So the London Olympics 2012 is drawing to a close. Athletes from around the world have given the spectators what they came for, and more! But while some went back home disappointed, others bagged gold! For athletes, the medal isn’t worth much money. What’s more important is the significance of these medals. For some of the athletes, these medals have insignificant money-value compared to their wealth. Here on SEM, we’ve been sharing a lot of top 10 rich lists. So it’s only fair that we talk about the top 10 richest Olympics 2012 athletes. Dedication and hard work have made them rich by not only money, but rich by popularity as well, and they’ve managed to get to the top of their respective games.
Before we move on, you might be interested in reading;
1. LeBron James – $53 Million
- Sport: Basketball
- Medals: 1 Gold, 1 Bronze
LeBron James, titled “King James” holds an NBA championship title, and is considered as the best NBA player today by ESPN and other sports channels.
2. Roger Federer – $52.7 Million
- Sport: Tennis
- Medals: 1 Gold
Roger Federer needs no introduction. He is ranked the number one tennis player by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The Swiss sportsman has won 17 Grand slam titles, along with other smaller ones. He has also been voted as the most respectable and the most trusted person after Nelson Mandela by a South African Swiss poll.
3. Kobe Bryant – $52.3 Million
- Sport: Basketball
- Medals: 1 Gold
4. Maria Sharapova – $27.1 Million
- Sport: Tennis
- Medals: 1 Silver
Maria Sharapova is the richest female Olympic athlete. She started off in this field at the age of 17, and has met with remarkable success. Besides Tennis, her wealth comes from Modelling. She also has some big sponsors such as Nike, Canon etc.
5. Carmelo Anthony – $22.9 Million
- Sport: Basketball
- Medals: 1 Gold, 1 Bronze
Anthony quit his college for the NBA. Today, he is one of the most successful basketball players. Besides his large salary, he earns up to $10 million from endorsement deals and sponsorships.
6. Novak Djokovic – $20.6 Million
- Sport: Tennis
- Medals: 1 Bronze
Djokovic is a very successful professional Serbian player. he has won many titles other than the Olympics. He earned more then $5 Million in 2012 alone, making him one of the richest male (and overall) tennis players.
7. Usain Bolt – $20.3 Million
- Sport: Track (running)
- Medals: 3 Gold
At last, an athlete not from basketball or Tennis. Bolt holds the world record for the fastest 100-meter dash in 9.58 Seconds. He earns most of his income from endorsement deals and sponsorships.
8. Chris Paul – $19.2 Million
- Sport: Basketball
- Medals: 1 Gold
Chris Paul has many endorsements from the top brands such as Nike, and has a large salary. He holds many titles and records.
9. Li Na – $18.4 Million
- Sport: Tennis
- Medals: None (4th in Beijing Olympics 2008)
Li Na is a professional Chinese tennis player. She appeared in two Grand Slam finals last year, including a French Open title, which was the first Grand Slam singles victory by an Asian. The win was enough to bring her seven three-year, multi-million dollar endorsement deals with Mercedes-Benz, Samsung Electronics and several Chinese firms.
10. Deron Williams – $18.2 Million
- Sport: Basketball
- Medals: 1 Gold
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Wow, very interesting facts. Not surprised LeBron James is at the top. One correction, though. For #7, Usain Bolt, his fastest 100m dash was in 9.58 seconds, not 9.69 seconds. It was in Berlin 2009. Hope I’m not sounding arrogant! 🙂 Great article by the way!
Cheers,
CricketNNS
thanks for your input! I’ll look more into it asap and make the correction! Thanks !!
Serena Williams should be in this list.