I remember reading an ESPN The Magazine cover story years ago (yes, at one time I did read the publication) about Tiger Woods eventually reaching the $1 billion mark in career earnings--becoming the first athlete in history to do so.
Golf Digest estimated that as of 2007, Woods had amounted $769.4 million.
In the latest issue of Forbes, Andrew Farrell and Tom Van Riper predict that 2011 could be the year it happens...
Woods is on track to pass $1 billion in career earnings by 2010. Becoming a billionaire--that is, having a net worth above $1 billion--will take slightly longer, since a sizable chunk of Woods' prize and endorsement money is eaten up by taxes and management fees--we estimated 45%. We also credited Woods with annualized investment returns of 8%.
From 1996 (the year Woods turned pro) to the present, we based his earnings on estimates from Forbes' Celebrity 100 list. In 2007, we estimate Woods earned $115 million, $65 million more than runner-up David Beckham.
Based on those criteria, we project Tiger Woods should join our list of the world's billionaires in 2011.
