Net Worth
Ion Tiriac Net Worth
Ion Tiriac is an Olympic champion and tennis star who made a fortune as a player, becoming one of the wealthiest tennis players in the world.

Net Worth: | $1.2 Billion |
---|---|
Age: | 86 |
Born: | May 9, 1939 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
Country of Origin: | Romania |
Source of Wealth: | Professional Tennis Player |
Last Updated: | Oct 7, 2025 |
Introduction
Ion Tiriac is a Romanian former professional tennis player with an estimated net worth of $1.2 Billion.
Tiriac retired from international tennis to pursue a business career managing professional tennis players. He was not only a top professional tennis player, but also a professional ice hockey player who represented Romania in the 1964 Winter Olympics.
He retired from competitive sports in 1979 and is currently president of the Romanian Tennis Federation.
Early Life
Ion Tiriac was born May 9, 1939, in Transylvania, Romania. When he was 10, Ion’s father died, leaving his mother to raise him alone.
At the age of 15, Ion started working at a truck factory but discovered that he loved sports and cut his hours down to make room for practice. He is a graduate of the Institute of Sport, in Bucharest and received the Emeritus Sports Master distinction on graduating in 1964.
The same year that he graduated, Ion was chosen for the Romanian National ice hockey team, an opportunity which took him to the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.
Realizing that he needed a change, Ion changed over to his first love, tennis, shortly after competing in the Winter Olympics. Ion had previously played tennis at school and it would go on to become his main focus for the duration of his professional career.
Career Overview
Alongside his partner, Ilie Nastase, Ion won the men’s doubles at the 1970 French Open and also reached the Davis Cup finals multiple times during the 1970s.
Ion was the first male tennis player to go up against a woman, Abigail Maynard, whom he defeated at the County International Tennis Championships.
In 1979, Ion retired after winning the Romanian tennis championships nine times, but his retirement did not end his connection with tennis. He decided to coach top tennis players and managed Stefi Graf as well as Boris Becker’s career from 1984 up until 1993.
Ion helped pave the way for players like Rafel Nadal, Roger Federer, and Venus Williams to earn the massive amounts of money that they do from tennis.
In 1998, Ion became the president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. Ion’s goal was to become a tennis promoter throughout Europe and the USA, which he did very successfully, managing tournaments worldwide. Some of the more popular events included the Eurocard Open, Italian Open, Austrian Open, and Open Romania.
Tennis was set to become a more popular sport, especially with the advent of televised sports and advertising in the 1980s. He wasted no time in buying licenses for multiple professional tournaments, a move that paid off handsomely. With his earnings from his tennis career not being as high as he had hoped, he decided to auction off the licenses to municipalities in different cities.
As his portfolio increased, he began construction of the complex called Casa Magica, which was to become one of the most important tournaments in the world.
With his talent for spotting profitable opportunities, hard work, and determination, he has created a net worth of over a billion dollars. You won’t find much in his official Instagram account as he’s old school, and not often found online.
Career Earnings
Here’s an estimated overview of Ion Tiriac’s income:
- 2015 – $50 million
- 2016 – $55 million
- 2017 – $57 million
- 2018 – $57.5 million
- 2019 – $59 million
- 2020 – $58 million
- 2021 – $60 million
- 2022 – $60 million
Net Worth Annually
Here’s a breakdown of Ion Tiriac’s annual net worth:
- 2017 – $0.8 billion
- 2018 – $0.9 billion
- 2019 – $1 billion
- 2020 – $1.1 billion
- 2021 – $1.2 billion
- 2022 – $1.2 billion
With his business dealings in management and property investment, Tiriac’s empire continues to grow. His enormous wealth will continue to increase as he finds new and innovative ways to extract value from professional sports.
Personal Life
Ion was married to handball player, Erika Braedt, in 1963, but unfortunately, the couple got divorced after only two years had passed.
He had a son named Ion Tiriac Jr. with fashion model, Mikette von Issenberg, as well as two more children, Karim Mihai and Iona Natalia, with an Egyptian journalist, Sophie Ayad.
