Lewis Hamilton is on the Fast Track to Becoming a Billionaire
With a net worth estimated to be around $360 million — while still working his day job — a Formula One racing car driver, Lewis Hamilton is on track to become a billionaire. He might not have the same name recognition in the US as pop stars such as Beyonce and sports stars like LeBron James and Tom Brady, but globally he's a superstar. Make no mistake, the British Formula One racing car champion goes toe to toe with some of the biggest sports icons out there.
Hamilton 37, who was born to a black father and white mother in Hertfordshire, England, is the most successful F1 driver of all time. He shares a record seven world titles with the legendary Michael Schumacher. However, Lewis tops the German driver's (who suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident in 2013) total Grand Prix wins (103 to 91). He is the richest currently competing sportsman in British history and like many young rich people of color in a historically white-dominated sport, controversy seems to follow his every move.
Firstly, let’s talk about Lewis’ hundreds of millions. Although Celebrity Net Worth has Hamilton’s haul at $285 million, the UK’s Sunday Times Rich List, which is considered the authority in the UK on Britain’s wealthiest citizens, puts him at £300 million ($360 million).
Unlike many celebrities with a vast and disparate network of streams of income, Hamilton’s money comes mainly from his day job and to a lesser extent, endorsements. Last year, Forbes estimated his salary to be $65 million of which $57 million came from behind the wheel and $8 million from endorsements.
However, Hamilton who has been at the top of his game for well over a decade has been earning big money all that time. In 2018, he signed a two-year contract extension with Mercedes that gave him a base salary of $30 million, with bonuses pushing above $50 million a year in 2019 and 2020, according to Forbes. In 2020 he netted $54 million of which $12 million was endorsements.
In February 2021, Hamilton signed a lucrative contract with Mercedes for £80 million (around $100 million) for 2 years. However, one of his sponsors, Monster Drinks, which sponsors both Hamilton and Mercedes contributed around $10 million — a number which has recently increased.
Hamilton’s other endorsements currently include:
Puma
IWC
Sony
Bose
Bell Helmets
MV Augusta Motorcycles,
Petrona
Gran Turismo Sports
Investments
Lewis Hamilton, one of the UK's most famous vegans, is heavily invested in the vegan/healthy eating space, putting his money behind several companies whose products align with his lifestyle.
Neat Burger
Hamilton invested in the UK-based vegan fast food chain Neat Burger in 2019. Neat Burger recently opened its first US-based location with a Midtown Manhattan store and plans to expand nationally. Additional investment has come from actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio. Several other fast food industry executives are behind the growth which includes the Neat Food retail brand which will also expand stateside.
NotCo
He is also an investor in The NotCo Company, a Chilean vegan startup that raised $235 million in funding last year with help from Hamilton, Questlove, Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions among others.
Athletic Greens
Though over a decade old, when green-drink company Athletic Greens first took on outside investors in 2021, Lewis Hamilton, along with celebs, Hugh Jackman, model Cindy Crawford, and DJ Steve Aoki, were quick to sign up.
Zapp
Hamilton is also one of the investors behind Zapp — not the 1980’s funk band — but the UK- based rapid grocery delivery start-up. The app promises delivery times as fast as 20 minutes.
Denver Broncos
Compared to his other investments, this one comes a little out of the left field — or left guard. Hamilton was revealed as a minority owner in the NFL team, The Denver Broncos. He has teamed up with the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, which acquired the Broncos in a reported US$4.65 billion takeover in June. With investments in several food-related businesses, Hamilton’s thinking may have been that it’s good to be in business with the family that owns Walmart. Former US Secretary of State joined the ownership group recently too.
Real Estate
Lewis Hamilton minimizes his taxes by living in Monte Carlo, a tax haven for the wealthy. In 2019 he listed his penthouse in Greenwich Village, NY having purchased it two years earlier for $43.991 million. He eventually sold it in December 2021 for $50 million. He also owns a nearby home, in the limestone-clad Vestry, purchased in 2019 for $40.7 million. In addition, In 2017, Hamilton purchased a $25 million mansion in London’s swanky Kensington. The home was recently in the news as Hamilton was successfully given permission to cut down a sugarplum tree in the garden, much to the chagrin of his neighbors. Hamilton has reportedly never lived in the property, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations, including beefing up the security and constructing an extension in the back.
Hamilton has been a leading figure in the UK's Black Lives Matter movement. His involvement has drawn criticism from some in the F1 racing — which is almost all white — for politicizing the sport. Hamilton responded by saying the issue was a human rights issue, not a political issue. He’s also been forced to stop wearing jewelry during races including earrings and a nose stud due to safety issues.
Despite the controversy, Lewis received one of the highest accolades possible by the British establishment, when he was given a knighthood for services to motorsport from the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in December 2021. It means, that in the UK at least, he will now be known as Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton's love life has also been tabloid fodder. He dated former Pussy Cat Dolls singer Nicole Sherzinger for many years and was previously romantically linked with Rihanna, Rita Ora, and many others, but is currently single. He recently announced that he is going to change his surname to Hamilton-Larbalestier to include the maiden name of his mother, Carmen, who separated from his father, Anthony when Lewis was two years old.
A Need for Speed
Hamilton recently revealed that he was forced to turn down a role as a fighter pilot in his friend, Tom Cruise’s billion-dollar grossing film Top Gun: Maverick due to his on-track commitments.
"When I heard the second one was coming out, I was like, 'Oh my God, I have to ask him,'" Hamilton told Vanity Fair “I said, 'I don't care what role it is. I'll even sweep something, be a cleaner in the back’,” Hamilton said. He stated that turning down the Hollywood legend, once a role was presented, was “the most upsetting call that I think I’ve ever had,” he says.
He shouldn’t worry. If Lewis Hamilton is looking to fulfill his need for speed in Hollywood, he won't be short of offers.
Conclusion
Hamilton, who went vegan in 2017, credits his healthier food choices for his continued success behind the wheel. As with many active sports personalities, his true earning potential will doubtless be realized when retires from his day job. His recent investments in vegan foods and the wellness industry generally give an idea of where his heart lies. However, Hamilton, as you’d expect is also a sports fan, as his investment in the Denver Broncos shows. He was recently a part of a consortium to buy English Premier League soccer club, Chelsea, pledging $10 million. Although they were not ultimately successful, expect more sports investments to follow. As we’ve seen by the nature of his other ventures, Hamilton is someone who likes to mix business with pleasure.