What is Ryan Smith's Net Worth?
Ryan Smith is an American billionaire technology entrepreneur and professional sports team owner who has a net worth of $3.5 billion. Ryan Smith earned his fortune as the co-founder of Qualtrics, the experience-management software company that grew from a family basement startup in Provo, Utah into one of the most important enterprise software companies in the state. Qualtrics was acquired by SAP for $8 billion in 2019, later went public, and was then taken private again in a $12.5 billion deal led by Silver Lake and CPP Investments.
Ryan Smith is also known as the owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz and the NHL's Utah Mammoth through Smith Entertainment Group, the sports and entertainment company he co-founded with his wife, Ashley Smith. After building his fortune in software, Smith became one of the most powerful figures in Utah sports, combining ownership of the Jazz, the Mammoth, the Delta Center, related media operations, and a broader effort to make Salt Lake City a larger national sports and entertainment market.
Early Life and Education
Ryan Smith was born on June 28, 1978, in Eugene, Oregon. He was raised in a highly entrepreneurial and academic family. His father, Scott Smith, was a marketing professor at Brigham Young University, and his mother, Nancy, also had a background in information systems and business.
Smith attended Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business. While he was still a student, he began working on what would become Qualtrics with his father, his brother Jared Smith, and his college roommate Stuart Orgill. He eventually left school to focus on the company full-time, though he later returned and completed his bachelor's degree in management from BYU in 2016.
Founding Qualtrics
Qualtrics was founded in 2002 in the basement of the Smith family home in Provo. The company originally focused on online survey software, giving businesses, universities, and researchers a way to collect and analyze feedback. Over time, Qualtrics evolved from a survey platform into a larger "experience management" company, helping organizations track customer, employee, product, and brand experiences.
The company was bootstrapped for its first decade, which meant the founders grew the business without raising major outside funding. That changed in the 2010s, when Qualtrics raised venture capital and became one of the signature companies in Utah's "Silicon Slopes" technology scene. Smith became known for his energetic sales-driven leadership style, while his brother Jared helped drive much of the company's technical development.
By the late 2010s, Qualtrics had thousands of enterprise customers and was preparing for an initial public offering. Just before that IPO was expected to happen, German software giant SAP agreed to buy the company for $8 billion in cash. The transaction turned Smith into one of Utah's best-known technology billionaires.
Qualtrics Sale, IPO, and Second Sale
SAP completed its acquisition of Qualtrics in 2019. The timing was remarkable because Qualtrics had been days away from going public when SAP stepped in with an $8 billion offer. Smith remained deeply involved with the company after the sale and became its executive chairman.
In 2021, SAP took Qualtrics public. The IPO raised $1.55 billion and valued the company at more than $15 billion at its offering price. Smith was Qualtrics' largest individual shareholder, and the public listing gave his remaining stake a major additional valuation marker.
In 2023, Qualtrics was taken private again in a $12.5 billion deal led by Silver Lake and CPP Investments. The sale gave Qualtrics a new private-equity ownership structure while preserving its status as one of the most important companies ever created in Utah's technology ecosystem.
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Utah Jazz Ownership
In 2020, Ryan Smith and Ashley Smith agreed to buy a majority stake in the Utah Jazz from the Miller family. The deal, reportedly valued at $1.66 billion, included the Jazz, the team's arena and related sports and entertainment assets. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale in December 2020.
The purchase was especially meaningful because Smith had grown up as a Jazz fan. Under his ownership, the franchise has leaned heavily into its Utah identity while modernizing its business operations, arena experience, branding, media strategy, and fan engagement. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade later joined the Jazz ownership group as a minority partner.
Utah Mammoth and Smith Entertainment Group
Smith's sports empire expanded beyond basketball with the creation of Smith Entertainment Group. In 2024, SEG acquired the NHL franchise formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes and moved the team to Salt Lake City. The team played its first season in Utah under a temporary Utah Hockey Club identity before adopting the permanent name Utah Mammoth.
The Mammoth gave Utah its second major men's professional sports franchise and made Smith one of the few owners controlling NBA and NHL teams in the same market. SEG has also been involved in major renovations and redevelopment efforts tied to the Delta Center, which is being adapted to serve both basketball and hockey.
Philanthropy
Ryan Smith is closely associated with 5 For The Fight, a cancer-research fundraising campaign connected to Qualtrics. The initiative encourages people to donate $5 in honor of someone affected by cancer. Qualtrics famously used its Utah Jazz jersey patch sponsorship not to promote the company itself, but to promote 5 For The Fight.
Smith and Ashley Smith have also supported community and youth-focused causes in Utah, including efforts related to education, health, inclusion, and local sports access.
Personal Life
Personal Life
Ryan Smith is married to Ashley Smith. They have five children and live in Utah. Ashley has been closely involved in the family's sports and philanthropic work and is a co-founder of Smith Entertainment Group.
Smith is also an avid golfer. He grew up playing golf in Utah and even worked at a golf course when he was 14 years old. His connection to the sport became a fun national story in 2021, when PGA Tour golfer Tony Finau needed a substitute caddie at the Hero World Challenge after his regular caddie, Mark Urbanek, stayed home with his expecting wife. Finau turned to Smith, making the billionaire tech founder and Utah Jazz owner one of the wealthiest caddies ever to walk inside the ropes at a professional golf tournament. Finau finished tied for seventh and earned $114,000 in prize money, which would have translated to a typical caddie bonus of around $7,980. Smith, who also owns a home on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, presumably did not need the payday.
Smith's public image is unusual for a billionaire team owner. He is often described as informal, energetic, highly visible, and deeply tied to Utah's business and sports communities. Rather than leaving Utah after becoming wealthy, he used his Qualtrics fortune to buy and build institutions in the state where his company was born.
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