Tiriac loves Africa and bought the Wabi Game Lodge in Namibia a few hundred miles to the north of the capital Windhoek. He is reported to have said that he’d retire there if he wasn’t such a workaholic with a tight schedule.
Awards & Achievements
Having spent a long time at the top of international sport, it is little wonder that Tirac has collected such a vast array of tournament wins and awards. In his home country of Hungary, Tiriac is regarded as a hero for his contributions to improving their image on the world stage.
Here are some memorable moments from Ion Tiriac’s career:
- In 2019, Ion was awarded the Order of Merit of Hungary, one of the highest awards the state can give a civilian.
- Ion has been awarded the title of Professor of Physical Education and Sports.
- Between the years 1957 and 1972, Ion won 40 titles and was awarded the title “Master Emeritus in Sports”.
- In 2022, he was ranked as the 3rd richest person in Romania.
- Ion was ranked #77 in the 100 Greatest Romanians in 2006.
While Ion is no longer quite as much in the limelight, it is expected that he will continue to receive awards and accolades for his contribution to the modern sports scene.
How Does Ion Tiriac Spend His Money?
It is well known that Ion has a passion for collecting cars and motorcycles. He has over 400 different models and owns a museum featuring more than 200 rare luxury cars that are part of his collection. His other investments are mainly in real estate. He owns seven houses throughout Europe, with one of them located in his hometown in Romania.
Another of Ion’s passions is boar hunting. When they are caught, they are then donated to orphanages. He also spends considerable time at his game lodge in Namibia.
Summary
Ion Tiriac became the richest former sports player in the world. He now lives a luxurious lifestyle, investing in all of his passions and sharing them with the world. Even after his retirement, he continued to help his former players become the very best they could be.
Through his unique character and many sporting and business achievements, Ion Tiriac has secured a position of wealth and celebrity that he could only have dreamed of as a young tennis player.
MMA Fighters
Junior Dos Santos Net Worth
Junior Dos Santos came to the UFC at a young age and became one of the highest-paid members of the company’s heavyweight division.

Net Worth: | $10 Million |
---|---|
Age: | 41 |
Born: | January 30, 1984 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.93 m |
Country of Origin: | Brazil |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 7, 2025 |
Introduction
Junior Dos Santos is a Brazilian professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $10 Million.
Early Life
Junior Dos Santos was born on 30 January 1984 in Cacador, Brazil, and trained in multiple martial arts and boxing while growing up. Much of Dos Santos’ training came in the form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, although it wasn’t until he was in his early twenties that he began to train more seriously.
Dos Santos proved to be a natural in mixed martial arts and quickly joined the professional ranks at the age of 22. He would win his first five matches easily, as he defeated every opponent in the first round, including a 50-second submission victory.
MMA Career
Just two years after turning pro, Dos Santos made his UFC debut with a victory over Fabricio Werdum and would go on a winning streak that included takedowns of Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Roy Nelson.
After defeating Nelson, Dos Santos was placed into the UFC Heavyweight Title Eliminator, where he defeated Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez to earn the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He would successfully defend the title against Frank Mir, but lost his rematch to Cain Velasquez, as well as the rubber match.
From December 2014 to March 2019, Dos Santos took on the likes of Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, and Derrick Lewis, but lost his final four UFC matches. After losing to Ciryl Gane in late 2020, Dos Santos’ time with UFC came to an end, and he joined Eagle FC, where he lost his first match against Yorgan De Castro in May 2022.
UFC Earnings
During our research into Junior dos Santos’ fight earnings, particularly within the UFC, we found information relating to just nine of his thirty professional fights. The majority of these fights occured between 2010 and 2013, when dos Santos was considered to be at the peak of his career. At the time, his earnings were among the highest in mixed martial arts.
However, dos Santos’ earliest recorded fight purse was $71,000 against Fabricio Werdum. This somehow included his $65,000 knockout bonus, indicating that his base pay was just a few thousand dollars. In March 2010, he earned a similar sum ($70,000), for knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round.
