- Former tennis player Ion Tiriac is now worth £1.6 billion.
- He now has more net worth than Messi and Ronaldo combined.
- Only 2 tennis players will rank among the top-earning athletes in 2023.
Ion Tiriac, a former tennis player, didn’t make much money during his athletic career, but he is now wealthier than two of the most renowned footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Tiriac, who is currently 84 years old, had a successful tennis career in the 1960s and 70s. He made it to the quarter-finals of the French Open singles in 1968, where he was defeated by the eventual finalist, Rod Laver. In 1970, he won the doubles title with his fellow Romanian, Ilie Nastase.
Tiriac’s earnings from his tennis career were relatively modest, around £200,000, due to the lower prize money at the time. However, after retiring from tennis, the athlete from Transylvania became a prosperous businessman.
In 2007, Tiriac became the first billionaire in Romania, building his fortune through a varied investment company. His current net worth is approximately £1.6 billion, which exceeds the combined wealth of Ronaldo and Messi.
Forbes reports that Tiriac’s wealth has grown from $1 billion to $2 billion since 2016, ranking him 1516th on Forbes’ 2023 Billionaire’s List, alongside David Blitzer, a part-owner of Crystal Palace.
In contrast, Ronaldo and Messi, despite being some of the highest-paid athletes, have considerably smaller net worths.
Ronaldo’s wealth is estimated to be around £500 million, while Messi’s is slightly less at £464 million.
Both footballers are among the top 10 highest-earning athletes in 2023, with Ronaldo leading the list with £218 million in earnings from salaries and endorsements, followed by Messi in third place with £103 million.
In the realm of tennis, only two players made it to the list of top-earning athletes in 2023. Novak Djokovic is ranked 46th, while the 2023 Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, is in the 56th position.
