What is Tiger Woods net worth since the infidelity scandal that led to his divorce from Elin Nordegren?
Many people are curious about how Tiger Woods was affected financially by the exposure of his multiple extramarital affairs.
Forbes magazine has been tracking Tiger Woods earnings since 1996 when he turned pro.
Prior to his highly publicized infidelity scandal, Forbes estimated Tiger’s net worth to be $600 million. He was the highest paid professional athlete in the world, with cumulative career earnings totaling over $1 billion.
But the sex scandal cost Tiger Woods his reputation, his marriage and several key sponsorships worth millions of dollars.
Now that the dust has settled, what is Tiger’s net worth today?
Tiger Woods’ Post-Infidelity Financial Status
Tiger’s bad behavior ended up costing him big bucks.
In 2009, shortly after the scandal began to unfold, Tiger lost 3 major sponsors, Accenture, Gatorade, and AT&T.
Yet according to Sports Illustrated, Tiger Woods earned approximately $90 million at the end of 2009. Tiger’s estimated earnings for the following year, 2010, were estimated to be in the $105 million range.
Sports Illustrated calculated that lost sponsorships cost Tiger Woods $22 million in 2009.
But Tiger was still #1 on Sports Illustrated’s list 50 highest earning athletes for the year, with earnings of 90.5 million. Despite the sponsors Tiger Woods lost, he was still the highest paid athlete in the world.
Tiger Woods Divorce Settlement with Elin Nordegren
When reports to first appeared Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren were getting divorced, it was rumored that Elin was seeking a divorce settlement of $750 million.
This figure was quoted by hundreds of media outlets, but it was way off base because it was more than Tiger Woods total net worth.
Tiger Woods may have been the first athlete to earn $1 billion dollars, but people failed to take two things into account:
- That billion dollar figure that was bandied about represented Tiger’s cumulative earnings over the course of his professional career.
- That was a gross figure - not net - and did not take into account taxes, and business and living expenses for the year.
After factoring these things in, (which apparently Forbes magazine has done) it’s evident that Tiger’s net worth was more in the neighborhood of $600 million.
The $750 million settlement that Elin was rumored to be seeking was a grossly exaggerated, and totally unrealistic figure. There’s no way Elin’s divorce settlement could exceed Tiger’s total net worth. See What is Tiger Woods’ REAL Net Worth? – Elin’s Divorce Settlement Depends on That
In the end, Elin Nordegren received a divorce settlement of $110, in addition to real estate, and an unspecified amount of child support. See What Elin Nordegren Will Get in Her Divorce Settlement from Tiger Woods – The Inside Scoop Her settlement was based on Tiger Woods’ net worth, which was about $600 million at the time. See Tiger Woods – Elin Nordegren Divorce Settlement – Who Gets What: Custody, Money, Property, and more
Before the Scandal Tiger Was Riding High
Prior to the infidelity scandal, Tiger Woods was riding high.
He was on the verge of being named PGA Player of the Year for a record tenth time.
He had an impressive list of sponsors which included Gatorade, American Express, Asahi, General Mills (Wheaties), Golf Digest, Rolex, Gillette, Accenture, Tag Heuer, AT&T, EA Sports, NetJets, Upper Deck, TLC Laser Eye Centers and Buick , which earned Tiger over $100 million a year.
In 2008, Tiger Woods earned $128 million on endorsements alone.
As Nike’s second highest-paid endorser, Tiger earns an estimated $30 million a year – second only to Michel Jordan who earns an estimated $50 million from Nike each year.
Tiger had a 5-year contract with Gatorade worth $100 million.
Tiger commanded a minimum fee of $10 million to design golf courses all over the world, and had projects under way in North Carolina, Dubai and Mexico.
As the top ranking golf player in the world, Tiger could count on millions more in tournament winnings each year, as witnessed by Tiger’s PGA earnings from 2000 to 2009.
- 2000: $9,188,321
- 2001: $5,687,777
- 2002: $6,912,625
- 2003: $6,673,413
- 2004: $5,365,472
- 2005: $10,628,024
- 2006: $9,941,563
- 2007: $10,867,052
- 2008: $5,775,000
- 2009: $10,508,163
- 2010: $1,294,765
In addition, Tiger was often paid personal appearance fees as high as $1.5 million.
As previously mentioned, Tiger was the first athlete to earn $1 billion cumulatively, in his career.
Tiger Woods' Net Worth in the Aftermath of His Affairs
There have been drastic changes in Tiger Woods’ life, personally, professionally, and financially, as a result of his extramarital affairs.
