In Depth

Forbes top 10 richest sports stars of all time

14 Dec 2017

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Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls basketball NBA

Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

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Tiger Woods - $1.7bn (£126.3bn): the 14-time major winner has recently returned to competitive golf. He maintains partnerships with a number of brands including TaylorMade, Bridgestone and Monster Energy.

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Arnold Palmer - $1.4bn (£1.04bn): the golfing legend passed away in September 2016, but he left behind an estate that made $40m (£29.7m) in the last year when the Forbes list was collated.

Jack Nicklaus golf majors golf course design Forbes sport rich list

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Jack Nicklaus - $1.2bn - (£892.3m): after a golfing career that saw him win 18 major titles, Nicklaus moved into the golf course design business and now has 410 courses in 41 countries.

Michael Schumacher F1 career earnings Forbes sport rich list

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Michael Schumacher - $1bn (£743.6m): German driver who won seven Formula 1 world championships. In 2013 he suffered major head injuries after a skiing accident.

Phil Mickelson golf career earnings Forbes sport rich list

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Phil Mickelson - $815m (£606m): the lefty golfer has earnt $84m (£62.4m) in prize money during his career. His bank balance has been topped up with partnerships with companies such as Amgen, ExxonMobil, KPMG, Rolex, Grayhawk and the Greenbrier.

Kobe Bryant NBA career earnings Forbes sport rich list

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Kobe Bryant - $800m (£595m, tied 7th): the basketball star had a 20-year career in the NBA with one team - the Los Angeles Lakers. Forbes reports that since retiring in 2016 he has launched Kobe Inc. and a venture capital firm, Bryant Stibel.

David Beckham football career earnings Forbes sport rich list

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David Beckham - $800m (£595m, tied 7th): the England football star played for clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG and LA Galaxy. In retirement Brand Beckham has forged a number of major partnership deals and his next move is to head up a new Miami-based team in Major League Soccer.

Floyd Mayweather career earnings boxing Forbes sport rich list

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Floyd Mayweather - $785m (£583.9m): Forbes says that Money Mayweather’s £583.9m career earnings does not even include his mega-payday for the fight against Conor McGregor in August (Forbes’ scoring period ended 1 June). He has since retired from boxing with a 50-0 record - but could we see Pretty Boy Floyd return to the ring or even the UFC octagon?

Shaquille O’Neal NBA trainers Forbes Sport rich list

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Shaquille O’Neal - $735m (£546.8m): ‘Shaq’ played in the NBA for teams such as the Orlando Magic, LA Lakers and Miami Heat. His post-basketball career includes the launch of a low-cost trainer line which according to Forbes has sold 120 million pairs worldwide.