When Valeri Belokon poured a few of his millions into Blackpool football club in 2006, he made a declaration that was met with no little laughter. The Seasiders had finished 19th in League One but their new 20% shareholder from Latvia intended to reach for the stars and touch them. Within five years, Belokon said, Blackpool had to be playing in the Premier League.

The ambition has been realised ahead of schedule and at Wembleylast last evening, after his club's Championship play-off final victory over Cardiff City, the 50-year-old did not look like a man who was suddenly ready to go all low-profile and coy. His three-piece tangerine suit, complete with old-fashioned pocket watch, shouted more loudly than any outlandish statement.

"The stakes were higher so I decided it was time to show my true colours," said Belokon, with a smile, "and now we can welcome Manchester United and Chelsea to Bloomfield Road next season. It is incredible. I hope they enjoy coming to our stadium and, yes, I will wear this suit to welcome Roman Abramovich in our boardroom when Chelsea come."

The thing about Belokon is he is more conservative than he may appear to be. When he bought into Blackpool for £4.5m he was pleased to see the chairman, Karl Oyston, spend the initial investment over a three-year period, during which time shrewd signings were made and the club moved up to the Championship.

And now, as he considers the £90m golden ticket that comes with the leap into the top-flight, there is no question of a crazy sweep of the summer transfer market. Prudence, as Abramovich has demonstrated of late, is the new eastern European cool.

"We have proved that anything is possible if your team has determination and belief, and we have proved that you don't have to buy success in English football; money isn't everything," Belokon said. "Of course, you need money, but much more important is having the right manager and the belief. We are a model for other clubs to follow."

Ian Holloway is the right manager. Working with the second-lowest wage bill in the Championship, around £6m, he established the basics with inspirational man-management and bold, expansive tactics to guide the club to the Premier League. Belokon's financial clout, though, when allied to Holloway's eye for a player, has helped.

The Lativan funded the £500,000 signing of the midfielder Charlie Adam from Rangers last summer – the Scot has been the club's top scorer with 19 goals – and he covered the wages of the striker DJ Campbell, who joined on loan from Leicester City. Campbell was the hero of the play-off semi-final win over Nottingham Forest.

"Ian Holloway will go down in Blackpool history and he deserves all the glory," said Belokon. "As for me, who knows? In 20 years, I might be coming to Bloomfield Road to be greeted by banners saying 'Belokon Out'."

Belokon – who does not take a salary at Blackpool despite effectively running the club as a joint-partner with Owen Oyston, the owner since 1988, and Karl, his son – is worth an estimated £200m through his interests in finance, food and the media.

He set up the Baltic International Bank in 1993, which specialises in servicing wealthy clients. A football lover, Belokon was born and raised in a working-class area near the sea in Riga, and he felt a connection with Blackpool.

"Mr Belokon was probably the most amazing piece of the jigsaw," said Owen Oyston, "because four years ago, he said publicly that we would be in the Premiership in five years.

"After the Forest game [in the play-off], he sent me a text saying: 'I got it wrong, it's not five years, it's four.' He's an amazing man. We brought a lot more cash to the table through a different formula, which we haven't made public. It helped to buy Charlie Adam, for example."

Oyston was asked whether Belokon had put up the money. "That's right," he replied. "So we shall carry on the formula."