Don't Cry For Tiger. He'll Be a Billionaire This Year.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 5, 2009 10:57 AM EST Comment 33 comments

For the past six years, Golf Digest has put together its list of the top 50 earning players on and off the course. Basically, a total compensaion money list. It's an interesting study in performance on the course and marketability off.

As you might guess, Tiger Woods is tops on the list. He made around $117 million this year from all sources, according to the mag. That puts him just $115 million shy of the $1 billion mark. Though Woods' earnings on course have varied each year, his endorsement money continues to increase each year.

There are some other interesting tidbits in the article if you have a few minutes to check it out. But, one thing that I did want to point out is that three women - retiring Annika Sorenstam, phenom Lorena Ochoa, and newly-minted LPGA Tour member Michelle Wie - made the list. Among them, Ochoa finished lowest among the women in 45th. Michelle Wie made almost three times as much as Ochoa in off-course money. Crazy, huh?

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journalism vs reality

A billion dollars in earnings is NOT the same thing as being a billionaire. That nasty thing known as the IRS tends to suck down quite a bit of people’s earnings.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 11:13 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

True enough

But, I do believe this makes Woods the first athlete to have made a billion dollars. Good point on the taxes, though. I would bet that he has a hell of an accounting team to shield his money, though.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 5, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

DURING his career...

…He will be the first to top the billion dollar mark in earnings. They don’t follow guys like Norman and Palmer and Nicklaus so much with their other ventures since they stopped playing.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 11:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They actually do

on this list. All three have made it all six years that they’ve done it. This year, Tiger earned six times what Norman and Nicklaus did. That tells me that neither of those two are even close to billion dollar earnings.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 5, 2009 11:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

over a year ?

or over their careers ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 11:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Over 2008

was the 6x reference. I’m just extrapolating that they’re not billionaires. Might not be true, of course.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 5, 2009 11:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

a lot more years...

…Norman, Palmer, and Nicklaus have been at it a lot longer than Tiger. And Norman is so diversified with his wineries and clothing lines – I’d bet he’s pretty close. And Nicklaus’ course designs aren’t exactly cheap.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 12:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would guess

that you’re right. I think Norman would be close.

by Ryan Ballengee on Jan 5, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what...

You think they’ll be poverty stricken after paying taxes?

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 12:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

not this year...

…it may take the 2010 returns to do that. :-)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 12:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not! Congress needs to relieve the thieves of Wall Street of their ill-gotten gains.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

now I need a new desk...

…from all the head pounding I do when I read stuff like that. :-)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 1:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ahhh… so you’re in favor of stealing all you can while you can with no consequences; but if you get caught with a couple of ounces of pot you get the slammer for 20 years. Yep, that seems fair.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 1:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no...

…but I am also against legislators who make rules for you and me, but leave themselves out of the equation. the idea that everyone on Wall Street is crooked is ridiculous and born out of jealousy.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 1:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

everyone?

re-read it. I said the “thieves of Wall Street” not everyone. But I’m perplexed by your refusal to even acknowledge corporate greed and the damage it’s done to the lives of real people.

And I’m not jealous, I’m comfortably poor. I wish I could afford to retire to a condo overlooking the ocean in San Diego with an early morning tee time anywhere I choose to play, but I’ll manage.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 1:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I will...

…as soon as you come up with a definition of “corporate greed” that isn’t emotion and class warfare based.

The guys who broke the law should go to jail.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 2:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Oligarchs have been waging class warfare on the rest of us since 1981 with that trickle down BS that has only enriched them. A little class warfare in the other direction will level the playing field a bit.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 3:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

in other words...

…you don’t have a definition.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 3:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

definition? i don't need no steenking definition.

It would be difficult to come up with a single definition that covers all forms of “corporate greed.” But I don’t need a definition to advocate closing tax loopholes, penalizing US companies that move jobs and profits offshore, and incarcerating those who have manipulated stock for their own personal gain at the expense of “average” stockholders. There’s more, but that’s what I get off the top of my head.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 3:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

since you can't define it...

…how can you make all these legal demands on them ? oh wait – it’s because you heard “wall street greed” on the 6 o’clock news. and we KNOW they would never slant the news.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Come on, CG, you’re not that dense about this stuff are you?

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not the one...

…repeating cliche’s put out by the media.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you're either...

a trust fund baby or you’re living in denial. I’m guessing the latter, so bury your head in the sports page. The adults will start making things all better in fifteen days. It won’t happen overnight, but if you’re lucky neither you nor any of your loved ones will be affected by the current unpleasantness of which you seem to be blissfully unaware.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 5, 2009 7:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it's going to be interesting...

…of course – that’s a famous Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times”. It’s clear that you don’t know or understand history. you don’t see the facts or don’t want to admit to them. we are inching further and further under the thumb of an increasingly corrupt government that has been working toward these things since FDR and his welfare system. I truly hope I am wrong with what I see from President Platitude. I hope that he is not as corrupt as he seems. I hope he is not as much against the principles laid down by the founding fathers and more towards the Marxist ideals he managed to get himself elected under. I hope he is more in control of things than he was as a senator in a corrupt state. I have never said that the people on Wall Street who broke the law should be allowed to go free. On the contrary – I very clearly said that they should go to jail for a very long time. You, on the other hand, refuse to see that our Congress passes laws that they do not have to live under. There are more “ultra rich” democrats than there are republicans in Congress. Your beloved Chairman Mao-bama is a millionaire many times over – but you don’t see him cutting his multi-million dollar salary or selling his real estate holdings so that he fits under his $250K income level…oh wait, that’s $200K…no it’s $150K…wait wait – he lowered it to $120 before the election. But I guess his own words don’t mean anything to you when they go against the xerox “change” signs he got elected on.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 5, 2009 9:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

cabinet appointments

If you took just a few minutes to look at Obama’s economic team you’d see unabashed capitalists. Even your hero, Dick Cheney, says he approves.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 6, 2009 12:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dick Cheney is my hero ?

I had no idea. Should I send him a card or something ? Ask him for an autograph ?

How about the new savior coming in ? His security staff has no experience in any facet of security – well – maybe they have an alarm system at home. His new Secretary of State is under investigation for real estate problems.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 6, 2009 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

wait...

We were talking about the economy. Now you want to change it to security? The head of the CIA needs to be an effective administrator, not a spook. Leon Panetta’s strong suit is his administrative ability. It doesn’t hurt that he has stated that he’s unalterably opposed to torture.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 6, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, and is that the same real estate :“scandal” the republicans tried and failed miserably to tar the Clintons with over a period of eight years? Give it a rest dude.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 6, 2009 3:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no

…pick up a newspaper – listen to the radio – Shrillary is under investigation…again. And no, the republicans weren’t investigating her before.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Jan 6, 2009 5:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ji-Yai Shin

Isn’t she the 4th woman on the list?

http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2008/12/golfs-top-50-earners.html

by The Constructivist on Jan 6, 2009 4:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

interesting

When I first looked at the list my eyes skipped right over Ji-Yai. It’s a shame only five women made the list, but I don’t see it getting any better until the economy recovers.

Truth has a well-known liberal bias.

by dianemarie on Jan 6, 2009 10:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs