How Much Money Did Michael Phelps Make In 2012 Olympics

Michael Phelps' Net Worth is Laps of Gold

Last updated on 2021/4/30

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympic gold medalist of all time. He won a total of 28 medals by competing in five Olympics in swimming. He won gold medals 23 times, silver medals three times, and bronze medals twice. He holds the record for the most medals won of all time by an Olympic competitor, the most Olympic gold medals in total, the most Olympic gold medals in individual events, and the most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games.

He replaced the previous record holder, Mark Spitz, who had won the most gold medals at one Olympic Games, prior to Phelps. Spitz won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany. Spitz's record held for 36 years until Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. This was after Phelps had already won six gold medals and two silver medals, four years earlier, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

After Phelps won eight medals during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Spitz is quoted as saying, "Not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time; he is the greatest Olympian of all time.

Phelps retired from Olympic swimming at the ripe old age of 31 years old. Even though that age sounds young to most people, Phelps was the oldest male swimmer ever to win a gold medal when he took five gold medals at the Rio Olympics during 2016.

After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps went on to win four gold and two silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, UK and five gold medals and one silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the Rio Summer Olympics, Phelps won his 13th individual gold medal. When that happened, Phelps broke an ancient Olympic record that held for 2,168 years, of the 12 gold medals won individually by Leonidas of Rhodes.

His first Olympics competition was at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He was only 15 years old. He came in fifth. Phelps was the youngest male swimmer to qualify and compete in an Olympics since Ralph Flanagan in 1932. Then, in 2001, at the World Aquatics Championships, he became the youngest male to set a world record in swimming. He was 15 years and nine months old. Phelps won gold medals in every Olympics thereafter, until 2016 when he retired.

Phelps outstanding achievements, over his 16-year career as an Olympic and professional swimmer, make Phelps the undisputed greatest swimmer of all time.

Michael Phelps' Net Worth

Michael Phelps' net worth is estimated to be around $80 million in 2021.

The money he got for his Olympics wins was only a small help in building up Michael Phelps' net worth. Modest stipends are given to Olympic athletes by the United States Olympic Committee. During the early part of his career, Phelps only got $25,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for each silver medal, and $10,000 for each bronze medal.

These amounts increased a little over the years. The amounts paid by the United States Olympic Committee in 2018 were $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for a silver medal, and $15,000 for a bronze medal. He also won prizes for winning professional competitions. All total, his career winnings from swimming are estimated to be around $1.9 million.

The bulk of the money that created Michael Phelps' net worth came from sponsors and endorsements. He also earned money for book and film deals, speaking engagements, and being an influencer on social media. After retiring from swimming, he pursued his business interests by continuing to build up his brand image. He currently makes around $9.3 million each year.

Phelps struck major deals for corporate sponsorship with the brand names that include Aqua Sphere, Colgate — Get Report, Kellogg, Louis Vuitton, Master Spas, Omega, Sol Republic, Speedo, Subway, Under Armour, Visa, Wheaties (General Mills), and 800razors.com. His deal with 800razors.com includes a significant ownership interest in the company.

His sponsorship deal with Speedo comes from Phelps wearing Speedo swim trunks. Phelps' photos appeared on boxes of Wheaties after the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics and on Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Cornflakes after his wins at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

When Phelps beat Mark Spitz's record in 2008, this triggered a $1 million bonus payment from Speedo. Phelps used this windfall to start his charitable Michael Phelps Foundation to help youngsters learn swimming. He works with Colgate — Get Report on a water conservation campaign called "Save Water." He created the Michael Phelps Swim School. He co-founded the "im" program for the Boys & Girls Club, which is a learn-to-swim program for kids.

Michael Phelps Car Collection and Real Estate

Phelps likes his luxury cars. His favorites are a BMW 760Li, a Cadillac Escalade, a Mercedes-Benz SL63, and a classic Range Rover.

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In 2015, he bought a home for $2.53 million in Scottsdale, Arizona with his fiancée, Nicole Johnson, who he later married. It is a 6,010-square-foot mansion with five bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms. There are also four fireplaces, imported hardwood floors, an ultra-modern kitchen, a sitting room to entertain guests, and an elegant dining space.

Five months after they moved in, they had a son. Then the very next year at the 2016 Rio Olympics Phelps captured five gold medals. Even with a new house, a new baby, and a new wife, Phelps was able to win Olympic gold. He sold this home in 2018 for $3.5 million.

Next, he bought his current, bigger home in Paradise Valley, Arizona. It has 10,000 square feet of living space. There is a nice swimming pool. Now that Phelps is retired from swimming competitions, he spends more time hanging around the pool than swimming in it. He likes golfing, playing video games, and hanging with his kids.

How Does Michael Phelps' Net Worth Compare to Others?

Michael Phelps' net worth of $60 million is a paltry sum when compared to other athletes like Michael Jordan who has a net worth close to $1.9 billion. Jordan makes about $100 million per year from his endorsement contracts, the best of which is his Nike contract for the "Air Jordan" line. Michael Jordan won two Olympic Gold Medals in 1984 and 1992.

Jordan played in the 1992 Olympics even though he was already retired from professional basketball. He announced his retirement the year before. This was after the Olympics permitted professional sports athletes to participate in the Olympics. He was on the American "Dream Team" that included Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, and Magic Johnson.

