesarewitch Handicap
The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...
, City and Suburban Handicap
The City and Suburban Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 2 furlongs and 17 yards (2,027 metres) at Epsom in April duri ...
, Ayr Gold Cup and Chester Cup
The Chester Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards () at Chester i ...
.
A 2018 Channel 4 documentary programme, ''My Millionaire Migrant Boss'', stated his wealth at £50 million. Koukash is often referred to as a multi-millionaire by the media, although he was declared bankrupt in 2022.
Early life and business career
Koukash was born on the west bank of the River Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
in December 1958 in Israel. When he was eight years old, a nearby Jordanian army base was bombed by the Israeli Air Force and fear of the planes made his family leave their farm 2and the family crossed into Jordan before settling in Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,[ where his father had already been living for 2 years 2 Eventually, he moved to ]Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
to progress his education, and settled in St Helens to study at the local technical college.[
He graduated from Liverpool John Moores University and progressed to get a PhD in electrical engineering. He taught at the university for five years, and was appointed Director of International Business.
He is also the owner of hotels operated by Hilton such as The Doubletree Hotel in Liverpool.
]
Horse racing
He was introduced to horse racing by his bank manager, Dave Matthews, and had his first winner in 2007. In 2012, he had 101 winners, who accumulated over £1m in prize money.[ His ]racing silks
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...
are grey with a gold star[ and many of his horses are named after his son, Gabrial and daughters, Lexi and Layla.][ He owns a pre-training facility in Knowsley and uses various trainers including ]Richard Fahey
Richard Fahey is a racehorse trainer, based in Malton, North Yorkshire. He has saddled over 60 Group race and Listed winners in the UK, Ireland, France and Canada. Group 1 winners include Perfect Power in the 2022 Commonwealth Cup and 2021 P ...
and Kevin Ryan.[
It is claimed that he is the biggest owner of race horses in Britain.
]
Rugby League
Salford Red Devils
In 2013, Koukash took over the loss-making Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
club, Salford City Reds
The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...
. His interest in rugby league began when he went to watch St. Helens matches with his family. He was encouraged to take ownership of Salford by the Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...
chief executive Nigel Wood, who had met Koukash on a flight to Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.[ Koukash aims to make the club the biggest in Super League, rebranding them as Salford Red Devils in 2013 and signing 14 new players.
]
National Rugby League
In 2014, Koukash made public his ambitions of purchasing a team in the Australian National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(NRL) before the 2015 season. The NRL is considered world's most competitive rugby league competition, in a country where rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
is far more popular than rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
.
In 2016, he also announced his plans to take a British team (the "British Bulldogs") and have then play in the NRL in Australia, with the help of airline and hotel sponsorship.
References
12. The Taming of the Jew, Tuvia Tenenbaum, pgs. 235-236.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koukash, Marwan
1958 births
Living people
British billionaires
Rugby league chairmen and investors
Sports owners
Salford Red Devils
Palestinian emigrants to the United Kingdom