Compared to Mac, Lendl and Connors, is Borg scraping by on food stamps these days?

[MAXXply]

I mean, for all the money Borg made in his career, is he relatively skint these days compared to the wealth amassed by his closest rivals? Is it true Mac and Connors reached into their pockets to the tune of six figures each to help out Borg when he was at his lowest financial ebb? Does Borg still live in Monte Carlo?

It seems we only ever see Borg every few years at Wimbledon, looking sheepish and trying to look interested when the TV cameras turn to him in the VIP seats. Last I saw him, he was nodding earnestly as Mansour Bahrami chatted next to him, presumably about teaming up as a double act...

[zcarzach]

Borg has gone bankrupt several times over, but I've always heard that he stashed a whole lot of money in the names of his parents. And he now has a very successful clothing line, so I imagine he's doing fine, at least compared to Connors. I don't know for sure what Jimmy's doing these days. And Mac, well, he obviously still competes (I'm sure he doesn't play for free), has his art collection and does tv, so I'm sure he's in great shape, especially considering he's married to a rock star.

[SusanDK]

Borg seems to be more content now than ever in his life. His last marriage appears to be happy and he seems to enjoy his occasional appearances on the Champions tour. I hope for his sake that this is the case.

[adidasman]

Originally Posted by zcarzach

Borg has gone bankrupt several times over, but I've always heard that he stashed a whole lot of money in the names of his parents. And he now has a very successful clothing line, so I imagine he's doing fine, at least compared to Connors. I don't know for sure what Jimmy's doing these days. And Mac, well, he obviously still competes (I'm sure he doesn't play for free), has his art collection and does tv, so I'm sure he's in great shape, especially considering he's married to a rock star.

It's been a very, very long time since Patty Smyth was even close to being a "rock star." I doubt she even wrote most of their material, and that's where the real money is in the music business (publishing and royalties), so I don't think she's bringing in the kind of cash you're imagining.

[Mick]

Lendl and Connors have never been divorced. McEnroe has had 1 divorce but Borg has had 2 divorces!

and as you know the ex-wives would take you to the cleaner every time this happens.

[zcarzach]

Originally Posted by adidasman

It's been a very, very long time since Patty Smyth was even close to being a "rock star." I doubt she even wrote most of their material, and that's where the real money is in the music business (publishing and royalties), so I don't think she's bringing in the kind of cash you're imagining.

I'm not imagining a lot. I'm sure the McEnroe-Smyths do quite well for themselves...

[droliver]

Borg actually is doing ok and recovered from his prior bankruptcy. I saw an interview with him last year where he was discussing his clothing business which has a thriving underwear line (!) and had allow him to recover a nice nest egg. A recent estimate of his wealth was $8.5M USD which isn't F***-YOU money, but puts him well into the 1% of the world's wealthiest.

http://www.therichest.org/celebnetwo...org-net-worth/


Here's the 2011 prospectus from his company: http://corporate.bjornborg.com/afw/f...04107834-1.pdf

If I'm doing the exchange right from Krona to Dollars, it looks like they had 2011 sales of almost $79M and profits of $12M USD on a 51% margin. That's pretty impressive in this economy in a competative field like clothing and apparel.

FWIW, McEnroe's net worth is speculated to be ~ $50M USD,
Patrick McEnroe $3M
Ivan Lendl $40M
Agassi $175M
Boris Becker $29M
Jimmy Connors $8M
Lindsey Davenport $20M
Jim Courier $15.5M
Chris Evertt $$32.5

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/cat...ichest-tennis/

[TomT]

Somebody like Bjorn Borg is never going to be financially challenged. Unless he gets addicted to recreational drugs or gambling or whatever. But there have never been any indications of anything like that wrt Borg's life. There have always been, and will always be lots of opportunities for him to make thousands of dollars for a few hours work. As evident from droliver's list, all these former players are millionaires. I don't think Borg was ever not a millionaire (from the time he retired), but I don't know.

