The 30 Richest Athletes In The World In 2022 Have Been Revealed, Lionel Messi Only Ranks No 8

Basketball icon Michael Jordan has been named the richest athlete in the world ahead of wrestling tycoon Vince McMahon and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi.

The 58-year-old American superstar’s legendary exploits in the NBA have forever etched his names in the history books of sporting achievements.

MJ won six NBA championships during his remarkable playing career with the Chicago Bulls and scooped five NBA MVP awards during his 15 NBA seasons.

Wealthy Gorilla compiled data from Forbes and Celebrity Net Worth to determine the top 30 richest athletes, past and present, using their net worth estimates.

According to the publication, Chicago Bulls legend Jordan holds an eye-watering net worth of $2.2bn.

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Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of NBA team Charlotte Hornets, which he acquired in 2010, and has enjoyed lucrative partnerships with the likes of Nike on the Air Jordan brand.

MJ’s staggering net worth placed him well ahead of McMahon, who has a whopping $1.6bn net worth attached to his name.

McMahon’s value has been fuelled by the incredible success of running the WWE, but the wrestling promoter wasn’t afraid to make sporadic in-ring appearances.

The WWE CEO and chairman was a former WWE champion after he defeated Triple H in 1999 on an episode of SmackDown, with a major assist from Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Posted below are the 30 richest athletes in the world in 2022, according to Wealthy Gorilla.

WWE

30. Kimi Raikkonen (racing driver): $250m

29. Grant Hill (basketball): $250m

28. Gary Player (golf): $250m

27. Fernando Alonso (racing driver): $265m

26. Lewis Hamilton (racing driver): $285m

25. George Foreman (boxing): $300m

24. Dale Earnhardt Jr (racing driver): $300m

23. Alex Rodriguez (baseball): $350m

22. Vinnie Johnson (basketball): $400m

21. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (wrestling): $400m

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20. Shaquille O'Neal (basketball): $400m

19. Phil Mickelson (golf): $400m

18. Jack Nicklaus (golf): $400m

17. Greg Norman (golf): $400m

16. Roger Federer (tennis): $450m

15. Floyd Mayweather (boxing): $450m

14. David Beckham (football): $450m

13. LeBron James (basketball): $500m

12. Cristiano Ronaldo (football): $500m

11. Roger Staubach (American football): $600m

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10. Michael Schumacher (racing driver): $600m

9. Magic Johnson (basketball): $600m

8. Lionel Messi (football): $600m

7. Junior Bridgeman (basketball): $600m

6. Eddie Jordan (racing driver): $600m

5. Tiger Woods (golf): $800m

4. Anna Kasprzak (dressage rider): $1bn

3. Ion Tiriac (tennis and ice hockey): $1.2bn

2. Vince McMahon (wrestling): $1.6bn

1. Michael Jordan (basketball): $2.2bn

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Topics: Michael Jordan, Vince Mcmahon, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Michael Schumacher, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James, David Beckham, Floyd Mayweather

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9