After six straight wins in the UFC, five of which were knockouts, dos Santos quickly began commanding a higher salary. When he fought Shane Carwin at UFC 131 in 2011, Junior earned $200,000, comprising $100,000 to show and $100,000 for the win. Later that year, he secured a similar sum ($220,000) for his win over Cain Velasquez, securing the Heavyweight Championship belt. In 2012, his disclosed earnings from his bout with Frank Mir were $200,000; however, there may have been certain bonuses that went undisclosed. At UFC 155, where Velasquez reclaimed the belt, dos Santos reportedly secured a $400,000 purse.
The final three disclosed earnings of Junior dos Santos’ UFC career were $240,000 against Mark Hunt, $260,000 against Stipe Miocic, and $400,000 against Alistair Overeem. These nine fights amounts to an estimated $2.06 million in earnings, but may still be missing several bonuses, etc.
Additional Earnings
Post-UFC, Junior dos Santos also competed in the BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship), and Eagle FC, which is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA promotion. However, these organizations are somewhat reluctant to publish their fighter’s earnings. Thus, we’re unable to know how much dos Santos has earned with them, despite many sources guessing. Junior has fought twice in the BKFC, and once for Eagle FC. In an interview, he claimed that he was “going to make as much” if not more with Eagle FC than he did in the UFC.
Personal Life
For much of his career, Junior Dos Santos was married to Vilsana Picolli, though the two announced that they would be divorcing in 2013 after a decade of marriage. That wasn’t the end of their working relationship, though, as Picolli remained as Dos Santos’ manager, and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion has more recently been linked to Brazilian TV presented Isadora Santos.
In addition to his fighting career, Dos Santos has made several appearances with All Elite Wrestling and competed in the 2019 season of Dancing with the Stars in his native Brazil.
Awards & Achievements
Here are the top awards and achievements from Junior Dos Santos’ UFC career:
- One-time UFC Heavyweight Champion with one successful title defense.
- Three-time Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus winner.
- Holds the longest winning streak in the history of the UFC heavyweight division with nine.
- Has the second most knockout victories in UFC heavyweight history with 10.
- Named to the 2011 Sherdog All-Violence First Team.
How Does Junior Dos Santos Spend His Money?
Junior Dos Santos may be one of the richest fighters, but the former UFC Heavyweight Champion doesn’t quite spend like it. Dos Santos revealed that he just wanted to be comfortable as he grew up in an impoverished area in Brazil and spent a lot of money helping his family.
In fact, one of the reasons Dos Santos left the UFC was that the injuries were no longer worth the paydays, and he wanted to work on a more manageable schedule, even if it meant earning less money. Dos Santos loves winning, and that comes with good paydays, but the money primarily goes toward his family and community.
Summary
Junior Dos Santos was a staple of the UFC’s heavyweight division for years and is considered among the promotion’s best fighters in its history. As he approaches his 40s, Dos Santos seems to have his sights set more on professional wrestling now with All Elite Wrestling. Along the way, Dos Santos has made millions and is considered a legend of the heavyweight division for good reason.
MMA Fighters
Francis Ngannou Net Worth
Francis Ngannou is a late bloomer who attempted a professional boxing career but found success and millions of dollars as a mixed martial artist.

Net Worth: | $5 Million |
---|---|
Age: | 39 |
Born: | September 5, 1986 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.93 m |
Country of Origin: | Cameroon |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 6, 2025 |
Introduction
Francis Ngannou is a Cameroonian professional MMA fighter and boxer with an estimated net worth of $15 Million.
Ngannou gained fame for his record-breaking punch power and quickly became the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Following a contract dispute with the company, he was released by the UFC and subsequently signed with the PFL. Francis made his professional boxing debut in 2023 against Tyson Fury and also fought against Anthony Joshua in 2024. These two fights earned him more money than from all his MMA fights combined.
