Former Manchester United star Sir David Beckham has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman in the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List – but the club’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s wealth has decreased over the last 12 months.
The collective wealth of Beckham and his wife Victoria passed the billion-pound mark this year, according to the compilers of the list, reaching £1.185bn.
That placed them second in the Sunday Times’ list of wealthiest sportspeople, behind the family of ex-Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose wealth was placed at £2bn.
Former England captain Beckham is a co-owner of Inter Miami, estimated to be Major League Soccer’s most valuable club at 1.45bn US dollars (£1.07bn).
He has also made huge sums as a brand ambassador for companies like Adidas and Hugo Boss.
Victoria Beckham’s wealth has primarily been generated from the fashion label she set up in her name, having originally found fame and fortune as a member of the Spice Girls.
While the Beckhams saw their wealth grow over the last 12 months, Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Beckham’s former club, has dropped down the overall Rich List from seventh to ninth.
His fortune shrank by £1.85bn, according to the list compilers, to £15.194bn.
The list compilers lowered the value of his petrochemicals company Ineos to £17bn owing to “rising debt, falling revenues and a loss of £515.7million”.
That was less of a drop compared to the year before, when the list compilers said his wealth plummeted by over £6bn.
Joining Beckham on the richest sportspeople list are promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn, whose combined wealth was estimated at £1.035bn.
Barry Hearn is the founder and president of Matchroom Sport, one of the leading promoters across boxing, darts and snooker. His son Eddie is the chairman of Matchroom and is best known as the public face of its boxing division.
Eddie Hearn is the promoter of British heavyweight Anthony Joshua, who is eighth on the list with a fortune of £240m. That places him above another heavyweight, Tyson Fury, who is ninth on £162m.
Hearn announced last month that Joshua had signed a deal to fight Fury, with no confirmed date or venue as yet.
Seven-time F1 champion Sir Lewis Hamilton is fifth on the list (£435m), while back-to-back Masters golf champion Rory McIlroy is seventh with £325m.
England football captain Harry Kane and two-time Wimbledon tennis champion Sir Andy Murray are joint 10th on £110m each.
