David Beckham Becomes Britain's First Billionaire Athlete
JAKARTA - Former Manchester United star Sir David Beckham has become Britain's first billionaire athlete in the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List.
The combined wealth of Beckham and his wife, Victoria, passed the one billion pound mark this year, according to the list compilers, reaching 1.185 billion pounds (around Rp27.8 trillion).
That puts them in second place in the Sunday Times' list of richest athletes, behind the family of former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose wealth is estimated at £2 billion.
Former England captain Beckham is a co-owner of Inter Miami, which is estimated to be the most valuable club in Major League Soccer (MLS) at $1.45 billion (around Rp20.1 trillion).
He has also made a lot of money as a brand ambassador for companies such as Adidas and Hugo Boss.
Victoria Beckham's wealth is largely generated from the fashion label she founded in her own name, after initially achieving fame and fortune as a member of the Spice Girls.
Although the Beckham family's wealth increased over the past 12 months, Sir Jim Ratcliffe fell in the ranking of the Richest People from seventh to ninth. The wealth of the minority shareholder of Manchester United has decreased over the past 12 months.
His fortune shrank by £1.85 billion, according to the compilers of the list, to £15.194 billion.
The compiler of the list lowered the value of his petrochemical company, Ineos, to 17 billion pounds due to increased debt, declining revenue, and a loss of 515.7 million pounds.
The drop was smaller than the previous year, when the list compilers said his fortune had plunged by more than £6bn.
Beckham's fellow athletes on the list include promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn, whose combined wealth is estimated at £1.035 billion.
Barry Hearn is the founder and president of Matchroom Sport, one of the leading promoters in boxing, darts and snooker. His son, Eddie, is the CEO of Matchroom and is best known as the public face of its boxing division.
Eddie Hearn is the promoter of British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua, who is eighth on the list with a fortune of 240 million pounds.
That puts Joshua above another heavyweight, Tyson Fury, who is ninth with a fortune of 162 million pounds.
Hearn announced last month that Joshua had signed a deal to fight Fury, with no date or venue confirmed so far.
Meanwhile, seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is fifth on the list ($570 million).
Then, two-time Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy is in seventh place with a fortune of 325 million pounds.
England soccer captain Harry Kane and two-time Wimbledon tennis champion Sir Andy Murray are tied in 10th place with fortunes of £110 million each.