This is where Newcastle owner Mike Ashley ranks in Premier League rich list

The St James's Park faithful have become increasingly frustrated with Ashley's recent penny pinching in what has left Benitez with a squad he feels lacks a significant amount of investment.

Since promotion from the Championship at the first attempt in the 2016-17 season, 13 of those players remain while just nine new permanent faces have joined the club since last year.

As a result, the club worryingly find themselves in the relegation places without a win to their name and fans have once again stepped up their protests against Ashley, who insists the club is still up for sale.

Rumours have circulated that Benitez will be required to bargain shop for a third successive transfer window in January - but according to information provided by Forbes and companycheck.co.uk, it strongly suggests Ashley SHOULD be handing Benitez a bigger kitty.

Such figures are staggering with Brighton and Hove Albion, Southampton, Watford, Bournemouth and Burnley all ranked below Ashley - yet continue to spend money in the transfer market.

Here's how Premier League owners rank in terms of net worth from richest to poorest...

2. Stan Kroenke (Arsenal) - estimated net worth: £6,754,880,000

3. Shahid Khan (Fulham) - estimated net worth: £5,833,760,000

4. Guo Guangchang (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - estimated net worth: £5,296,440,000

5. Joe Lewis (Tottenham Hotspur) - estimated net worth: £3,838,000,000

6. Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahayan (Manchester City) -estimated net worth: £3,761,240,000

7. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (Leicester City) - estimated net worth: £3,761,240,000

8. The Glazer Family (Manchester United) -estimated net worth: £3,607,720,000

9. Joshua Harris (Crystal Palace) -estimated net worth: £2,916,880,000

10. Mike Ashley (Newcastle United) - estimated net worth: £2,609,840,000

11. John W Henry (Liverpool) - estimated net worth: £1,995,760,000

12. Farhad Moshiri (Everton) - estimated net worth: £1,304,920,000

13. Tony Bloom (Brighton) - estimated net worth: £1,200,000,000

14. Gao Jisheng (Southampton) - estimated net worth: £1,074,640,000

15. Vincent Tan (Cardiff City) - estimated net worth: £629,432,000

16. David Gold/David Sullivan -estimated net worth: £642,922,475

17. Dean Hoyle (Huddersfield) - estimated net worth: £361,387,125

18. The Pozzo Family (Watford) - estimated net worth: £304,326,000

19. Maxim Demin (Bournemouth) - estimated net worth: £100,000,000

20. Mike Garlick/John Banaszkiewicz (Burnley) - estimated net worth: £60,868,000