The Richest Athletes In Olympic History

Updated: Aug 30, 2023By Daniel RosenblatBusiness

This article originally appeared on Investing.com. It has been republished here with permission.

Simone Biles and Aly Raisman @Petr Toman / Shutterstock.com

Olympic athletes are considered by many to be the embodiment of the perfect athletes. They put themselves through rigorous training programs for years in order to compete at the Olympic level for, in most cases, mere minutes. But how do these amateur athletes justify the time spent training instead of getting “real” jobs? Most athletes end up with sponsors that, through large endorsements, help them to maintain their rigorous training schedules.

While the best athletes in the world are able to live vicariously through their sponsorships and smart investments, others have had to pivot their careers drastically in order to find their post-Olympic success. Let’s have a look at some of the current, and former, Olympic athletes who have found success, not only on the world’s biggest stage but after completing their final curtain call from their respected sports as well.

1. Rafael Nadal

Sport: Tennis
Country: Spain
Net Worth: $40 million*

Rafael Nadal is a tennis legend. The Spanish tennis star has been coached throughout most of his career, from childhood to the pros, by his uncle, Toni. Nadal is currently ranked fifth by the Association of Tennis Professionals, and he has been ranked first previously by the ATP for 209 weeks, finishing as the year-end top-spot-holder five times.

Rafael Nadal ©Janet McIntyre / Shutterstock.com

Nadal has won twenty Grand Slam titles, 36 Masters 1000 titles, and thirteen French Open titles, among others. Nadal won gold at the 2008 Olympics. Outside of tennis competitions, the star athlete opened his own tennis academy in Mallorca. He’s also a dedicated philanthropist.

2. Magic Johnson

Sport: Basketball
Country: USA
Net Worth: $600 million*

NBA star and businessman Magic Johnson was part of four USA Men’s Basketball teams that had a 22-1 record (evening out to a .955 win percentage). Johnson won gold at the Olympics as part of the Dream Team in 1992, and he also won gold that same year at the Tournament of the Americas, an Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Magic Johnson @massimofredda / Pinterest.com

Johnson would go on to have a long career with the L.A. Lakers, cementing himself as one of the best NBA stars of all time. He is now the president of basketball operations for the team, holding a high-ranking status within the NBA administration.

3. Lolo Jones

Sport: Bobsledding, hurdles
Country: USA
Net Worth: $1.5 million*

American hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones won three NCAA titles and nearly a dozen All-American honors when she was at Louisiana State. The hurdler has won two gold World Indoor Championships, a gold IAAF World Athletics Final, a gold at the NACAC Championships, and two World Championships.

Lolo Jones @Christopher Morris / Corbis via Getty Images

The athlete had a devastating defeat at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. She was just seconds away from a gold medal when she clipped the second-to-last hurdle. She finished seventh. Despite this defeat, she got back up and continued her career, and Jones even wrote a book about her loss and comeback, titled Over It.

4. Lindsey Vonn

Sport: Skiing
Country: USA
Net Worth: $12 million*

Lindsey Vonn is an alpine ski racer competing for the U.S. Ski Team. She won four World Cup championships, making her one of just a few female skiers to achieve that feat. She won three titles in a row in 2008, 2009, 2010, and a fourth in 2012.

Lindsey Vonn ©PHOTOMDP / Shutterstock.com

The now-retired Olympian now focuses on her endorsements, working with companies like Under Armour, with whom she has a “Project Rock” collection. The skier has also appeared in movies and television shows like Lindsey Vonn: The Climb, The Pack, Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season, and Running Wild with Bear Grylls. She also wrote a memoir entitled Rise: My Story, which HarperCollins published.

5. Meryl Davis and Charlie White

Sport: Ice dancing
Country: USA
Net Worth: $2.5 million (combined)*

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are part of the Detroit Skating Club, and the pair of ice dancers are also decorated Olympians. They won the Olympic gold at the 2014 Olympics. In 2010, Davis and White won silver, and they’ve also snagged two World Championships, five Grand Prix Fina Championships, three Four Continents Champions, and six U.S. National Championships.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White ©Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

They began skating together in 1992 under the guidance of coaches Marina Zueva, Oleg Epstein, and Johnny Johns. The two trained at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton, Michigan, and, though they are currently taking a break from ice dancing, the pair have not officially retired.

6. Tonya Harding

Sport: Figure skating
Country: USA
Net Worth: $150,000*

Tonya Harding is a former figure skater and a retired boxer. The athlete, who was raised by her mom, began skating when she was just four years old. Harding climbed the ranks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in the late 1980s, and she became the U.S. Champion in 1991 and 1994.

Tonya Harding ©David Madison / Gettyimages.com

She was the first American woman to land a Triple Axel in a competition. The two-time Olympian is also a two-time Skate American Champion. She lost her 1994 Olympic title after her ex-husband, Jeff Gilooly, attacked her rival skater, Nancy Kerrigan. Though Harding didn’t know about the planned attack, she was still punished for what her ex-husband did. The drama was the subject of I, Tonya, a biopic starring Margot Robbie as Harding.

7. Shaun White

Sport: Snowboarding
Country: USA
Net Worth: $60 million*

“The Red Tomato”, as Shaun White is known in the snowboarding world, turned professional at the ripe young age of just 13. Six years later, at the Turin Winter Olympic Games, Shaun White won a gold medal for the snowboarding halfpipe event, a feat that he would repeat in the 2010 and 2018 Winter Games as well.

