Tiger Woods joins LeBron James, Michael Jordan as the only known athlete billionaires

Tiger Woods has officially been certified as a billionaire with an estimated net worth of at least $1 billion. The 47-year-old joins LeBron James and Micheal Jordan as the only known athlete billionaires.

Forbes reports that Woods has made over $1.7 billion in salary, endorsements and other forms of income over the course of his career. A chunk of the money comes from endorsement deals with brands including Gatorade, Monster Energy, TaylorMade, Rolex and Nike while less than 10 percent of his earnings are from golf winnings.

According to Forbes, Woods has used his status and earnings to venture into multiple businesses, including a golf design business (TGR Design), a live events production company (TGR Live) and a restaurant (The Woods).

“Through TGR Ventures, Woods has taken stakes in Full Swing, a golf technology training tool; Heard, a hospitality software startup; and PopStroke, a luxury mini-golf experience with four locations in Florida and plans to open a half-dozen more locations across the country in 2022,” according to Forbes.

“Woods is also identified as a partner in a SPAC announced in January, and he is an investor alongside British billionaire Joe Lewis’ Tavistock Group, golfing rival Ernie Els and Justin Timberlake in NEXUS Luxury Collection, a group of clubs and resorts,” Forbes added.

At the peak of his career, Woods earned some $100 million per year off the course. He also held the number 1 spot in Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list for ten consecutive years, ending in 2012. Last year, while recovering from a car crash in February, he earned $68 million off the course, making him the 14th-highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes’ rankings. He returned to competition in April at The Masters.

Woods saw his career take a hit following publicized divorce due to infidelity, losing multiple endorsement deals as a result, having a few run-ins with the law, and enduring a string of injuries.

Woods, has, however, managed to put his past behind him and proved his doubters wrong. Described as one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history, he won his fifth Masters title at the Augusta National recently, making it his first major victory in 11 years.

Woods’ historic win was lauded on social media by Barack Obama, President Donald Trump, Lebron James, Serena Williams, and longtime partner Nike which stood by him throughout his tumultuous years, among others.

The American golfer was born on December 30, 1975, in Cypress, California to Earl and Tida Woods. He is the only child of his parents but he has two other half-brothers from his father’s first marriage.

He grew up in Orange County, California and was introduced to golf by his father before he turned two years old. He went on to become the first African-American college baseball player at Kansas State University.

Woods graduated from high school in 1994 and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” among the graduating class and continued at Stanford University.

Woods turned pro at the age of 20 and immediately became a global sensation. He dominated golf from 2000 to 2010 until his career took a hit following publicized divorce due to infidelity, having a few run-ins with the law, and enduring a string of injuries.