[big ted]

i heard his underwear line is the 2nd most popular brand in europe next to calvin klein

[Bobby Jr]

Originally Posted by droliver

Borg ....A recent estimate of his wealth was $8.5M USD ..

The article you linked says $28.5m... not $8.5m.

Whatever it is - and these sort of estimates are generally miles off the mark - there's no way Borg goes begging. Attaching his name to a business is still worth a still.

[Great Uncle Bulgaria]

I don't get this website, it states net worth but when you click on the link it says the figure is how much a player makes.

Becker has had financial issues but I would expect him to be worth more that $29M. Similarly Lendl shoud be worth more than $40M. He has a house in Connecticut that was priced at $25M alone and a considerable art collection. Also I think his wife came from a wealthy family (although that is her money not his.)

[borg number one]

Borg has no problems with making money anytime he wants to. He, by all appearances, is doing just fine financially, especially with steady earnings derived from the Bjorn Borg brand, including the Bjorn Borg company. When he retired, his wealth was estimated at about 150-200 million in 1983. He's a tennis legend that is extremely marketable and remains so. He was perhaps the biggest star the Sport has ever seen during a Golden Era of tennis. On the men's side, Connors, Borg, McEnroe, and then Lendl pushed tennis popularity to heights that had been unattained. The TV ratings for the 1980 Wimbledon final are an indicator of that. That was an apex for tennis. Even non-tennis players were captivated by tennis and the players. Borg was the biggest star of them all. On the women's side, you had Evert and Navratilova at the top. Unofficial tournaments, endorsements, and celebrity all came together.Those players all helped to ensure that professional tennis in the Open Era would not only preserve the wonderful traditions of tennis as a great international sport, but to also prove that tennis could become big business, and earn lots of money for sponsors, tournament organizers, pro players, etc. Everyone was into tennis at that time, especially in the traditional tennis powerhouses: Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and France. Bob Kain, Borg's former agent and former IMG CEO said that all the players today should thank Bjorn because he was the first pro player to start signing million dollar plus contracts.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...pv0cI5E2c&NR=1 (after 12:00 as to a Golden era for tennis and Borg)

"He made the numbers in tennis go from very small to pretty darn big. He was the real catalyst.. I was lucky enough to be a part of some of those deals.."- Bob Kain

"All of a sudden, you are one of the biggest stars in Sport..everyone is just in awe of this young sensation called Bjorn Borg.. "- Boris Becker

"He drew you to him. He just had that special charisma, that X factor, I don't know what it is, but he certainly had it." - John Lloyd

[SusanDK]

I read somewhere about a year ago that Stefan Edberg's net worth was around $100 million. I don't remember where this was, but could have been in the Swedish press.

I would imagine that Becker's net worth was considerably higher - at least at one point - although he's had financial troubles due to tax issues and marriage/divorce issues, whereas Stefan has quietly and conservatively grown a very successful business and maintained a scandal-free personal life.

[MAXXply]

Originally Posted by SusanDK

I read somewhere about a year ago that Stefan Edberg's net worth was around $100 million. I don't remember where this was, but could have been in the Swedish press[...]Stefan has quietly and conservatively grown a very successful business.

What are the business enterprises from which Edberg has derived his post-tennis wealth? Is it property development? Coaching? Media? Consumer products? Clothing etc? Post-career, I've only seen Edberg playing the senior events and seated in the Wimbledon VIP box...

[kiki]

Originally Posted by borg number one

Borg has no problems with making money anytime he wants to. He, by all appearances, is doing just fine financially, especially with steady earnings derived from the Bjorn Borg brand, including the Bjorn Borg company. When he retired, his wealth was estimated at about 150-200 million in 1983. He's a tennis legend that is extremely marketable and remains so. He was perhaps the biggest star the Sport has ever seen during a Golden Era of tennis. On the men's side, Connors, Borg, McEnroe, and then Lendl pushed tennis popularity to heights that had been unattained. The TV ratings for the 1980 Wimbledon final are an indicator of that. That was an apex for tennis. Even non-tennis players were captivated by tennis and the players. Borg was the biggest star of them all. On the women's side, you had Evert and Navratilova at the top. Unofficial tournaments, endorsements, and celebrity all came together.Those players all helped to ensure that professional tennis in the Open Era would not only preserve the wonderful traditions of tennis as a great international sport, but to also prove that tennis could become big business, and earn lots of money for sponsors, tournament organizers, pro players, etc. Everyone was into tennis at that time, especially in the traditional tennis powerhouses: Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and France. Bob Kain, Borg's former agent and former IMG CEO said that all the players today should thank Bjorn because he was the first pro player to start signing million dollar plus contracts.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...pv0cI5E2c&NR=1 (after 12:00 as to a Golden era for tennis and Borg)