Shaun White @axearotop10 / Pinterest.com

In 2008, White’s first self-titled snowboarding game was released, and then, in 2009, at the age of 23, Shaun signed a massive 10-year deal with Burton Snowboard. Along with Burton, his endorsements from Target, Red Bull, and OO (to name a few) help to earn White an estimated $10 million a year, bringing his net worth to somewhere in the $60 million range.

8. Naomi Osaka

Sport: Tennis
Country: Japan
Net Worth: $60 Million*

While competing in her first Olympics on behalf of the host nation of the 2020 Olympic Games, Japan, the 4-time Grand Slam champion did not fare too well losing in the third round. After unintentionally becoming a spokesperson for taking care of one’s mental health in the months leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Games, Naomi Osaka’s star power and wallet have done nothing but grow larger.

Naomi Osaka ©Jimmie48 Photography / Shutterstock.com

Through sponsorship deals alone Naomi Osaka has made more than ten times the $5 million that she’s earned on the tennis court. Considering she currently has more than 20 sponsors including the likes of Nike, Airbnb, MasterCard, and Luis Vuitton, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, through sponsorships alone, Naomi has made more than $55 million.

9. Caitlyn Jenner

Sport: Decathlon
Country: USA
Net Worth: $100 Million*

In 1976, Bruce Jenner competed in the Montreal Summer Olympic Games and won the gold medal in the decathlon. Bruce might have broken records and made an impact on an athletic level, but that was nothing compared to the walls Caitlyn Jenner would break down and the impact she would make on the transgender community.

Caitlyn Jenner @AOLdotcom / Pinterest.com

Since first coming out as transgender in 2015, Caitlyn Jenner has become a voice of the transgender community. Her $100 million net worth is from a combination of money earned due to the sponsorships and commercials from before her transition, as well as newer ads, appearances, and sponsorships she has attained since.

10. Michael Phelps

Sport: Swimming
Country: USA
Net Worth: $80 Million*

When it comes to Olympic athletes none are more accomplished than Michael Phelps. Phelps has won an unprecedented 28 Olympic medals, 23 of which were gold, and 8 of those gold came at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. At the 2008 Games, all 8 gold medals were swan in (then) Olympic record times.

Michael Phelps @kh6jrm / Pinterest.com

As can be expected when someone has won as much hardware as Phelps has, Michael has earned a nice living over the years thanks to his sponsors essentially throwing money at him for him to promote their products. The $80 million net worth that Phelps has collected over the years has been in large part due to his sponsorships with companies such as Under Armour, Visa, Wheaties, and Speedo.

11. Jennifer Katharine Gates

Sport: Equestrian
Country: USA
Net Worth: $20 Million*

Jennifer Katharine Gates is the daughter of billionaire Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda. Although one might expect a billionaire’s daughter to have everything handed to them on a silver platter, Jennifer has also earned some of her own accolades as an equestrian athlete by taking part in several professional horse-riding tournaments over the years.

Jennifer Katharine Gates @asmarequestrian / Pinterest.com

Although Jennifer is not an Olympic caliber rider, her fiancé Nayel Nassar is. In Fact, he is part of the Egyptian equestrian team for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Horses have become more of a business for Jennifer in recent years, as she currently runs the Evergate Stables while still, non competitively, pursuing her passions.

12. Shaquille O’Neal

Sport: Basketball
Country: USA
Net Worth: $400 Million*

Shaquille O’Neal has guest-starred on television shows, starred in films, and released not one but four rap albums. Oh yeah, he also played professional basketball for 19 years, won 4 NBA Championships, and brought home a gold medal the only time that he competed in the Olympic Games (Atlanta, 1996).

Shaquille O'Neal @achtungbaby_ultraviolet / Pinterest.com

After retiring from professional sports “The Shaq Attack” chose not to go quietly into the night but instead used his status as “one of the greatest NBA players of all-time” to his advantage. He’s currently working as an NBA analyst, and thanks to some great business deals and forward-thinking, Shaq’s empire is now worth approximately $400 million and only continues to grow.

13. Oksana Baiul

Sport: Figure Skating
Country: Ukraine
Net Worth: $20 Million*

Orphaned by the time she was 14-years-old, Oksana Baiul never gave up her dream of achieving Olympic supremacy. At the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, a 16-year-old Oksana Baiul saw her dreams realized. Immediately after the Olympics, with a gold medal on her resume, Baiul signed a contract to tour America professionally.

Oksana Baiul @darinblass / Pinterest.com

As a result of an extremely demanding American tour and the unexpected surgery that needed to be done on her knees, Oksana Baiul was never again able to skate how she once did. These days, the former Olympic gold medalist has her own lines of clothing and jewelry, and if the price is right, will still skate in the occasional exhibition or make an appearance in Stars On Ice.

14. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

Sport: Rowing
Country: USA
Net Worth: $3 Billion / Each*

The reason most people recognize the Winklevoss name is not because of their 6th place performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the pairs rowing event. Let’s face it, most of the time, not many people even remember who finished second. The identical twins did make a name for themselves, however, because of a lawsuit they had filed against Mark Zuckerberg in 2004.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss @Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images

In 2008, the brothers were each awarded a cash settlement of $20 million as well as Facebook stocks worth $45 million for the theft of the idea they had had for a “social network” called “ConnectU”. As of March 5, 2021, thanks to an early investment the brothers had made in bitcoin, each of their net worths had grown to an estimated $3 billion.