Who is the Richest Athletes in the World?
Top Richest athletes are paid a hefty sum for their performances and endorsements. Some athletes have made their money through a career in the sports industry, while others have built up their wealth through business ventures.
Footballers, basketball players, golfers, and tennis stars are among the highest-paid athletes in the world. But who is the wealthiest athlete?
LeBron James
LeBron James is a professional basketball player and one of the wealthiest athletes in the world. He has a net worth of $1 billion and makes much money from his professional career and endorsement deals.
He has also made a lot of money from his investments. He is the owner of SpringHill Entertainment, and he has shares in Blaze Pizza, Tonal and Lyft.
He also owns a portion of Liverpool Football Club and partners with the tequila brand Lobos. He also owns a portion of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and the NFL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods, the world’s most famous golfer, has become one of only three athletes worth at least $1 billion. According to Forbes, he is the only athlete on this list who still plays professionally and has earned over a billion dollars in his career.
The money comes from his sponsorships and endorsement deals with Nike, TaylorMade, Gatorade, and Monster Energy. He also owns several money-making ventures, including TGR Design, TGR Live (an events company) and Nexus Luxury Collection, an international hospitality real estate development and asset management firm that includes NEXUS Resorts and clubs.
The 47-year-old has been through many ups and downs throughout his career, including an infidelity scandal in 2009. However, Woods has always managed to come back and earn more than ever before.
Junior Bridgeman
After a moderately successful 12-year career in the NBA, Ulysses Lee Junior Bridgeman was ready for the next step. He invested the money he earned into fast food franchises, specifically Wendy’s.
As a result, Junior has accumulated a net worth of $600 million and ranks fifth on the list of wealthiest athletes in the world. That’s more than twice as much as Magic Johnson and nearly double that of Michael Jordan!
The former sixth man’s success is mainly due to his intelligent investments in food chains. He purchased several Wendy’s locations near the end of his career and grew them into a fast food empire, operating 160 Wendy’s and 120 Chili’s outlets.
Ion Tiriac
Ion Tiriac, aka the ‘Brasov Bulldozer’, is the richest athlete in the world. He owes his wealth to his talent for spotting profitable opportunities, hard work and determination.
Born in Brasov, Romania, he worked at a truck factory at 15. He discovered he loved sports and cut his hours to spend more time on practice.
After graduating from the Institute of Sport in Bucharest, he was chosen to represent his country at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Soon after, he changed to tennis as his primary sport.
As a coach and manager, he worked with superstars like Ilie Nastase, Guillermo Vilas, Mary Joe Fernandez, Goran Ivanisevic and Marat Safin. He also managed Boris Becker from 1984 to 1993.
Anna Kasprzak
One of the world’s youngest billionaires, Anna Kasprzak is an heir to the Danish shoe company ECCO. According to Forbes, she is one of only eight millennials worth over $1.1 billion.
She is also an accomplished Olympic dressage horseback rider and runs her stables. But despite her wealth, she is much more low-key than her brothers and mother.
Born in Grevenbroich, Germany, in December 1989, Kasprzak competed in the Olympics twice. Her best results were fourth place with Denmark in team dressage in 2012 and 14th in individual dressage at the Rio Games in 2016.