Making achievements in sports is not just about becoming the world class athletes…
Living a dream is when you are really good at something you love doing and you get paid to do it every day. That is the life of world class athletes. They love what they do best. And the best part is: it comes with a buck load of money.
These world class athletes are not just the top professionals but they are also celebrities and influential people because of their lifestyle.
When you are on top of your game, people love you and paychecks love you even more. You get salary raise, bonuses, million dollar endorsement deal, and all of that on top of the prize money you won.
We picked 10 former and current world’s number one world class athletes. Take a look at how they are living to the fullest with the money they earn.
10. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball Player)
First up in our world class athletes list is Alex Rodriguez. Also known as A-Rod, Rodriguez is a professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He first debuted in 1994 and since then, his career has been sky-rocketing. One of the things he is known for is his generosity. He has bought every rookie on his team suits since 2004.
The designated hitter of New York Yankees team has officially earned $395,159,552 from his career in MLB. He is the highest paid baseball player not just in the US, but also in the world. When he was suspended for the whole season in 2014, he didn’t play a single match but he still made around $6 million.
A-Rod spends most of his money on real estate and art. In 2010, he bought a $7.4 million 20,000-square-foot land in Miami. With his own company, Newport Property Construction, he built a mansion on it, lived there for a year, and sold it for $30 million in 2013.
One of his art collection is the $140,000 Nate Lowman painting. For rides, he owns a Ferrari 575 Maranello, Maybach 57s, Porsche 911 Convertible, and a private jet Gulfstream IV. He puts aside some of his money for investment on Mercedes Benz dealer company and Energy Fitness.
9. Ronda Rousey (Mixed Martial Artist)
Ronda Rousey may not be the world’s highest paid female athlete, but she surely does make more money from many other things. She is on top and she is very attractive. Those two combined makes her worth millions of dollar for advertisement.
Ronda actually makes more money per second than the world’s highest paid athlete, Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather earned $100 million in a 30 minutes match. While Ronda’s matches only lasted for about 30 seconds.
Besides that, she also has several endorsements, such as Reebok. She also starred in blockbuster movies like The Expendables 3 and Furious 7. She is living a life of a Hollywood star.
Ronda used to live in a crappy apartment with her roommate before she became one of the million dollar world class athletes. Now she is living a better quality life with her family in Santa Monica.
8. Tiger Woods (Golfer)
This one of the world’s golf legends turned pro more than 20 years ago. Since then, he won a lot and earned a lot more. He has made over $1 billion in his career. And his net worth is approximately $700 million by now.
Despite his cheating scandal that cost him over $100 million in divorce settlement, he is still living a luxurious life. With her new girlfriend, he lives in a house he built from scratch in Florida. It cost him over $50 million. The house has its own pitch-and-putt golf course.
Just like what most rich people own, Tiger Woods owns a Gulfstream G550 private jet that is worth $64 million. On the ground, he rides Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, and you see on the picture, Buick. On water, he sails on his two yachts, Privacy ($20 million and 155 feet long) and Solitude ($3 million and 61 feet long).
He doesn’t spend his wealth for granted. He is one of the most generous world class athletes. He founded his own charity foundation, Tiger Woods Foundation, which focuses on youth education. Until today, the foundation has made over $17 million for the cause.
7. Michael Jordan (Basketball Player)
Who doesn’t know Michael Jordan? Even non basketball fans should have heard his name. Jordan is a legend among world class athletes, not just in basketball particularly, but also in sport generally. An interesting fact about the money he earns: he is currently making more money than he did when he was a NBA player.
Throughout his career, he made around $90 million. But today, he makes $80 million per year. How? Endorsement and business. More than half of his annual earning comes from Nike’s endorsement.
Michael Jordan bought his own basketball team, Charlotte Bobcats, for $175 million in 2010. He is living a luxurious life in his $12 million mansion in Florida. He also owns mansions in Charlotte and Chicago.
Michael owns a very distinctive private jet. It is a Gulfstream IV with Carolina blue color with his iconic logo Jump-man on the tail. You can also see a sign N236MJ featuring his iconic number 23, the number of six NBA titles he won, and initial.
6. Floyd Mayweather (Boxer)
Do you know that Floyd Mayweather gave himself the nickname “Money”? Yup. This world’s highest paid athlete is definitely aware of his wealth. And he loves to show off. As you can see on the picture, he was showing off his cars and private jet collection.
What you see on the picture is only a half of his collection, which are in his Miami house. Another fleet at his Vegas house comes in black. Mayweather spends most of his money on shopping and betting. He only wears each of his shoes and boxers once.
