Forbes released its list of the highest-paid athletes of the decade this week, and Floyd Mayweather sits in the No. 1 position.
The 42-year-old boxer made $915 million in the past decade, $115 million more than pro soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s No. 2 on the list.
Mayweather made his money by promoting his own fights through his company Mayweather Promotions, which he started after leaving the promoter Top Rank in 2006.
He also made a killing in 2015 when he fought Manny Pacquiao, which was televised on pay-per-view, and he did the same when he took on Conor McGregor in 2017. In all, Mayweather made $500 million between those two fights.
Other people on the list include six-time Formula 1 racing champion Lewis Hamilton in 10th place at $400 million, as well as Kevin Durant, who’s at No. 9 and earned $425 million in the past 10 years. Tiger Woods is sixth on the list, since he made $615 million in the last decade, which came mostly from endorsements.
LeBron James made $680 million over the past 10 years and he’s listed at No. 4. It’s also said that $270 million of that money coming from his NBA salary and the rest from endorsements.
As for Mayweather, he’s retired from boxing more than once throughout his career, but last month announced his return, which he said will be in 2020.
His current record stands at 50-0, and he’s easily considered to be one of the best pro fighters of all time. Plus he’s blazed new trails as a boxer by having complete ownership of his brand.
During a 2018 interview, Mayweather talked about being a successful business person and said it’s much like fighting in the ring.
“Boxing is all about strategy and discipline,” he explained. “You have to think many moves ahead of your opponent and be prepared for anything they will come at you with. You have to be patient, disciplined and execute the right punch or defensive movement at exactly the right time or it could cost you the fight.”
“But you also have to be adaptable and responsive to be able to change the game plan mid-fight,” added Mayweather. “You can’t plan out every detail of the fight because what you set out to use at the beginning of the fight, does not mean that this is the correct game plan as the fight progresses.”
Mayweather’s spectacular earnings have helped fuel his perhaps even more spectacular lifestyle, leading observers like 50 Cent and others to speculate that the boxing champ is burning through his cash so quickly that he’ll be broke soon.