"He made the numbers in tennis go from very small to pretty darn big. He was the real catalyst.. I was lucky enough to be a part of some of those deals.."- Bob Kain

"All of a sudden, you are one of the biggest stars in Sport..everyone is just in awe of this young sensation called Bjorn Borg.. "- Boris Becker

"He drew you to him. He just had that special charisma, that X factor, I don't know what it is, but he certainly had it." - John Lloyd

Vitas Gerulaitis: " Bob Kain couldn´t carve an image out of a soap bar" ( he also belonged to Mc Cormack´s team...)

[kiki]

Originally Posted by SusanDK

I read somewhere about a year ago that Stefan Edberg's net worth was around $100 million. I don't remember where this was, but could have been in the Swedish press.

I would imagine that Becker's net worth was considerably higher - at least at one point - although he's had financial troubles due to tax issues and marriage/divorce issues, whereas Stefan has quietly and conservatively grown a very successful business and maintained a scandal-free personal life.

....and Stefan certainly lives in London, where even the hardest labour Government taxes less than half of the income of a soft Sweden Socialdemocrat government....

[kiki]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

What are the business enterprises from which Edberg has derived his post-tennis wealth? Is it property development? Coaching? Media? Consumer products? Clothing etc? Post-career, I've only seen Edberg playing the senior events and seated in the Wimbledon VIP box...

Edberg´s always been a smart, keen guy.His long time friend and coach, british Tony Pickard always surrounded him with good financial advisors.

Anyhow, Edberg payes his taxes in the UK...a very very big difference to Sweden.

[droliver]

I'm not surpriised these guys are worth less then you'd think. Like many athletes they tend to be poor stewards of wealth, and once they're not earning they burn through their bankroll quickly. To retire in your 30's and live pretty comfortably while not going broke, you need many millions of dollars put away. Many of these athletes have lifestyles that require hundred's of thousands of dollars (or millions) annually to maintain. It's a long time to survive without a lot of job prospects to cushion that drop off in income.

Boris Becker had a very expensive divorce, several high profile business failures, and tax issues galore. Borg is similar. It would not surprise me if these #'s are pretty accurate for what they've spent down to starting with earnings/endorsements of $100M or more.

[Russeljones]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

What are the business enterprises from which Edberg has derived his post-tennis wealth? Is it property development? Coaching? Media? Consumer products? Clothing etc? Post-career, I've only seen Edberg playing the senior events and seated in the Wimbledon VIP box...

Yes he got into property quite quickly and his latest project is a gargantuan tennis academy in Portugal as far as I know.

[SusanDK]

Originally Posted by MAXXply

What are the business enterprises from which Edberg has derived his post-tennis wealth? Is it property development? Coaching? Media? Consumer products? Clothing etc? Post-career, I've only seen Edberg playing the senior events and seated in the Wimbledon VIP box...

http://www.case.nu/Om_bolaget.asp

http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager...d-fund/a469987

http://citywire.co.uk/money/stefan-e...esting/a475715

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...anagement.html

Originally Posted by kiki

....and Stefan certainly lives in London, where even the hardest labour Government taxes less than half of the income of a soft Sweden Socialdemocrat government....

Originally Posted by kiki

Anyhow, Edberg payes his taxes in the UK...a very very big difference to Sweden.

Nope. Stefan moved back to Sweden quite some years ago, I believe right around 2000.