You can check out his instagram photos and notice one thing in common in almost every picture: money. A buck load of them. He travels everywhere with a Ziploc bag full of cash.
He owns two private jet, Gulfstream IV for his team and Gulfstream V for himself. Why he needs two of them? He doesn’t want his jet to be overloaded. The private jets worth around $40 million each.
5. Novak Djokovic (Tennis Player)
Novak Djokovic is the current world’s number 1 tennis player. Despite losing early at home in ATP Monte Carlo, his achievement in tennis is still remarkable. Laureus academy seems to agree with it. He just won the Laureus Award for Sportsman of The Year, defeating other world class athletes, Lionel Messi and Lewis Hamilton.
He has won many ATP tournaments. This means, he brought home a buck load of cash prize. Until today, he has received a total of $98,227,621 cash prizes. He also earns from a lot of endorsement, such as Uniqlo, Adidas, Peugeot, Jacob’s Creek, and Seiko.
He is currently living in Monaco. It is the home of world’s richest people. This can only mean two things: super expensive exclusive real estate and luxurious yacht. In 2009, he bought a $2.5 million Manhattan 60 yacht. He also owns a Mercedes, Audi, and BMW.
Nole maintains his luxurious life healthy. He is on a gluten-free diet. And he owns nutritional food line called “Djokolife.” According to him, this is one of the biggest factors in his success.
4. LeBron James (Basketball Player)
He is the new king of NBA. He won four MVP (Most Valuable Player) titles and two NBA championships. He is the first among world class athletes to sign a lifetime deal with Nike.
LeBron has made more than $170 million in his NBA career. But he makes twice of it from endorsement. He also puts his money aside for investment. Including a piece of Liverpool FC and Blaze Pizza.
LeBron owns a $533,000 Rolls Royce Phantom. This makes him an exclusive car owner because you can’t just buy a Rolls Royce, you need to earn it. They won’t sell the car to you if you are not a good influential person with a buck load of money.
Despite making a lot of money and owning luxurious things, LeBron keeps his life simple (luxurious kind of simple, of course). He often drives a KIA when he is not on his “bike to work” campaign.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football Player)
Next up on our luxurious life of world class athletes is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is now the world’s highest paid football player, not just from his salary and bonuses, but also from his long list of endorsement, such as Nike and TAG Heuer.
Ronaldo’s career is a bittersweet kind of thing. He is one of the world’s greatest players. But somehow, he is also one of the most hated players. He commented on this fact, “I think that because I am rich, handsome, and a great player, people envy me. I don’t have any other explanation.”
Ronaldo lives in an exclusive community in Madrid. His $7 million mansion was built by a well-known Spanish architect, Joaquin Torres.
Ronaldo loves cars. He owns a $750,000 Lamborghini Aventador (as you can see on the picture) besides a Mercedes, Porsche, Bentley, and the Ferrari he crashed in Manchester. There goes a $350,000 luxury.
2. Maria Sharapova (Tennis Player)
Maria Sharapova may not be the world’s number one female tennis player, but she definitely earns more money that her. Most of her earning comes from endorsement. No one to blame, she has that supermodel look and figure.
She is currently living in Longboat Key, Florida in her $2.6 million mansion. She drives a white model of Porsche 911 Carrera. She won the $120,000 car on the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Yes, most of the luxurious things she has and wears are free from endorsement. Including the $7,000 Tiffany & Co.’s Tiffany Grace Drop earrings she wore during the 2011 U.S. Open. She is known for wearing fashionable luxurious tennis wear on court.
Her good look made it possible for her to crossover to the fashion world. This is why she is still one of the top highest earning female athletes. One of her famous brands are the Alexander McQueen shoes and her own food line, Sugarpova.
1. David Beckham (Football Player)
Last but not least on our luxurious life of world class athletes list is the football legend, David Beckham. Beckham and his wife, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, have a combined over $700 million net worth. It exceeds the Queen’s net worth.
Even that he has retired, his cash just keeps flowing in. He is currently making around $70 million per year. Most of his income comes from endorsement and business with his partner, Simon Fuller.
Remember Beckingham Palace? It was Beckham’s mansion in Hertfordshire, England. He sold it in 2012 for $15 million when he moved to U.S. Now he is back in Europe, living in a $46 million home in London.
Beckham also has a fine taste in art. He has spent over $40 million in art collection mostly from notable British artists. He also owns a vine yard in Napa Valley since 2008.
