World's richest athlete Roger Federer earns less than 1/5th of Kylie Jenner
The tennis community was left rejoicing last week as Roger Federer was named the highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes - the first time the accolade had gone to a tennis player. Federer pocketed a cool $106 million in the year, on the back of his sizable prize money earnings and even more sizable brand endorsement deals.
But if we thought that was impressive, the subsequent list released by Forbes - for the richest celebrities in the world - has burst the bubble a little. With more context has come a sobering awareness of the reality - that athletes are not even close to being the biggest money-spinners in the entertainment business.
Picture this: Kylie Jenner, the 22-year-old topper of the second list, raked in $590 million last year. That's more than five times of what Roger Federer made in the same period.
You heard that right. Kylie Jenner, the American media personality, socialite, model, businesswoman...etc., out-earns the biggest tennis star on the planet by more than 500%.
For those going 'Kylie who?', it might be an eye-opener to learn about the gargantuan business empire run by a woman who rose to fame through the (in)famous reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians. The younger Jenner sister has dabbled in many things, including TV shows, modeling and Instagram endorsements. But her biggest cash cow is Kylie Cosmetics, a company dedicated to lip products and other makeup accessories.
Kylie Cosmetics is valued at nearly $800 million just five years into its existence, and the woman herself has been pouting her way to the bank throughout.
Roger Federer may never top this chart
At 38, Roger Federer has seemingly conquered everything the sport of tennis has to offer. A record 20 Grand Slams, a record 310 weeks as number one in the world, a record six ATP Finals, the Davis Cup and Olympic medals - he's got it all. One of the greatest stylists the game has ever produced, Roger Federer will leave behind a lasting legacy whenever he decides to hang up his boots.
However, when it comes to raking in the moolah, even a legend such as the Swiss maestro may never reach the heights of the reality TV star and social media influencer-turned-cosmetics queen Kylie Jenner.
Federer's earnings may seem huge, but only in isolation. Even though he is third on the celebrities list behind Jenner and the musician Kanye West, his total net worth is pegged at $450 million - which is less than what Jenner made in just the last year. That is a huge disparity no matter which way you look at it.
We live in a topsy-turvy world full of egregious economic inequalities at every level. And nothing epitomizes that more than the fact that someone like Jenner, who has captured the imagination of the contemporary world with her emphasis on looks and glamour, makes much more than top-earning sportspersons including Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
A breakdown of Federer's earnings also gives context. His primary earnings were from endorsements and appearance fees that totaled around $100 million; only about six million came from actual prize money.
In an inherently business-centric world, money lies with big conglomerates; all top athletes depend on endorsements rather than prize money to build their wealth. But Federer would have to strike a deal 10 times more than his already preposterous Uniqlo contract (which is reportedly worth $30 million per year) to even come close to Jenner's earnings.
Interestingly, Jenner has been accused by the same magazine of forging documents to falsely show that she is a billionaire, a charge she has denied.
Clearly, just owning unimaginable amounts of money is not enough; flaunting it is also equally important. Tennis fans would be hoping that for people like Roger Federer and Co, it is the sporting legacy they leave behind that matters more to them. Because they certainly can't compete when it comes to monetary wealth.