Introduction

Sebastian Vettel is a German former professional race car driver with an estimated net worth of $140 Million.

Vettel competed in Formula 1 for 16 years, competing in 299 races and recording 53 wins and 3,098 points. During his career, he earned approximately $367.82 million from salary and bonuses, averaging $22.99 million/year.

However, the above figures don’t account for 100% of Vettel’s income. He also typically earned $1 million/year from various endorsement deals, but began declining sponsorships toward the end of his career.

Vettel won the World Drivers’ Championship at the youngest age of any driver in history and became the youngest driver to win the double, triple, and quadruple world championships in Formula One. He previously raced for Red Bull, Toro Rosso, BMW, and Ferrari Scuderia and is one of only four drivers to have won four or more championships in Formula One.

Quick Facts

• Earned over $320 million between 2012 and his retirement
• Peak annual income of $42.3 million in 2017
• Typically earned between $300,000 and $1 million per year off-track
• Sponsors included Braun, Casio, and Head & Shoulders, among others

Earnings History

Before we go into more detail on Sebastian Vettel’s Formula One contracts, annual salary, and some of the other ways he’s bolstered his income over the years, let’s summarize his career earnings. In the 2010s and early 2020s, Forbes consistently ranked Vettel among the highest-paid drivers in Formula One.

Between 2012 and 2019, he was a consistent entry on the list, typically earning between $18 million and $42 million annually from all endeavors. This includes not only his F1 salary but also additional income from bonuses, licensing royalties, and brand endorsement agreements. That said, his base salary typically accounted for well over 90% of his total annual income, as you’ll find out shortly.

For the first few years of the decade, Sebastian Vettel earned between $18 million and $19 million per year. The major shift in his annual income occurred in 2014, when he signed his first three-year contract with Ferrari, resulting in an estimated $33 million that year. During his time at Ferrari from 2015 through 2020, Vettel’s annual earnings never dipped below $36 million, reaching a career high of $42.3 million midway through his tenure.

Vettel’s final appearance on the annual Forbes list was in 2022, during his last year with Aston Martin, when he earned approximately $17 million. This brought his total earnings from 2012 to 2022 to at least $285.4 million (likely exceeding $320 million when including 2020 and 2021).

Formula One Contracts & Salary

Upon researching how much money Sebastien Vettel earned in Formula One, the only figures we couldn’t find were for his initial season at BMW Sauber in 2006. Based on the information available, Vettel earned at least $368.8 million in base salary during his Formula One tenure. This figure doesn’t include his additional earnings from brand endorsements, licensing, and so on. These earnings were split primarily between three teams: Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin.

Endorsement Income

Throughout his career, Sebastian Vettel earned a small portion of his income off the track through endorsement deals; however, these earnings weren’t substantial compared with his on-track salary in Formula One. According to Forbes, Vettel’s annual endorsement income typically ranged from $300,000 to $1 million, accounting for less than 3% of his total income.

Which companies paid him the most money is unknown, as none of his contracts with these brands have been publicly disclosed. However, that said, we do have a list of all the partnerships Vettel secured during his career, which includes companies such as:

• Braun (men’s grooming)
• BWT (Best Water Technology)
• Casio (watches)
• Head & Shoulders (hair care)
• Infiniti (automaker)
• Shell (fuel and auto lubricant)
• Pepe Jeans (clothing)
• Tirendo (tires)

Based on the information available to us, we estimate that Sebastian Vettel earned between $5 million and $10 million from brand endorsements over the course of his Formula One career.

How Does Sebastian Vettel Spend His Money?

Vettel is concerned about environmental and social justice issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and supports them. He has helped children build beehives to prevent an agricultural crisis caused by declining bee numbers across Europe.

Vettel has raised the ire of the Canadian government with his rants about the Alberta tar sands petroleum extraction. However, as he drives for Aston Martin, which manufactures some of the most expensive cars in the world and is sponsored by the petroleum company Saudi Aramco, it’s a bit hypocritical of him.

He owns a modest farmhouse in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland, worth an estimated $7 million, and is said to own other property in the area. However, he is extremely secretive about his financial position and has requested that the authorities remove his land registration details from their online records.

Summary 

It is difficult to predict what Sebastian Vettel will do next, as he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone and has the wealth, resources, and willpower to achieve whatever he wants. Many people are still shocked by the news of his departure from Formula One, as it marks the end of an era. In his recent interview, he mentioned wanting more family time, which is understandable given that he prioritizes it above all else.

