The 10 Richest Olympians In The World (Updated)
This article is centered on the top 10 richest Olympians in the world. Sport and money go hand in hand that is why many athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games are millionaires, thanks to the prizes obtained in their sporting career, but above all, because of the juicy income they receive from their sponsors.
Taking advantage of the competition that is currently being held in Tokyo 2020, we wanted to make this ranking of the 10 richest Olympic athletes in the world.
Top 10: Richest Olympians in the World
Among the athletes who have ever represented their country in an Olympics, these are the wealthiest:
10. Shaun White (United States)
Net worth: $60 million
The 34-year-old snowboarder won three Olympic gold medals and became a millionaire before the age of 20. He earns an annual income of $10 million from deals with companies such as Red Bull, Hewlett-Packard, T-Mobile, GoPro, Sony, among others.
He also has real estate investments in California and New York. Other sources of income come from acting (he played himself in the 2011 film Friends with Benefits), the video game Shaun White Skateboarding, music, and fashion.
9. Michael Phelps (United States)
Net worth: $80 million
The 36-year-old swimmer holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by any athlete, with 28. That includes a record 23 gold medals.
The earnings from his performance in the pool are around $1.9 million. But he makes a lot more money from advertising. He receives about $9.8 million annually for his contracts with Colgate, Kellogg’s, Louis Vuitton, Omega, Speedo, Under Armor, and Visa.
“The Baltimore Shark” could not be absent from the ranking of the richest Olympians in the world.
8. Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
Net worth: $90 million
The eight-time Olympic gold medalist is the fastest man in history, currently holding the world record for 100 meters (9.58 seconds) and 200 meters (19.19 seconds).
Now 34 and retired from athletics, Usain Bolt continues to make money with lucrative endorsements, which provide him with most of his income of about $20 million a year.
Brands that support it include Puma, Gatorade, Visa, Virgin Media, and Hublot. He also opened a food and beverage franchise, called Tracks & Records, in Jamaica and the UK.
7. Georgina Bloomberg (United States)
Net worth: $100 million
The daughter of billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Georgina, 38, is a professional show jumping athlete who represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympics.
Her love of sports and animals not only generates her income in the form of prizes, but also makes her a famous philanthropist. Among other initiatives, Georgina founded The Rider’s Closet, a program that collects used clothing for show jumping athletes and donates it to anyone in need.
6. Caitlyn Jenner (United States)
Net worth: $100 million
Caitlyn Jenner is also on the list of the richest Olympians in the world. She won the gold medal in the 1976 men’s decathlon. In 2015, the 71-year-old American motivational speaker, television star, and recent political candidate declared herself a transgender woman.
His Olympic career was endorsed by companies like IBM and Coca-Cola. Then she made a lot of money for her participation in the reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. His other sources of income include the sale of his memoir, The Secrets of My Life, and his public speaking events.
5. Serena Williams (United States)
Net worth: $225 million
The renowned tennis player, a former world number one, is also a three-time Olympic gold medalist. During her career she has earned nearly $94 million on the WTA Tour, double what any other athlete has earned.
On average, Williams has received more than $8 million annually for his tennis career, plus $20 million annually from sponsorships from Nike, Wilson, Aston Martin, Pepsi, IBM, Intel, and others. She also owns Serena Ventures, a firm that invests in startups and businesses around the world.
4. Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Net worth: $450 million
The tennis legend was unable to attend the Tokyo competition due to a knee injury, but he is still a protagonist in the ranking of the richest Olympians in the world. The Swiss has already won a gold in doubles in Beijing 2008 and a silver in singles in London 2012.
He is also a champion of sponsorships, having the backing of Rolex, Moët & Chandon, Mercedes-Benz, among others. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is one of two active athletes to have earned $100 million in a single year from endorsements alone. The other is golfer Tiger Woods, according to Forbes.
3. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (United States)
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Floyd Mayweather Jr., a 1996 Olympic bronze medalist, recently claimed to have reached the level of billionaire, with a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to the TalkSport portal.
He has acknowledged that a large part of his earnings came from just two fights: Conor McGregor ($350 million) and Manny Pacquiao ($300 million).
His massive fortune has allowed him to purchase an $18 million Jacob & Co Billionaire Watch, a $60 million Gulfstream G650 private jet, a $25 million Beverly Hills mansion, a $10 million Las Vegas mansion, plus an enviable collection of cars.
2. Anna Kasprza (Denmark)
Net worth: $1.4 billion
The dressage rider participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She rides as a profession and for pleasure, but her huge net worth comes from Ecco, a Danish shoe manufacturer, of which she is an heiress, along with her mother and his brother.
Generating nearly $1.5 billion in annual revenue, Ecco sells its products in 90 countries. With a fortune of $1.1 billion in 2019, at age 29 he was one of eight billionaires under the age of 30 and among the richest millennials in the world, according to Forbes.
1. Ion Tiriac (Romania)
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Surprisingly, the top 10 of the richest Olympians in the world is led by Romanian tennis player Ion Tiriac. Now 82, he was on the 1964 Olympic ice hockey team, before becoming a tennis pro.
Sports made Tiriac a millionaire, but it was business that made him a billionaire. In 1990 he founded Tiriac Bank, the first private bank in his country, and then became involved in other investments, such as insurance, leasing and car dealerships, real estate and local airlines.