Below is a summary of Tiger Woods current situation, ending with a statement of Tiger’s estimated net worth today.
Tiger Woods’ reputation has taken a major hit.
The infidelity scandal and Tiger Woods’ subsequent fall from grace was voted by the Associated Press as the #1 sports story of the year. See Socially, Tiger Woods, Now Divorced, Stands Alone at the Ryder Cup
Tiger’s golf game has suffered a serious setback, as a result of his extramarital affairs. His ranking as the world’s #1 golfer appears to be a thing of the past. 2010 marked the first time in Tiger’s professional career that he didn’t win a single tournament all year.
Payouts to Tiger’s ex-wife Elin Nordegren, and two of Tiger’s mistresses set Tiger back several million bucks. Elin’s divorce settlement was $110 million. See Elin Nordegren’s $100 Million Divorce Settlement Proves Tiger Woods is No Fool But Tiger is reported to have paid half a million dollars in cash to mistress, Emma Rotherham, and $10 million in hush money to mistress Rachel Uchitel. See Tiger Woods Lawyers Warn Rachel Uchitel to Keep Her Mouth Shut but the Lies and Rumors Won’t Stop But there could be other payments of which the public is unaware.
Most of Tiger Woods’ other sponsors have deserted him. But Nike and EA (Electronic Arts) have not given up on him yet.
Nike built its entire golf division around Tiger Woods, and it generates over $600 million in sales for Nike each year.
EA (Electronic Arts), which produces the best-selling video golf game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, is still hanging in there with Tiger. But EA has replaced Tiger’s picture on the cover of the game with the trademark yellow flagof the Augusta National
Golf Club, where the Masters tournament is played. See Tiger Woods Video Golf Game Hacked to Feature Topless Female Golfers
Earlier this year, Golf Digest terminated Tiger’s golf column, thus ending their 13-year relationship with Tiger Woods.
Tiger was also dropped by Proctor and Gamble as an endorser for their Gillette shaving products division.
A recent celebrity endorsement study by Ad Age found Tiger Woods to be the least effective endorser in 2010. Unless Tiger’s golf game improves, there are probably no new sponsors in sight.
Due to a downturn in Dubai’s economy, the partially completed, multi-billion dollar Tiger Woods signature golf estate has been put on indefinite hold.
Though Tiger’s financial situation may appear bleak, as a result of the infidelity scandal and his divorce settlement with Elin Nordegren, Tiger is not likely to go broke anytime soon.
Despite his setbacks, Tiger Woods is still the highest earning athlete in the world.
Tiger Woods still has a net worth of somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million.
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*** © copyright 2011 Ruth Houston / All Rights Reserved.
Ruth Houston isa New York-based infidelity expert who is frequently called on by the media to comment on high profile infidelity and popular infidelity issues in the news. She is the founder ofwww.InfidelityAdvice.com, the author of Is He Cheating on You? - 829 Telltale Signs, and publishes the Infidelity News and Views blog. To interview infidelity expert Ruth Houston, or have her speak at your next event, call 718 592-6029 or e-mail InfidelityExpert@gmail.com
Celebrity Infidelity Articles About Tiger Woods
For more articles about Tiger Woods, the infidelity scandal, and the Tiger Woods – Elin Nordegren divorce, see the list below, or visit www.CelebrityInfidelity.com
Tiger Woods – Elin Nordegren Divorce Settlement – Who Gets What: Custody, Money, Property, and more
Tiger Woods Video Golf Game Hacked to Feature Topless Female Golfers
Tiger Woods Brother Earl Woods Jr. Speaks of Family Ties and Unconditional Love
CNN Tiger Woods Documentary - Tiger’s Brother Earl Jr Speaks Out
What Elin Nordegren Will Get in Her Divorce Settlement from Tiger Woods – The Inside Scoop
Elin Nordegren’s $100 Million Divorce Settlement Proves Tiger Woods is No Fool
13 Things Tiger Woods Can be Thankful For
12 Infidelity Lessons Husbands Can Learn from What Happened to Tiger Woods
Men, Be Thankful You’re Not Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods or Jesse James
Why Tiger Woods Will Probably Never Cheat Again
Why Tiger Woods Lied to Elin Nordegren about His 121st Affair
What is Tiger Woods’ REAL Net Worth? – Elin’s Divorce Settlement Depends on That
Tiger Woods Lawyers Warn Rachel Uchitel to Keep Her Mouth Shut but the Lies and Rumors Won’t Stop
Socially, Tiger Woods, Now Divorced, Stands Alone at the Ryder Cup
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