McIlroy worth £225m as Sunday Times rich list revealed but isn’t top sports star

RORY MCILROY has been revealed to have a net worth of £225million in the Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List.

It comes before the golfers shock divorce from wife Erica Stoll after seven years of marriage.

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McIlroy, 35, is said to have had earnings exceeding £65m last year, with the bulk of his wealth coming from sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike, Omega and TaylorMade.

Despite struggling for form in 2024, with a poor showing at the Masters last month, the Belfast-born golfer pocketed £1.3m for winning the Scottish Open last summer.

Inside Rory McIlroy’s whirlwind love life

By Ciaran Wiseman

Rory McIlroy enjoyed a high-profile romance with former tennis world number one Caroline Wozniacki before their split in 2014.

The following year, the golf ace began dating Erica Stoll, who he had first met on the PGA Tour in 2011.

Erica often interacted with players through her role as the PGA’s manager of championship volunteer operations.

She even prevented McIlroy from missing his tee time at the 2012 Ryder Cup after some confusion over the time zone.

The incident began a firm friendship between the pair, four years before their relationship turned romantic.

McIlroy and Erica were spotted on a string of dates in Rochester, New York, in the early days of their relationship.

Just eight months later, the couple got engaged in Paris and walked down the aisle at Ashford Castle in Ireland in 2017.

The pair then welcomed daughter Poppy into the world three years later.

Throughout their time together, McIlroy and Erica have kept their relationship to themselves, with the golfer keen to protect his family from the cameras during filming of Netflix’s Full Swing documentary series.

However, after seven years of marriage, McIlroy has now filed for divorce from Erica.

The reasons for the divorce have not been disclosed, but the Northern Irishman has submitted documents to a court in Florida.

The Sun revealed earlier this week how McIlroy had spent £10m developing a luxury mansion in the UK before the bombshell news of his divorce filing, and has property in Dubai, Florida and New York.

However, World No2 McIlory – who sits 13th in the overall Sunday Times list – is not top among British sport stars.

Instead, that title belongs to seven-time Formula One world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, 39, saw his net worth increase to £350m after announcing he was joining Ferrari from Mercedes for next season, which sticks him at the bottom of the main list including billionaires such as Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Inside track on Hamilton’s life

LEWIS HAMILTON has driven his way into pole position as Formula One’s most prolific winner.

He has sponsorship deals with Bose, Electronic Arts, Monster Energy, Tommy Hilfiger and Puma among others.

Hamilton also has ties into the movie industry – with his F1 movie starring Brad Pitt becoming one of the costliest in history – and has found himself put into the popular Fortnite video game.

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The ex-McLaren ace ranks ninth overall in the list and narrowly edges out Ipswich fan and shirt sponsor Ed Sheeran who is worth £340m.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua is third among sport stars and is joint 17th with Harry Styles with a worth of £175m.

How AJ punched his way to the top

ANTHONY JOSHUA punched his way to the top of the world before being knocked off his perch.

Joshua is punching his way back to into title contention in boxing and has increased his wealth by getting to grips with property acquisitions in Mayfair, Bond Street and BP’s former HQ in Hertfordshire.

The majority of his wealth, £129.2m to be exact, is held by Sparta Promotions and shows he earned £28.3m from boxing purses and £8.9m from commercial deals.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray ranks way lower in the list – 27th overall – with a value of £100m.

The 37-year-old has won more than £50m on the tennis court throughout his career while his income has been boosted by sponsorship deals with the likes of Head, Standard Life and American Express.

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Murray also has a stake in sportswear brand Castore worth £35m and owns the Cromlix hotel in Stirlingshire.

England captain and Bayern Munich star Harry Kane is next with a fortune of £75m.

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The 30-year-old reportedly pocketed a £30m signing on fee and also earns £400,000 a week.

Kane also now owns a £30m mansion in Munich.

Who are these famous footballers?

Fellow England international Raheem Sterling is next with a worth of £72m.

The 29-year-old earns £350,000 a week at Chelsea and has sponsorships with the likes of New Balance, Puma, Gillette and Clarks.

Just behind him and the last sportsperson in the list is 34-year-old Gareth Bale.

Since retiring from football Bale has featured in a number of celebrity golf tournaments featuring the likes of Novak Djokovic and McIlroy.

Ultimate sports presenters rich list

TV sports presenters make a mint.

The biggest and best are signed up on yearly deals with the likes of the BBC, ITV and Sky for your viewing pleasure.

Laura Woods is dominating the media landscape at the moment, leading TNT Sports’ coverage and ITV’s.

Alex Scott and Jermaine Jenas are two of the fresher faces for the BBC’s sporting output.

Then, it’s the old guard of Gary Lineker and Mark Chapman who also command hefty fees for their Match of the Day programmes.

SunSport has taken a look at how those big names rank and compiled a list of the top 10 highest earning stars that grace our TV screens.

With number one worth a whopping £29.4million more than number 10!

Read the story and see the full list here.