Beckham and his wife Victoria reached a milestone in their combined wealth this year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
Published May 15, 2026
Former Manchester United and England football star David Beckham has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2026.
Beckham and his wife Victoria are worth an estimated 1.185 billion pounds (about $1.583 billion) this year, according to the authors of the Rich List.
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This moves them to second place on the list of Britain’s richest athletes, behind the family of former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose fortune is valued at 2 billion pounds (about $2.7 billion).
Beckham, who retired in 2013, is part-owner of Inter Miami, estimated to be Major League Soccer’s most valuable club, with a fortune of £1.07 billion (approximately 140 billion yen).
The 51-year-old also holds well-paid brand ambassador roles for companies such as Adidas and Hugo Boss.
Beckham captained England during his glittering career at United, winning the Premier League and Champions League, and went on to play for Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Victoria Beckham’s wealth has been generated primarily from her fashion label, after originally finding fame as a member of pop band the Spice Girls.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who joins Beckham on the list of richest people, is fifth on the list, with a wealth calculated at £435 million (about $582 million).
Reigning Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy is seventh with a valuation of £325 million (approximately 43.5 billion yen).
Boxer Anthony Joshua is in eighth place with a fortune of 240 million pounds (approximately 321 million yen), one place ahead of heavyweight rival Tyson Fury, who is in ninth place with a fortune of 162 million pounds (approximately $217 million).
Bayern Munich’s England striker Harry Kane and retired former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray are tied for 10th place with 110 million pounds (about $147 million) each.
Among businessmen affiliated with sports organizations, Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has fallen from the overall list of richest people.
His fortune fell by 1.85 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) to 15.194 billion pounds ($20.3 billion), according to the list creator.
The list makers cut the value of Mr Ratcliffe’s petrochemical company INEOS to 17 billion pounds ($22.7 billion), citing “increased debt, lower revenues and losses of 515.7 million pounds.”
Promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn have joined Britain’s billionaire club with an estimated fortune of £1.035 billion (about $1.38 billion).
Barry is the founder and president of Matchroom Sports, one of the leading promoters of boxing, darts and snooker, and his son Eddie is the organization’s chairman.
