Bears Owner Virginia Halas McCaskey's Net Worth Put Her Among the Richest in the World
Not only did Virginia own an NFL team, but she belonged to that super-elite group known as women who are billionaires.
Published Feb. 6 2025, 3:49 p.m. ET
Female billionaires are few and far between. Of the world's 2,781 billionaires, just 328 are women. Among them is NFL team owner, Virginia Halas McCaskey. She forged her path in a male-dominated industry and led one of the nation's most recognizable teams.
But how could she afford to buy a whole NFL team? Here's what we know about her net worth and the path that brought her to the head table at the Chicago Bears.
Former Bear linebacker Brian Urlacher speaks with Virginia McCaskey at his Hall of Fame induction
Virginia McCaskey's net worth was nothing to sneeze at.
Virginia was born in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 5, 1923. She was the oldest child of George Halas and Minnie Bushing Halas. George Halas who, by the way, happened to own the Bears before Virginia. But we'll get to that in a minute.
Her estimated net worth in 2024, a year before she died, was around $1.3 billion.
Virginia Halas McCaskey
NFL executive
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Virginia graduated college with a degree in business management, hoping at most to be the secretary for her father, previous Bears owner George Halas. However, after her brother and the intended team heir died suddenly, she inherited the team.
Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1923
Birthplace: Chicago, Ill.
Marriages: 1 (m. Ed McCaskey 1943 - 2003 (died))
Children: 11
She attended Drexel University and graduated with a degree in business management. At the time, she worked as her dad's secretary, but fate had more in store.
On paper, she worked as the secretary of the Bears franchise and as a member of the team's board of directors. Yet between herself and other Halas heirs, they control 80 percent of the team, with Virginia taking the lead.
Virginia passed away in 2025, but she celebrated the team's 100th anniversary.
As we mentioned before, Virginia was primed and ready to work as her father's team secretary. However, her brother George Halas Jr. died in 1979 of a sudden heart attack.
This meant that when their father died in 1983, Virginia inherited the team until she died on Feb. 6, 2025.
to the league's beginnings, and she was even in attendance at the league's very first championship game. In addition, the Bears marked their 100th year as a team under her leadership in 2020.
Through her over one hundred years of life, Virginia watched the world change, and the NFL grow and adapt. But she never did live to see more than four women owners in the NFL at one time.
Although Virginia was the unlikeliest of NFL owners, a short woman with a big smile, she confidently navigated the team through the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and half of the 2020s before passing away at the age of 102.
Her last game with the Bears was a memorable one, marking the first time the team beat Green Bay since 2018. And the date of that final game just so happened to be her 102nd birthday.
She leaves behind nine surviving children of eleven, along with 21 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren. It's certainly not the typical legacy of an NFL team owner, but Virginia never did anything the typical way.