Net Worth History
Year | Net Worth |
---|---|
2015 | $50,000 |
2016 | $175,000 |
2017 | $350,000 |
2018 | $1 million |
2019 | $1.4 million |
2020 | $1.6 million |
2021 | $2.2 million |
2022 | $3 million |
2023 | $7 million |
2024 | $14 million |
2025 | $15 million |
Throughout the early parts of his career, Francis Ngannou was essentially living paycheck to paycheck between fights. However, things changed drastically when he became the UFC’s Heavyweight Champion. When we first started tracking Francis Ngannou’s net worth in 2022, it was estimated to be just $3 million. After stalled contract negotiations with the UFC, he eventually left to join the PFL.
However, it was his move to professional boxing that truly began bringing in the big bucks. Ngannou has earned an estimated $30 million from just two boxing matchups, against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. As a result, his net worth has skyrocketed to an estimated $15 Million, as of 2025.
MMA Career
After dropping his second fight against Zoumana Cisse, Ngannou won his next 10 matches, which included his UFC debut against Luis Henrique. Ngannou experienced a brief cold streak in 2018, dropping decisions to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, with the latter being his first title shot. He then rebounded with wins over Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez, running his record to 13-3 and re-entering the title scene in the Dana White promotion.
Ngannou became a dominant force, defeating Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik en route to a rematch with Stipe Miocic, this time winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and defending it successfully against Ciryl Gane.
UFC Fight Earnings
Not all of Francis Ngannou’s fight purses from the UFC were publicly disclosed. However, we do have information for several of them, particularly in the latter stages. Ngannou’s first official fight in the UFC took place in December 2015 against Luis Henrique. After winning the fight by knockout, he secured a total of $22,500, comprising $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win, and $2,500 from his Reebok sponsorship.
Fast forward to 2019, Ngannou earned a combined $525,000 from another two knockouts over Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Both of which occurred in the first minute of the first round. The following year, when Francis secured his wild knockout over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, he reportedly earned $320,000.
In 2021, Ngannou fought Stipe Miocic for the second time, once again for the Heavyweight title. Adding another knockout to his record, Francis earned $580,000, including bonuses. Finally, a decision win over Ciryl Gane in 2022 earned him $600,000.
For these six fights alone, Francis Ngannou earned an estimated $2.05 million, which is not a lot considering the extent of his dominance in the UFC’s Heavyweight division. However, we are missing a large number of his fights, particularly during his rise to the top of the rankings.
UFC Contract Dispute
The bout with Gane was the final fight on Ngannou’s contract, and although the organization offered him $5 million to sign a new deal, he was reluctant to do so. His relationship with the UFC was already strained due to contract negotiations that failed to take place in 2019. According to Francis, this led to him only receiving one fight per year, placing additional strain on his finances.
Eventually, Francis decided to leave the UFC and join the PFL. Dana White clapped back, claiming Francis is “full of s***” and “isn’t a good guy.”
Boxing Payouts
By far, the most lucrative period of Francis Ngannou’s career was between 2023 and 2024, when he transitioned into professional boxing. This was only made possible due to his decision to leave the UFC, as otherwise, he would have been locked into a contract and unable to compete in other organizations.
In October 2023, Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury won the fight by decision, reportedly earning $50 million, yet Ngannou still secured an estimated $10 million purse. Francis claimed this was almost double his entire earnings within the UFC. A year later, he fought Anthony Joshua, losing this time by knockout. However, he still walked away with a reported $20 million payday.
As a result, Ngannous has earned an estimated $30 million from just two boxing bouts, averaging $15 million per fight. Assuming we take his word of earning in the ballpark of $5 million from all fourteen of his fights in the UFC, his average paycheck would have been just $357,000.
Summary
Francis Ngannou has come a long way since his days of poverty in Cameroon and working odd jobs in Paris. After making his way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ngannou became one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. Throughout his career, Ngannou has established himself as one of the richest and most successful MMA fighters.
MMA Fighters
Wanderlei Silva Net Worth
Wanderlei Silva was one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts during his career which included a lengthy and lucrative run as the Pride Middleweight Champion.