Introduction 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American professional racing driver with an estimated net worth of $300 Million.

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $295 million between 2007 and 2017
• Peak annual income of $35 million

Earnings History

Between 2007 and 2017, Forbes consistently ranked Dale Earnhardt Jr. among the highest-paid drivers in NASCAR. In fact, for eight of those years, he was the highest-paid driver, earning up to $35 million per year.

Before we get into the timeline of Earnhardt Jr.’s earnings, we need to mention a couple of things. Firstly, before 2012, Forbes didn’t separate endorsement/licensing income from regular salary/prize money income. Hence, the “salary” and “endorsement” columns in the table above are empty for the 2007-2011 period. Secondly, you’ll notice that from 2008 onward, Earnhardt Jr.’s annual income declined each year. This wasn’t a driver performance issue, but actually an accurate representation of NASCAR as a whole. The income of nearly every single renowned driver follows a very similar pattern.

Between 2007 and 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned an estimated $294.9 million, making him the highest-earning driver in NASCAR history. Despite NASCAR’s declining viewership and, therefore, sponsorship revenue over the last decade, Dale consistently earned more than $20 million per year from a combination of base salary, track winnings, licensing royalties, and sponsorships.

He was also one of only two drivers at the time (the other being Danica Patrick) to earn nearly as much off the track as on it. A clear example of this was in 2013, when he earned more from sponsors ($13 million) than from salary and winnings ($12.9 million). 

Endorsement Income

As you can see from the breakdown of his annual income, brand endorsements were of a much higher importance to Dale Earnhardt Jr. than most NASCAR drivers. While drivers typically earn a sizeable 10-20% of their total income off the track, Dale consistently earned at least 36% of his annual income from brand endorsements. Between 2012 and 2019, Earnhardt Jr. earned an estimated $57.5 million off the track from licensing royalties and brand endorsements, accounting for roughly 40.5% of his total income during that period.

Some of his most notable sponsors include:

• Ally
• Amp Gorilla
• Alpinestars
• Budweiser
• Freightliner
• Goodyear
• Hard Rock International
• Mountain Dew
• TrueTimber

Real Estate

Florida Home

Perhaps the most interesting transaction in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s real estate portfolio was his 3,306-square-foot, five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Key West, Florida. He paid $2.4 million for the property in April 2009 and invested substantial effort in renovations. Dale gave his house a pirate-themed interior, featuring extensive use of wood, netting, rope, and other pirate-themed decor.

Earnhardt Jr. owned the house for over a decade before listing it for sale in February 2020. He initially requested $3.7 million, later reduced to $3.4 million, and sold it for $3 million.

North Carolina Home

It’s clear that Dale has a thing for themed homes. Aside from his pirate-themed property in Florida, Dale also owns an estate in Mooresville, North Carolina, that contains a replica western town. We believe he may have built this property in 2008 and still owns it at the time of writing.

This estate comprises 72.76 acres of land, featuring 29,618 square feet of living space, and features a ton of interesting amenities that aren’t what you’d call typical for the average homeowner.

In September 2018, Mike Davis, Dale’s manager, gave Graham Bensinger a personal tour of the property, which was uploaded to his YouTube channel. This tour included his replica western town, built entirely out of wood and featuring separate buildings for a barbershop, livery, general store, sheriff’s office, chapel, and saloon. We don’t know how many of these buildings function as intended, but the saloon appears to be in action. The property also features a go-kart track and an autoshop, which houses a basketball court and locker rooms for their Dirty Dome basketball league.

According to Zillow estimates, this property is currently valued at $6.5 million, and costs Earnhardt Jr. roughly $38,000 in annual taxes.

Philanthropy

With his luxurious lifestyle funded by his well-deserved wins, Dale has made supporting charities a primary goal. It is said that he has granted more than 250 wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He also founded the Dale Jr. Foundation, which has donated over $8 million to multiple charities since 2007.

Introduction

Kevin Harvick is an American professional stock car racing driver with an estimated net worth of $70 Million.

