Inside the life of Tiger Woods: how rich is the GOAT of golf?
Tiger Woods is the most remarkable golfer in the modern era.
He’s won four Majors on the trot, one of them by 15 shots at Pebble Beach, and, but for injury, he might well have surpassed Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18. Tiger has 15.
A ruthless frontrunner he’s played some of the most outrageous shots in golf history and has been the inspiration for millions to take up the game but we still don’t really know how he operates.
His 155-foot luxury yacht is named ‘Privacy’ which speaks volumes about the superstar.
Salary/Winnings
Tiger has earned just under £121m on the PGA Tour which is a record – Rory McIlroy is next on the list with $100m and Phil Mickelson is third on $96m. Woods has achieved that having turned pro in 1996 and winning 82 times on Tour, the same number as Sam Snead. He made 339/378 cuts which is phenomenal given how injured he’s played in the past decade.
But his on-course earnings barely touch the sides when you consider his sponsorship deals. He would sign a five-year deal, worth $40m, when he turned pro and he is now at $1.3b which makes him only the second active athlete to reach billionaire status along with LeBron James. By coincidence, both superstars share the same birthday: December 30th.
Major titles won
15 – a figure that is almost disappointing given he was on 14 after the Torrey Pines win on one leg in 2008. But it’s equally remarkable given the state of his body in the interim and what he went through in the build-up to his Masters win in 2019. You’d be staggered if anyone reached double figures in the modern era which puts the 15 into some sort of context.
Sponsors
Woods’ 27-year deal with Nike ended as recently as January 2024 and it’s thought that it’s made him over $200m and put Nike at the front and centre of a sport which, historically, it never was. The highlight was undoubtedly his chip-in at Augusta in 2005 and the ‘in your life have you ever seen anything like that?’ commentary.
Otherwise there have been deals with TaylorMade, Bridgestone (balls), Rolex (watch), Monster Energy (bag), Upper Deck, TMRW Sports, Gatorade, AT&T, Accenture, Gillette and Buick (General Motors), many of whom dropped him after his 2009 sex scandal.
Agent
Mark Steinberg has managed Woods since 1998 when they were with IMG. In 2011 the agent left IMG and joined Excel Sports Management and Woods followed. These days Steinberg is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Golf at Excel Sports Management. ‘Steiny’, as Woods likes to refer to him, helped sign Annika Sorenstam to IMG back in 1993.
Properties
Tiger has lived in his home on Jupiter Island since 2006 when he was with his then-wife Elin Nordegren. He bought it for a reported $40m and, four years later, he demolished the existing structure to construct a custom-designed mansion. The upgrade supposedly cost $15m.
Across the 12 acres the house is divided into two sections connected by a glass walkway and it contains a golf course (naturally), two enormous swimming pools – one for laps and the other for diving – tennis courts, an oxygen treatment room, a state-of-the-art gym, wine cellar and a health facility where he can receive treatment. And, being an island, there is a dock for boats.
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