November 28, 2009
Most anyone reading today knows Tiger is pushing the $100 million mark in annual pay but what about 7 Time World Champion Michael Schumacher? Forbes has him listed as the second highest paid athlete this year with an estimated rake of $80 million.
In an Oct 2009 web article Forbes.com says its official that with T.W.'s year end FedEx Cup winnings he has surpassed the mark, adding in that Mr. Schumacher's investments and earnings have fallen on some hard times..costing him the title.
Sports writer Jay Busbee (DevilBall) www.sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf devotes his Oct09 blog on the subject, apparently basing his research on the Forbes report. Golf.com writer Ryan Reiterman gives an additional October nod to T.W., again siting Forbes. USA Today? T.W. gets the title. The Wall Street Journal? - Forbes and T.W...
There is no doubt Tiger is on the fast track and he will grab the title as Golf's First Billionaire. But there's a completely different story from the east side of the Atlantic. EuroBusiness, a highly regarded, independent business information service gives the title to Michael Schumacher way back in 2005 when Tiger was somewhere south of $700 million. Anybody else? The Guardian (UK) lists MS back in 2006 as sports' first BD boy. The BBC-Sports section gives it to Mr. Schumacher. Media sources from Germany, Japan, Russia and even Mexico (hey, aren't they from the Forbes side of the pond?), all give the title to Michael.
Hmm... what's going on here? So depending on what side of the Atlantic Ocean you read your news on.. decides who gets the bragging rights.
Will we ever truly know for sure? Do these guys actually know for themselves if they have made it? And a bigger question is what counts and what doesn't count? Should there be some adjustments in the final tally for taxes, donations, yachts, etc.to level the numbers?
These guys got so much dough rolling in from so many different sources.. it'll probably take a 1,000 million (yes, that's 1 billion) hours of bean counting just to get the numbers straight. And what about guys like Michael Jordan with his basketball shoe empire? Or how about giving a look at Mr. Skateboard Extra-or-Dinar - Tony Hawk? He has enjoyed huge success in the video game business, a clothing line, production company and 2 best selling books?
Will the "Un-Disputed" title ever be awarded?
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