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $178.2 million between 2007 and 2019
• Peak annual income of $15.5 million (2014 and 2015)
• Typically earned between $1.5 million and $3.5 million per year off-track
• Sponsors included Busch Beer, Mobil 1, and Xfinity, among others
• Paid $6.75 million for the Talladega Nights mansion in 2023
• This was the home of the fictional character Ricky Bobby in the film 

Earnings History

Between 2007 and 2019, Kevin Harvick appeared on every annual release of the Forbes “Highest-Paid NASCAR Drivers” list, consistently earning between $11 million and $15.5 million per year from all his endeavors. This includes his base salary from Richard Childress Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, plus his share of the race winnings, and off-track income from licensing royalties and brand endorsements.

The information in the table above has been extracted from every annual list that Forbes published on NASCAR driver earnings, beginning with 2007, when Harvick earned an estimated $11 million. Bear in mind that while the publication published this list in June 2008, it refers to estimated income from June 1, 2007, to June 1, 2008. Another thing to note is that Forbes didn’t begin separating on-track and off-track income until 2012. Hence, we’re unable to see how much he earned from endorsements in the earlier years.

Unlike other NASCAR drivers, Kevin Harvick didn’t experience a significant drop in his income over time. Typically, the highest-paid drivers all experienced a drastic salary decline during the 2010s, due to a declining NASCAR audience and, consequently, a decline in team sponsorship revenues.

Overall, during the period above, Kevin Harvick earned an estimated $178.2 million, averaging $13.7 million per season.

NASCAR Track Earnings

Until 2016, NASCAR publicly disclosed driver race winnings, allowing us to see how much Kevin Harvick earned for his team, both annually and per race. It’s important to stress that the figures in the table above are the annual winnings Harvick earned for his team, not his personal income. Race winnings are paid to the drivers’ teams, and the amount is then split between the driver and the team. Typically, elite-level drivers like Harvick can receive between 30% and 50% of this sum. 

Between 2001 and 2015, Harvick earned a total on-track prize money of $80.94 million, of which $65.4 million or thereabouts was earned with Richard Childress Racing. Assuming he received a 50% split, Harvick could have earned $45.5 million from his share of the race winnings.

Endorsement Income

As we already established, when Forbes began estimating endorsement income in its annual lists from 2012 onward, Kevin Harvick reportedly earned between $1.5 million and $3 million in a typical year off the track. His earnings from brand sponsors began at $1.5 million per year for 2012 and 2014, and peaked in the middle of the period (2014 to 2016). At the time, he earned as much as $3.5 million per year in off-track income. This was followed by a consistent decline, eventually dropping to $1.3 million in 2019.

During the eight-year period, Kevin Harvick earned an estimated $17 million off the track from brand endorsement deals and licensing royalties.

This figure was earned from lucrative partnerships with over a dozen companies, including:

• Budweiser
• Burn Energy Drink
• Busch Beer
• Champion
• Fields
• Hunt Brothers Pizza
• Jimmie John’s
• Kroger
• Mobil 1
• Reese’s
• Rheem
• Shell
• Subway
• Tide
• Turtle Wax
• Xfinity

Real Estate

Like most professional NASCAR drivers, Kevin Harvick opted to purchase a property close to the action. It also appears that anything under 10,000 square feet is a no-go for him. You might know one of the properties listed below from a rather famous film from the mid-2000s.

Charlotte Mansion

In February 2014, he paid $3.34 million for a 13,124-square-foot, six-bedroom, ten-bathroom mansion in Charlotte, North Carolina. This property spans 4.48 acres and features amenities such as a pool house, guest house, gym, arcade, and golf simulator. 

In May 2024, over a decade later, he relisted the property for sale at $12.5 million. Several months later, he reduced the price to $10 million and closed a deal in March 2025 for $9.83 million. That’s almost triple what he paid, proving a solid investment.

Talladega Nights Mansion

That’s right, in October 2023, Harvick paid $6.75 million for Ricky Bobby’s mansion. This house belonged to the fictional character played by Will Ferrell in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The home, located in Cornelius, North Carolina, comprises 12,042 square feet, six bedrooms, and 6.5 bathrooms. Harvick still owns this property, which is currently worth an estimated $7.2 million.

Car Collection

Kevin Harvick didn’t have a car of his own until he was in his twenties. At that stage, he went out and bought his first truck, one that he wouldn’t have to share with his dad. Since then, he’s owned multiple vehicles, but his particular favorites are Chevrolet classics. When he’s not on the track, you can see him driving his classic 1969 Chevrolet Camaro as often as he can.