Net Worth: | $18 Million |
---|---|
Age: | 49 |
Born: | July 3, 1976 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.8 m |
Country of Origin: | Brazil |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 7, 2025 |
Introduction
Wanderlei Silva is a Brazilian-American former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $18 Million.
Before Wealth & Fame
Wanderlei Silva was born on July 3, 1976, in Curitiba, Brazil, and began practicing martial arts, including kickboxing and Muay Thai, at a young age.
Silva was fighting bare-knuckle in his amateur days, suffering some injuries along the way that he would recover from quickly. Just a few months after his 20th birthday, Silva would make his professional MMA debut and start his career 4-0 before his first loss to Artur Mariano. Silva lost his second match the following year, this time to Vitor Belfort, but Silva would quickly recover and go on a hot streak.
MMA Career
In April 1999, Wanderlei Silva became the IVC Light Heavyweight Champion, earning his first title and securing a contract with Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Silva quickly earned a title shot for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but lost via decision to Tito Ortiz. This launched a long winning streak for Silva, as he left the UFC for Pride Fighting Championships. He went on to an 18-match undefeated streak, including fights against Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton Jackson, and Yuki Kondo.
Since the end of 2004, Silva has experienced both professional losses and wins, but has had memorable matches against notable opponents such as Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, and Brian Stann, ultimately finishing his career with a record of 35 wins, 14 losses, one draw, and one no-contest.
Fight Earnings
Despite fighting 49 times during his professional career, there’s not a whole lot of information surrounding Wanderlei Silva’s individual fight earnings. Nonetheless, here’s what we know.
For Silva’s fight against Rampage Jackson at Bellator 206 in 2018, he reportedly earned $200,000, while Rampage earned $300,000. Regarding the UFC, Wanderlei typically earned a base purse of $200,000 per fight. This includes his bouts with Chris Leben at UFC 132, Cung Le at UFC 139, and Rich Franklin at UFC 147. He also secured a $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus against Cung Le, bringing his total to $270,000.
Those three UFC fights alone earned Wanderlei Silva approximately $670,000. While we don’t have specific figures for any of his other individual purses, Dana White has previously claimed that Silva earned $9.7 million during his tenure with the organization. This was in response to Silva’s claim that fighters were underpaid, and in response, Dana stated:
“You know how much money Wanderlei Silva has made since he’s been with the UFC? $9.7 million.”
How Does Wanderlei Silva Spend His Money?
Silva has a couple of BMWs that he enjoys driving, and his house in Las Vegas is estimated to be worth around $200,000. He also owns a home in his Brazilian hometown, splitting his time between the two houses while operating a training facility in Nevada.
Personal Life
Since 2002, Silva has been married to his wife, Tea, with the couple having a son named Thor, as well as a daughter from a previous relationship. He has split his time between the United States and Brazil, his home country, throughout his adult life, and now resides in Curitiba, Brazil.
In 2009, Silva founded his own MMA training organization, called Wand Fight Team, which is based in Las Vegas and has coaches in several forms of martial arts.
Summary
Making it as a professional mixed martial artist for two years is hard enough, but Wanderlei Silva was able to stay at the top of the MMA world for 22 years. Though the back end of his career included a lot of losses, it also brought a lot of big paydays for the former Pride Middleweight Champion. Now a member of the Hall of Fame, the MMA fighter can enjoy retirement in Las Vegas and Brazil, knowing that his career was among the best.
-
Richest People2 years ago
The 30 Richest People in the World
-
Richest People2 years ago
The 50 Richest Rappers in the World
-
Richest People2 years ago
The World’s 50 Richest Singers
-
Richest People2 years ago
The 50 Richest Actors in the World
-
Richest People2 years ago
The 50 Richest Athletes On Earth
-
Entrepreneurs2 years ago
Jeff Bezos Net Worth
-
Richest People2 years ago
The 50 Richest DJs in the World
-
Top Lists2 years ago
The 10 Most Inspirational Short Stories I’ve Heard