David Beckham Becomes Britain’s First Billionaire Sportsman

David Beckham has officially made history. The former England captain has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman, according to the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List — and the numbers are staggering.

He and wife Victoria now have a combined fortune of £1.185 billion, nearly doubling their estimated £500 million from just one year ago. To put that in perspective: the Beckhams now outrank King Charles, whose wealth grew by £40 million this year to reach £680 million. Close, but not close enough.

The leap is extraordinary even by celebrity standards, and it didn’t happen by accident. The Rich List compilers point to David’s US investments as the primary engine — specifically his co-ownership of Inter Miami, which is now estimated to be Major League Soccer’s most valuable club at $1.45 billion (roughly £1.07bn). Signing Lionel Messi to the club through 2028 has been transformative, lifting both the team’s global profile and the value of Beckham’s stake. A major property development adjoining Inter Miami’s home ground has added another significant windfall on top of that.

Then there’s the brand. Over a career spanning decades, Beckham has been the face of Adidas, Hugo Boss, Armani, Calvin Klein, Pepsi, H&M, Sainsbury’s, Samsung, Breitling, Gillette, Vodafone, and more. That kind of commercial reach doesn’t stop paying when you hang up your boots — it compounds.

Victoria’s Empire Is Doing Just Fine

Victoria Beckham’s contribution to the family fortune is no footnote. Her eponymous fashion label — built from scratch after her Spice Girls days — has now topped £100 million in revenue. But it’s her beauty brand that may be the real crown jewel: Reuters reported last year that Victoria Beckham Beauty could fetch an eye-watering $700 million if she ever decided to sell.

She hasn’t. And given the trajectory, why would she?

On the Rich List’s ranking of Britain’s wealthiest sportspeople, the Beckhams come in second overall — behind only the family of former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose wealth was placed at £2 billion. Promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn follow at a combined £1.035 billion, with Eddie serving as the public face of Matchroom Boxing and promoter of British heavyweight Anthony Joshua, who lands eighth on the sports list at £240 million.

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton sits fifth at £435 million. Back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy is seventh at £325 million. England football captain Harry Kane and two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray share the tenth spot at £110 million each. Tyson Fury, ranked ninth, comes in at £162 million — and notably, his promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed last month that Joshua has signed a deal to fight Fury, with a date and venue still to be confirmed.

Not Everyone’s Having a Banner Year

While the Beckhams are celebrating, David’s former Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is having a rougher time of it. Ratcliffe dropped from seventh to ninth on the overall Rich List, with his fortune shrinking by £1.85 billion to £15.194 billion. The list compilers lowered the value of his petrochemicals company Ineos to £17 billion, citing “rising debt, falling revenues and a loss of £515.7 million.” That said, the decline is smaller than the year before, when his wealth reportedly fell by more than £6 billion.

The overall Rich List, which measures the minimum identifiable wealth of Britain’s 350 richest people and families — including land, property, art, and significant shareholdings — is topped for the fourth consecutive year by the Hinduja family. Following the death of patriarch Gopichand Hinduja, children Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja now hold the crown with an estimated £38 billion.

There are some fun newcomers this year too. Oasis stars Liam and Noel Gallagher made the list for the first time, their £375 million combined fortune built largely on the back of their blockbuster 2024 reunion tour — 41 shows between July and November that, despite controversy over dynamic pricing sending some ticket costs soaring past £355, became one of the biggest live music events in recent memory. Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis and her family also entered the list at an estimated £400 million.

Rich List compiler Robert Watts is careful to note that these figures are conservative by design. “The compilers of the Rich List measure identifiable wealth — such as land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies,” he explained. “The actual size of someone’s fortune may be significantly larger than our conservative figures.”

Which means the real Beckham number could be even bigger. History-making, and still counting.