Top 20 Richest Athletes in the World These figures have been compiled from Forbesand Celebrity Net Worth. These are the richest athletes worldwide as of 2018: 1. Michael Jordan Net Worth: $1.31 Billion Michael Jordan is an American retired professional basketball player. Jordan played a total of 15 seasons in the NBA, with his career split between two teams. Those teams were the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Jordan has been acclaimed to be the best basketball player of all time, and since retiring has now become the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Michael Jordan’s net worth is estimated to be $1.31 billion in 2018, making him the richest athlete in the world. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
2. Ion Tiriac Net Worth: $1.28 Billion Ion Tiriac is a Romanian former professional tennis and ice hockey player. That’s right, two sports. After retiring from playing sports professionally, Tiriac is now the owner of the Mutua Madrid Open Tennis Tournament. He also manages Lucas Pouille, a French professional tennis player. Ion Tiriac is on of the richest athletes in the world with an estimated net worth of $1.28 billion. “I have every single Ferrari that came out. I have all the Mercedes they came out with, all the Jaguars they came out with, all the Porsches they came out with.” – Ion Tiriac