David Beckham celebrates his 50th birthday on Friday, and the Manchester United icon has an eye-watering empire to watch over as he takes stock after hitting a half-century
Football legend David Beckham has built one of the grandest estates the sporting world has ever seen. And as he celebrates his 50th birthday on Friday, both he and wife Victoria sit as arguably the most prolific of power couples in existence right now.
From his roots with Ridgeway Rovers, Becks went on to conquer the football world after starring for Manchester United, Real Madrid, PSG, AC Milan and the LA Galaxy. But his on-field earnings only make up a small portion of the fortune amassed by the Beckham brand.
His union with Posh gave the couple their entry into the fashion and music scenes, with nary a sector the spouses don’t have an interest in at this point. However, Golden Balls maintains a firm foot in the football sphere thanks to his hand in birthing Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami.
That’s in addition to the conveyor belt of brand endorsements and staggering sponsorships the Chingford-raised tycoon has signed over his 50 years. Mirror Football breaks down Beckham’s empire in finer detail today, marking the maestro’s 50th in gilded fashion.
Massive net worth
Exact valuations of Beckham’s personal wealth are somewhat hazy, largely owing to the fact many of his investments today will go unseen by the public eye. Current estimates place the retired star’s estate at around £338million, though the precise figure is likely to be a lot larger given he reportedly had a similar stockpile back in 2021.
In fact, Forbes reported as far back as 2017 that Becks was adjudged to have earned a whopping £600m in his career up to that point. And there’s every chance he has taken that sum past the £1billion mark in the eight years since if that calculation proves accurate.
After all, Beckham was paid an almighty $250m (£188m in today’s money) over the course of his five years with the Galaxy. That was easily the most lucrative period of his playing career, though he’ll have also had to fork out considerable sums in taxes, agent expenses and other fees along the way.
But the bulk of his kingdom today has been built off the pitch, having penned deals with major brands like Emporio Armani, Gillette, PepsiCo, H&M, Breitling and Adidas over the years, to name but a few. And many of those agreements have sprouted his own personal lines, such as Diageo’s Haig Club whiskey, which will come with more lucrative cuts of any proceedings.
On top of those marketing moves, Beckham has sold his personal image in the media as the subject of documentaries and films. The most recent example of that is his eponymous ‘Beckham’ Netflix series, which is understood to have netted the modern-day great £28m in itself.
It wasn’t long after his retirement in 2013 that Beckham started DB Ventures, which acted as the vehicle for many of his business ventures related to his own image rights. Almost a decade later, he sold the company to Authentic Brands Group for a reported £175m, the vast majority of which he will have pocketed himself.
All that amounts to one enrichened symbol, with little by way of competition in the money-making game. Only the elite likes of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Ion Tiriac are estimated to have earned more as athletes (retired or otherwise).
Empire with Posh
On top of David’s eye-watering earnings, loyal wife Victoria has by no means been a passenger in adding to the family’s fortune. The pair met when Posh was already well-established as one fifth of arguably the biggest band on the planet at the time, though her own contribution is believed to be slightly smaller.
Though ‘small’ isn’t a word one would use to describe her percentage of the profit, which is estimated to be upwards of £300m. Cosmopolitan reported in 2023 that each of the Spice Girls earned around £50m per year during the 1990s, while their comeback tour in 2008 is said to have added another £50m to Posh’s personal purse.
Moreover, Victoria promoted herself from modelling clothes to designing them herself, as well as starting her own line of beauty products. These have not necessarily been a net gain, however, as her eponymous clothing brand has totalled reported debts of £66m since its launch in 2008.
Inter Miami profit
One of Beckham’s most inspired business moves – or rather that of his agent, Simon Fuller – was inserting a clause in his LA Galaxy contract that allowed him to start his own MLS franchise in retirement. Some six years after calling in quits on the west coast, Inter Miami was born.
The story goes that Becks put in £19.7m of capital to get the enterprise off the ground, and the Herons officially became an entity in January 2018. Seven years later, the club is estimated to have a valuation of $1.2bn (£900m), though Beckham’s stake in the club is only 10% (or £90m worth).
Beckham’s association with the club will have proved pivotal in luring names like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets to Fort Lauderdale. Business minds will wait to see how that valuation is affected in the post-Messi era, but Beckham’s ongoing involvement with the club is sure to mean more big names want to follow suit.
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