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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Shauna Corr

Rory McIlory beats Conor McGregor on Forbes' 2020 celebrity rich list

A few Irish sport stars and musicians have eked out a place among the world's top 100 richest celebrities this year.

And the richest talent from the island of Ireland this year is none other than Holywood golfer Rory McIlroy according to Forbes.

The new dad has raked in so much over the last year that he made more money than Simon Cowell, Oprah, Lady Gaga and even U2.

Oh, and he also beat UFC champ Conor McGregor by nine places on the top 100 celebrity rich list.

McIlroy, whose mind is no doubt elsewhere following the birth of his daughter Poppy with wife Erica Stoll, placed 44 on the list after amassing an impressive £39.1m ($52 million).

Forbes say the 31-year-old was behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in earning power off the course, but his biggest boost was a £11.29 ($15m) paycheck for winning the 2019 the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his drive on the 11th hole during the first round of The PLAYERS Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (2020 Getty Images)

He also returned to No 1 in the World Golf Rankings in February 2020, four years after his last time on top and has deals with Nike, Omega, TaylorMade, UnitedHealth Group and Upper Deck.

McGregor, who is UFC's highest ever earning fighter, was nine places below McIlroy at 53.

The 32-year-old fighter made his money through a mix of winnings and endorsements despite only entering the Octagon twice since 2016 - but then he is still the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts.

    McGregor, who now lives in Kildare, banked over £22.59m ($30m) for the 48 seconds it took him to beat Donald Cerrone in a Las Vegas fight in January.

    Despite claiming to have retired from fighting in June, the Crumlin man has continued to roll in the money from sponsorships.

    His sponsorship with Reebok also pays him a cool £2.76m ($5m) a year while he founded his own whiskey, Proper No. Twelve in 2018. He also has lucrative contracts with Beats Electronics, Burger King, Monster Energy and Budweiser.

    McGregor himself claimed on Twitter he would be in the top spot - occupied by Kylie Jenner (€499 million) -  if the rankings factored in his profits from his Proper No. Twelve whiskey business.

    He was also beaten in the rankings by boxer Tyson Fury, also 32, who was in 34th place after earning £42.8million over the last year. The two-time heavyweight boxing world champion has never lost in 31 fights.

    Ed Sheeran, who is proud of his Irish heritage but was raised in England, blew both out of the water in 23 place with earnings of £48.1million. His Divide Tour from March 2017 to August 2019 was the highest-grossing concert of all time, bringing in $583 million.

    U2 also made the list. They were in 87th place with earnings of £28.5m.

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