Welcome to this week’s newsletter. Here’s also sending belated Democracy Day greetings to Nigerians at home and abroad. May we truly witness a Nigeria that works for everyone in our lifetime.
This month, Forbes magazine announced that 2 athletes had joined the billionaire league – Lebron James and Tiger Woods respectively. The ironic thing here is that all 3 billionaire athletes are black men and are at different phases of their sporting careers. Michael Jordan is long retired; Tiger Woods is clearly in the twilight of his career whilst Lebron James is still actively playing basketball.
Today, we will be looking at money and life lessons to be learnt from Tiger Woods’ journey to the billionaire land:
- The golden brand: Forbes estimates that Tiger’s net worth to be at least $1 billion. Surprisingly, only about 10% of this net worth is tied to his career earnings.
He made the substantial part of his wealth from the numerous endorsements deals he has with the likes of Nike, Rolex and Gatorade amongst others. At the peak of his career, he annually earned a minimum of $100 million off the golf course for 10 years!
In the last 12 months, he has earned over $60 million from endorsements despite not being able to play due to injuries.
For me, the lesson here is that even an intangible thing can be leveraged upon to create wealth.
- Strategic Investing is a game changer: Coupled with his strong earning capabilities, Tiger has invested wisely.
Through his SPV (TGR Ventures, he has leveraged his brand to invest in several golf related entities – golf design, resorts, technology amongst etc.
These businesses have in turn been boosted by his presence/investment thereby earning money for him and the other investors.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, strategic investment can be defined as “investment by a company that is intended to make it more successful over time”
The lesson here is clear, investing strategically has a multiplier effect on wealth creation. Just ask the early investors in DSTV Nigeria or MTN Nigeria.
- Time and Chance matter in wealth creation: Tiger Woods is a golfing wonder who stood out at a young age in a sport majorly played by white men. That made him appealing to both the traditional and occasional fans of the sport.
This meant that the viewing public was interested in watching him play which invariably led to increased coverage and ratings thereby attracting corporate sponsors.
Although not the most decorated golfer, Tiger has benefited tremendously from the significant increase in player earnings and income from TV viewership.
Jack Nicklaus (the most decorated golfer) earned only $5.7 million over a 40 years career which is less than a third of what Tiger has earned in 27 years. In fact, Tiger has earned a total of $1.7billion during this period.
Truly, in Sunny Ade’s voice, “ori lo mo ola koni” loosely translated to mean wealth is divinely inspired.
Till we meet again next week, please ensure you register for your PVC if you are yet to do so. Also, endeavour to encourage as many people yet to do around you.
Do have a productive week and may God continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Toyin Oguntuyi