Another highest net worth Olympian, Shaquille O'Neal, won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 for playing basketball on the winning Team USA. The "Shaq" has a net worth of around $400 million. Basketball is a sport with the colossal paydays and endorsement contracts.

Shaq has about the same amount as another one of the wealthy sports stars, who is the famous athlete and celebrity Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the earlier part of his career, Schwarzenegger won seven Mr. Olympia competitions as a bodybuilder, but he never participated in the Olympics. The closest he gets to any Olympic participation is his support of the Special Olympics as a celebrity.

You don't have to just read about other people's wealth and net worth. You can build your own. Having savings is an essential part of that. One of the best advice we can give you there is that you should open a savings account. Having a separate account for savings is the only way you can actually save money. Here are our suggestions:

The Richest Olympians Net Worth

Here is the list of the top ten richest Olympians in the world as reported by Money.

Roger Federer: His net worth is $400 million. This tennis player was in four Olympics, winning one gold medal in 2008 and a silver medal in 2012.
LeBron James: His net worth is $400 million. He played on the USA basketball team in three different Olympics. He won two gold and one bronze medal.
Shaquille O'Neal: His net worth is $400 million. He won a gold medal as part of the American basketball team at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
Cristiano Ronaldo: His net worth is $400 million. In 2004, he played soccer for Portugal's Olympic team, but they did not earn a medal.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr.: His net worth is $560 million. Even though he has a 50 to 0 record as a professional boxer, he lost a boxing match, based on the point score, during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He only got the bronze medal.
Magic Johnson: His net worth is $600 million. After announcing that he was HIV-positive in 1991, he went on in 1992 to co-captain the Dream Team and won a gold medal with the American basketball team.
Cameron Winklevoss: His net worth is the same as his twin brother Tyler's at $600 million. They competed on Team USA's rowing crew at the 2007 Beijing Summer Games but did not win a medal.
Tyler Winklevoss: His net worth matches his twin brothers at $600 million. This was earned, in great part, from a shared investment they made early on in Bitcoin.
Ion Tiriac: His net worth is $1.32 billion. He was on the Romania hockey team at the 1964 Winter Olympics but did not win a medal. He went on to become a professional tennis player and then became an entrepreneur who started Romania's first private bank.
Michael Jordan: His net worth is $1.9 billion. He won a gold medal in both 1984 and 1992 on the U.S. men's basketball team.

Early Years

Phelps' birth date is June 30, 1985. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. From the age of seven, he started swimming because he saw his sisters enjoying it. By ten years old, he became determined to become an Olympic athlete and broke the American records for boys his age. He spent the next 21 years training in the swimming pool without ever missing a single day.

Want to see the 15-year-old Michael Phelps before he won a medal in the Olympics? Watch the YouTube video. Would you have been able to predict at that time that Michael Phelps' net worth would someday be around $60 million after he became the greatest swimmer of all time?

When Michael Phelps' Endorsement Contract Went Up In Smoke

In early 2006, Phelps was cashing in on his fame with sponsorship deals, when he was photographed smoking a marijuana pipe and the photograph was widely published. This incident though fairly innocent by today's standards caused Phelps to lose his lucrative endorsement contract with Kellogg's and got him a three-month suspension from the USA Swimming Association.

The Darker Side of Michael Phelps' Life

I struggled with anxiety and depression and questioned whether or not I wanted to be alive anymore. It was when I hit this low that I decided to reach out and ask for the help of a licensed therapist. This decision ultimately helped save my life. You don't have to wait for things
— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) May 26, 2019

Starting in 2012, he hit a very low point and almost quit swimming completely. He fought with his coach. Since childhood, he suffered from ADHD, anxiety, and had bouts with severe depression. He got one DUI, and then he was arrested again for a second DUI. His suicidal thoughts over-whelmed him, and he almost took his life during 2014.

He describes this now as "my little bump in the road." It got so bad that he locked himself in his room for five days, would not speak to anyone, and did not want to be alive. Phelps says, "As an athlete, the expectation is that you are supposed to be a person who does not have any problems, does not have any weakness; but, you are still a human being like the rest of the people in the world." His way out was asking for help after he completely broke down. Luckily, he got the help he needed. He got back into training, won an amazing five gold medals in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and then retired from swimming at the top of his game. Then, he began speaking about his mental health problems in public.

Talking about this mental health issue helps him, and he hopes it helps others who suffer from the same thing. He learned at the age of 30+ how to become an authentic individual, not just a swimmer. He expects for the rest of his life that he will still have anxiety, still struggle with mental health problems and depression; however, now he has tools that help, people who offer support that works, and knows what to do about it.

Michael Phelps' Net Worth Came from Eat, Sleep, and Swim

Phelps used visualization techniques as a part of his rigorous training program. Being prepared is the most important thing. Using visualizations before a meet, Phelps would think of how he thought it would go, how it could go wrong, and how he wished it would go so that he was ready for anything that happened.

Michael Phelps' net worth came up after his success at the 2004 Olympics as he gained notoriety. His training was constant. All he ever did was eat, sleep, and swim. The black line at the bottom of the pool was his focus for so long and it just seemed to go on forever.

Phelps says, "Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are ... Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to," Regarding his net worth, Phelps says he was swimming because he loved what he was doing and never really paid that much attention to the money he was making. Now that he is retired from sports competition, his life goal is to find the same drive outside of sports with his business, brand, and charitable activities.

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