David Beckham becomes Britain’s first sports billionaire as Jim Ratcliffe sees wealth plummet by £2bn

The Sunday Times Rich List is out, and Sir David Beckham has become Britain’s first sporting billionaire.

David and Victoria Beckham are estimated to be worth a whopping £1.185 billion, which means their wealth has more than doubled from last year.

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He sits behind Bernie Ecclestone and his family, but no one else comes close in terms of sporting stars.

The only other two who are worth over a billion are snooker supremo Barry Hearn and his son, boxing promoter Eddie.

But the Beckhams are now more wealthy than King Charles III, and they are 141st on the overall list.

However, it’s bad news for Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The INEOS owner is still worth an incredible £15 billion, but that is still down from last year largely due to rising debts, falling revenues and over £500 million in losses.

On the overall list, he now ranks ninth, but has lost £2 billion from 2025.

What other sports stars are on there?

The remainder of the top ten sports people on The Sunday Times Rich List consist of F1 drivers, boxers, golfers and one footballer and tennis star.

In terms of sports, Sir Lewis Hamilton comes in at fifth place.

The seven-time champion of the world is estimated to be worth an incredible £435m.

Next comes Rory McIlroy, with the Northern Irish golf star sitting on £325m.

McIlroy has seen his wealth swell in the last year with back-to-back Masters victories to complete the career grand slam.

Anthony Joshua, who is finally set to face Tyson Fury later this year is also on the list.

The British heavyweight and former champion of the world is said to be worth £240m.

And his opponent Fury gets onto the list as well, making his first appearance with a net worth of £162m.

Harry Kane and Sir Andy Murray are level on £110m each, and they round off the top ten of people involved in sports on The Sunday Times Rich List.

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How do the Beckhams make money?

The Beckhams have used their standing to move into various business ventures and build their wealth.

Victoria has a fashion brand that has continued to grow, while the duo have a production company.

This production company helped produce their hit Netflix show, simply called ‘Beckham’.

Aside from this, they have numerous brand deals with adidas, Pepsi, Armani and the Las Vegas Sands hotel group.

However, the biggest explanation for the Beckhams’ wealth exploding is Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

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The former Real Madrid winger started the American club in 2018, and he has a 26 per cent stake in it.

It has become a very popular club, with Messi gathering a series of his former Barcelona teammates in the States.

Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets have all worn the pink of Inter Miami, with Messi the star attraction.

So, a vast business portfolio and a football club are behind why the Beckhams are now worth over £1billion.