According to Forbes Magazine, Tiger Woods is the first athlete to ever pass $1 billion dollars in total career earnings."Our calculations show that the $10 million bonus Woods earned winning this year's FedEx Cup title nudged him over the $1 billion mark in career earnings"Woods closest competitors? Michael Jordan, the former NBA superstar, who continues to rake in well over eight figures from various endorsement deals, and Formula One racer Michael Schumacher.
Considering that Woods is only 33, and may compete for another 10-15 years, it is not inconceivable that he could double that earnings amount prior to retiring from competitive play. Hanging up the sticks won't mean the end of Woods as an marketable entity, however, as we have seen with not only Michael Jordan, but also golfers like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Unless Tiger buys an island (or a small country) and disappears from the media, his earnings potential has another 40-50 years, assuming good health.
There is no way Tiger is a billionaire.
ReplyDeleteEarning a billion dollars isn't the same thing as being WORTH a billion dollars. These guys always gossip like this, but never seem to take into consideration the huge percentages subtracted by Uncle Sam - plus there is charitable spending and depreciation on 120 foot yachts. :-)
Does anyone think it is possible to truly EARN a billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I am glad it is Tiger. I would have preferred it had been Michelle Wie...
This is the definition of earn from my iMac:
earn |ərn|
verb [ trans. ]
(of a person) obtain (money) in return for labor or services : they earn $35 per hour | he now earns his living as a truck driver.
• [with two objs. ] (of an activity or action) cause (someone) to obtain (money) : this latest win earned them $50,000 in prize money.
• (of capital invested) gain (money) as interest or profit.
• gain or incur deservedly in return for one's behavior or achievements : through the years she has earned affection and esteem.
Sure, Vince, why wouldn't it be ? Bill Gates has EARNED several billion dollars - Microsoft is his company. Tiger has earned how ever much he has earned because (1) 10% of his money comes from actual time on the course and (2) the rest comes from companies who think his name and image are good PR for their companies.
ReplyDeleteIf you make a billion dollars the way Mark Cuban did, you come up with a product, build it, then sell it - then start investing in other companies. True, much of his value is on paper, but he put in the effort to start the first company, then to pick the right companies to invest in to increase his net worth.
Saying that Tiger Woods is a billionaire because of his earnings, however, is nuts. Uncle Same takes a pretty big bite out of every check he gets, plus his charitable giving is big.