Michael Schumacher ranked second wealthiest sportsman in the world

[Dare]

Sportsmen – whether you'd classify them all as athletes or not – are some of the wealthiest people in the world. And every year, The Sunday Times puts out a list of the richest among them. The list takes all their assets into account – including salaries past and present, endorsements and other investments – and ranks them by their net worth. So who comes out on top?

Golfers, if you can believe it. Tiger Woods tops the Top 20 list worldwide at £538 million (~$870M), joined by Arnold Palmer at No. 4 with £230M ($370M), Greg Norman at No. 9 with £174M ($280M) and Jack Niclaus at No. 11 with £158M ($255M). But just behind them are the racing drivers.

Michael Schumacher just trails Tiger with £510 million ($824M), making him the second richest sportsman in the world, by far the wealthiest racer, and within reach of becoming the first billionaire driver in the world. Little wonder, as he's the most decorated driver the world has ever known.

Also on the list are Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, who tie for eighteenth place (together with baseball's CC Sabathia) at £100 million ($160M) apiece. But in between these Formula One drivers sits one Dale Earnhardt, arguably the biggest name in NASCAR, who ties basketball star Kobe Bryant at sixth place with £185 million ($300M) in assets.

Now if only someone paid us that much to drive around in circles, well...we'd still probably be blogging about cars, only we'd be doing it from onboard our own mega-yachts somewhere a lot more glamorous.
News Source: The Sunday Times

[cosworth151]

Wait a minute. This guy is dogging race drivers? Most of the people he mentioned hit a little ball with a little stick, then stand around and be even more boring (if that's possible). The biggest risk they have is exposure to all of the toxic chemicals they bath golf courses in.

Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500 in 2001. I wonder if the writer meant Dale Jr? The writer seems rather uninformed about racing.

He also fails to mention what it cost Sabathia to get on the list. He gave up all that is true and good (the beloved Cleveland Indians     ) and sold his soul to the Dark Side and joined the Evil Empire (the New York Yankees    ). Before that, he was my favorite player.

[David]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

[Ian]

And he's earned and deserved every penny of it, has'nt he monty.     

[Dare]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

Maybe inflation has hit the wealthy too,oh wait,our gov't says there
is no inflation

[Ian]

There is in the price of beer.

[F1fanaticBD]

To reporter who thinks, racing drivers earn by just going round and round. How dare you? They have to withstand upto 4-5 G force, drenching our as much as 3-4 litres during the race, and pushing them to the abnormal e extreme accounting...

[lkjohnson1950]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

I suppose it depends on what currency you are keeping score with. I reckon is easily a billionaire in Italian lira. 

[Scott]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

I suppose it depends on what currency you are keeping score with. I reckon is easily a billionaire in Italian lira. 

They aren't back to the lira quite yet, but it might be fairly soon. 

[F1fanaticBD]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

I suppose it depends on what currency you are keeping score with. I reckon is easily a billionaire in Italian lira. 

Convert to Zimbabwean Dollar, and he would have a Trillionire a long way ago...

[John S]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

I suppose it depends on what currency you are keeping score with. I reckon is easily a billionaire in Italian lira. 

Convert to Zimbabwean Dollar, and he would have a Trillionire a long way ago...

Crikey in Zimbabwean Dollars we're all probably Billionaires by now. 



 

[F1fanaticBD]

I remember reading something a while back (can't remember where) that said MS was already the first ever sporting billionaire? 

I suppose it depends on what currency you are keeping score with. I reckon is easily a billionaire in Italian lira. 

  Blimey, I am A BILLIONAIRE 

Convert to Zimbabwean Dollar, and he would have a Trillionire a long way ago...

Crikey in Zimbabwean Dollars we're all probably Billionaires by now.