Sir David Beckham has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman, according to the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List, after the combined wealth of him and his wife Victoria passed the billion-pound mark to reach £1.185bn. The compilers placed the Beckhams second on their list of wealthiest sportspeople, behind the family of former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose wealth was put at £2bn.
The report notes Beckham is a co-owner of Inter Miami, which the compilers estimate to be Major League Soccer’s most valuable club at $1.45bn (£1.07bn). The list also credits Beckham with generating significant sums as a brand ambassador for companies including Adidas and Hugo Boss. Victoria Beckham’s wealth is described as primarily coming from the fashion label she established after first finding fame and fortune as a member of the Spice Girls.
While the Beckhams saw their wealth rise, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Beckham’s former club, fell from seventh to ninth on the overall Rich List. Per the compilers, his fortune shrank by £1.85bn to £15.194bn after the value of his petrochemicals firm Ineos was lowered to £17bn owing to “rising debt, falling revenues and a loss of £515.7million.” The list notes that this decline was smaller than the previous year’s fall of more than £6bn.
Joining Beckham among the richest sportspeople are promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn, whose combined wealth was estimated at £1.035bn. The report identifies Barry Hearn as founder and president of Matchroom Sport, active across boxing, darts and snooker, and his son Eddie as chairman and the public face of Matchroom’s boxing division. Eddie Hearn is the promoter of heavyweight Anthony Joshua, who appears eighth on the list with £240m.
The compilers placed Tyson Fury ninth with £162m. Other named figures include seven-time F1 champion Sir Lewis Hamilton at £435m in fifth, Rory McIlroy at £325m in seventh, and England captain Harry Kane and two-time Wimbledon champion Sir Andy Murray joint 10th on £110m each. The report adds that Hearn announced last month that Joshua had signed a deal to fight Fury, with no confirmed date or venue as yet.
