The select club of billionaires: these are the three athletes with the greatest fortune

Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods. In this order. These three Americans are the only athletes in history to reach the staggering figure of 1,000 million dollars, either by accumulating salaries, sponsorships or other income during their sports life.

The last to rise to the fore has been Tiger Woods. The 46-year-old golfer has raised more than 1.7 billion dollars in the 27 years he has been a professional. Interestingly, he has amassed almost all of his fortune (over 90%) outside of golf, with deals with brands like Gatorade, Monster Energy, TaylorMade, Rolex and Nike, who he signed with in 1996 and is still his primary sponsor.

One of the deals that could have brought even more money to Tiger Woods is the one he didn’t sign with LIV Golf Tour, a new golf tournament that aims to wrest publicity and players from the PGA Tour. It is backed by Saudi Arabian sheikhs and offers lucrative payouts, weekly draws and a unique format for individual players and teams.

On the other hand, one of the great blows of Woods has been knowing how to make his businesses profitable beyond golf. For example, through TGR, Woods acquired stakes in Full Swing, a golf technology training tool; Heard, a hospitality software startup; and PopStroke, a luxury miniature golf experience with four locations in Florida.

Currently, Tiger Woods has a fortune of 68 million dollars, according to Forbes, and occupies the fourteenth place of the . In addition, he was the number 1 highest earning athlete for 10 consecutive years, until 2012.

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LeBron James, business expert

LeBron James became a billionaire a few weeks ago, surpassing a fortune of more than 1,400 million dollars throughout his career. And he has done it when he is still active. At 37 years old, the 18-time NBA all-star and four-time champion, among other trophies, has earned more than $385 million in pre-tax salary from his seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and his current team, Los Angeles Lakers.

Off the court, LeBron James has brought in more than $900 million from business ventures and endorsement deals with PepsiCo, Walmart and Nike, his lifelong sponsor along with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. The Lakers forward has cashed in by buying shares of brands he works with, including Beats by Dre and fast-growing chain Blaze Pizza.

His biggest success though has come thanks to SpringHill, the film and television production team built by James and his business partner Maverick Carter. He sold the company to outside investors, but remains the largest shareholder.

Currently, LeBron James has a net worth of 1,000 million dollars, according to Forbes, and occupies the second position of the athletes with the highest income in 2022.

Michael Jordan, the pioneer

Michael Jordan has been the greatest athlete of all time. He changed basketball and, with Nike, revolutionized sports marketing with the help of Air Jordan shoes. Winner of six rings with the Chicago Bulls, he has always been considered the greatest, surpassing basketball myths such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell.

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In total, Michael Jordan has accumulated about 2,000 million dollars. As a player, Jordan earned $94 million before taxes in his 15 seasons (13 with Chicago and 2 with Washington), figures that are nothing like today’s. In addition, he brought in $4 million that was paid to him by the Bulls when he retired from the 1993-94 NBA season to play in minor league baseball.

Instead, for his income off the track, Michael Jordan came to earn 1,800 million dollars, and had commercial agreements with brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Wheaties, Chevrolet, Hanes, Gatorade and Upper Deck. Although it was Nike that became his main sponsor, signing his first agreement with the player in 1984 for a total of $500,000 per year. Retired, Jordan joined the DraftKings sports betting firm as an advisor and investor and became co-owner of a NASCAR team.

Michael Jordan’s greatest responsibility is that of the Charlotte Hornets, the NBA basketball team. Jordan entered the franchise in 2006 buying a minority stake and ended up taking control in 2010 in a deal valued at $175 million. Finally, in 2019 he sold shares that ended up valuing the team at $1.5 billion.

Currently, Michael Jordan has a net worth of 1,700 million dollars, according to Forbes, ranking 1,729 of the richest people in the world.

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