Tiger Woods is the latest addition to the billionaire club.
Forbes reported Friday morning that the golfer’s net worth eclipsed $1 billion, making him just the third athlete to cross the ten-digit threshold. This announcement comes eight days after LeBron James joined Michael Jordan as the second billionaire athlete.
Woods is also reported to have turned down a “mind-blowingly enormous” offer -- rumored to be around $1 billion -- from LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed league that is attracting pro golfers by the herds and could prove to be a formidable challenger to the PGA Tour.
Less than 10% of Woods’ earnings come from prize money. Rather, he primarily amassed his fortune behind massive endorsement deals with companies like Nike, Rolex and Gillette.
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Woods, a winner of 15 Majors, joined the PGA Tour in 1996 at the age of 20, the same year he signed a five-year contract with Nike for $40 million. He won the Masters the following year, thus catalyzing a dominant -- and sometimes controversial -- career. Most recently, he shocked fans at the 2022 Masters Tournament when he returned to play just over a year after being involved in a serious car accident that left him with injuries so severe he considered himself “lucky to be alive.”
