With a nickname like Golden Balls, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that David Beckham became the UK’s first billionaire sportsman yesterday – proving he really does have the Midas touch.
Along with his wife Victoria, the 51-year-old is now worth £1.185billion (€1.36billion). However, golfer Rory McIlroy also
came out swinging as he was named the UK’s richest sportsperson under 40 with a net worth of £325million (€372.5million).
The 37-year-old, from Holywood, Co. Down, made it on to the Sunday Times ‘40 richest people under 40’ list after some superb performances on the green saw his net worth increase by €74.5million compared to last year.
This weekend the UK newspaper is unveiling its list and it’s packed with familiar faces, including Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Tyson Fury, who makes his debut.
Sheeran tops the list as the wealthiest young musician. McIlroy is the only Irish star who has earned a place on the coveted list.
Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: ‘The diversity of our 40 under 40 list is striking. There are some
with PhDs, others who left school with grades they’d rather forget. There are overnight success stories who quickly built businesses worth a billion, others who quietly toiled away paying themselves minimum wage for years before striking gold.’
The achievement by former England football captain David underscores the success of Brand Beckham. The sprawling empire
built up by David and his wife Victoria since he quit the pitch in 2013, takes in a range of lucrative endorsements and business
interests including football teams, fashion, cosmetics, sports brands, watches, sports cars, video games and luxury goods.
As the UK’s first sports personality to reach billionaire status, Beckham’s fortune places him ahead of King Charles, whose wealth stands at £680million (€779million), and puts him at 141st overall on the list of the 350 wealthiest people in the UK.
But he and Victoria, 52, come second among the wealthiest sportspeople overall, behind the family of ex-F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, whose wealth is put at £2billion (€2.29billion).
The former Manchester United star co-owns the American football club Inter Miami, estimated to be the Major League Soccer’s
most valuable franchise at £1.07billion (€1.23billion). He has a 26% stake in the club, which he created in 2018, and it has proved
to be his best asset.
Elsewhere, the father-of-four has commercial deals alongside Victoria with global brands including Adidas, Pepsi, Armani,
Coty and Hugo Boss.
Worth an estimated €600million, the former Spice Girl’s fashion and beauty brand has contributed to their position on the list. Topping the list for the fifth year are Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja with a combined fortune of £38billion (€43.5billion).
The brothers run the Hinduja Group, which has global interests in oil, gas, banking and transport.
