Struck, chariot racer from Ancient Rome named Gaius Appuleius Diocles, amassed a fortune of 35,863,120 sesterces – the equivalent of $15 billion. 1 view; 12 minute read; Total. After he established himself as a great racer in Spain, he was summoned to Rome. The Greens were the most popular team and attracted the best racers. Each time invested a considerable amount of money into horses and equipment while racers earned money by winning prize money and donations from fans. Some estimates put his net worth … Rome had four racing teams: the White, the Red, the Blue, and the Green. The chariots were drawn by two or four horses and were very light. Some star golfer or tennis player, perhaps? . Facebook 0. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was an ancient Roman chariot racer who became one of the most idolized athletes in ancient history. A chariot race in the Roman era Chariot racing dates back to at least the 6th century BCE and it was the most popular sport in Rome. None of the top ten jockeys can touch Gaius Appuleius Diocles, the crack charioteer in second century Rome. His father owned a small transport business, and the family was comparatively well off. Over the course of his career, Diocles reportedly won 35,863,120 sesterces. Any race with Diocles quickly became the event of the day in ancient Rome. Consequently, disastrous falls were very common. With such an amount of money, he could feed the entire city of Rome for one year or finance the entire Roman army for a couple of months. There were 66 days of racing days per year. Still a lot, but not enough to make him the highest-paid athlete of all time. The highest paying athlete in history was a Roman charioteer named Gaius Appuleius Diocles, who got paid $15 billion in his lifetime. A way to go to beat Gaius . However, he was the most exciting racer. Floyd Mayweather, a boxer, earned one billion dollars in his boxing career. Seven laps. However, it’s clear that Diocles was a very, very wealthy man. Gaius Appuleius Diocles is the highest paid athlete of all time to earn more than $15B. It’s an underlying human phenomenon. According to Struck, his pay was five times that of the wealthiest provincial governors of the same era, and it was enough to provide grain for the entire city of Rome for a full year, or pay every single soldier of the Roman Army at its strongest point of its imperial reach for more than two months. Posted by John at 6:54 PM And he did it all without the help of sponsorships or marketing deals. Teams didn't have fancy mascots and logos back then – Diocles spent six years driving for the White team, another three for the Green team, and his final 15 racing on behalf of the Red team. Phil Mickelson — Net Worth $815 Millio The following list shows the highest-paid athletes of modern times, measured in United States dollars, as of 2017: The list is only about modern time athletes. In fact, Peter Struck, a professor of classical studies at the University of Chicago, believes Diocles was most likely illiterate. Emperors spent fortunes at the races and bets for huge sums of money were laid. This time around, the aggregate net worth of the Fictional 15 climbed 3% to $215.8 billion. Gaius Diocles was not the best chariot racer since he won only about a third of races. Pin it 0. The highest paid athlete of all time is Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a Roman charioteer who earned 35.8 million sesertii, equal to over 15 billion dollars, an order … This Ancient Greek Athlete Makes Michael Jordan and Floyd Mayweather Look Like Financial Chumps, The 25 Richest Athletes In The World 2020, More Athletes Are Betting On Themselves With Shorter Deals – Here's Why, Nope. This man, Gaius Appuleius Diocles, raced chariots for a living. Circus Maximus was a chariot racing stadium that could accommodate a quarter of a million spectators. Your name reverberates through the ages—Gaius Diocles of the Red Faction. He was the best chariot rider in Rome during the second century when … . The current price of gold is about $45,000 a kilo, so that much gold is worth $1.17 billion today. Adjusted for inflation, his total winnings equal $15-billion. Gaius Appuleius Diocles (who lived between 104AD and 146AD) technically made the most in riches during his time as a Roman Charioteer. Diocles is believed to have started racing at the age of 18 in Ilerda (modern-day Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain). Today start athletes are extremely rich, however, this is nothing new, the best athletes were rewarded huge sums of money a long way back in the past. Michael Jordan’s net worth is close to two billion dollars due to his sponsorship deals, sports contracts, and shred investments. The area was known for stud farms which bred the best racehorses. These teams invested in the training and development of horses and equipment. His signature move was to trail behind for the most of the race and then dash forward during the last lap of the race. It took great skill from racer to keep chariot from overturning. Queen Elizabeth II Has Made More Than $8M In Horse Racing Prize Money, Liberty Media Just Bought Formula 1 Racing For $8.5 Billion. The highest paid athlete of all time was a Roman Charioteer named Gaius Appuleius Diocles. Danger of being dragged or caught under a wheel was very real. Thanks to an inscription set up in the city of Rome in 146 AD, we know exactly how much Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a native Spaniard from the Province of Lusitania, earned during his 24 years as a charioteer—well in excess of 35 million sesterces (or 35,863,120 to be exact). He didn’t require to win; he just needed to survive. Twelve competitors. Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it! Gaius Appuleius Diocles (b. Diocles, a Lusitania Spaniard, was born in Emerita Augusta (now Mérida, Spain) in the year 104 AD. The wealthiest athlete in history might have been Gaius Appuleius Diocles. We are of course talking about Gaius Appuleius Diocles. It might be more appropriate to use the price of gold. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was born in approximately 104 A.D in Lamecum, in the Roman province of Lusitania (now Lamego, Portugal). SB Nation - It might have gone a little like ... this: Gaius Appuleius Diocles knew his job. Seven laps. Whatever happened next could determine whether he would scoot another day, or lose his life. In order for you to never miss a story, you can subscribe to this monthly newsletter that will keep you up to date with the latest and greatest articles published each week. Gaius Appuleius Diocles understood his job. Roman chariot racer Gaius Appuleius Diocles is the highest paid athlete the world has ever known " a modern day net worth of something around 15 billion dollars." Diocles switch from Green to the Red team had simple motivation: wealth and glory. The fact that Diocles competed for 24 years, winning 1,462 of the 4,257 four-horse races in which he competed, is a testament to his skill, as well as an extreme amount of luck. The rules allowed all sorts of foul play to send opponents crashing into the walls. in today's dollars. Gaius Diocles started with the White team who was known to draft from lower ranks of society. He won 1,462 of the 4,257 races he competed in. According to Dr. © 2021 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved, © 2015 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. Gaius appuleius diocles. Gaius Diocles was born in a middle-class family in 104 AD Lusitania (modern-day Portugal) and started racing as a teen. But of course, the striking part of this entire purview of Gaius Appuleius Diocles’ career relates to the astronomical sum of 35,863,120 sesterces or $15 billion. The man that would come to be known as Lamecus won an astounding 35,863,120 sesterces during his 4,257 races, of which he won at least 1,462 according to David Stone Potter of the University of Michigan. The lowest estimates, using gold conversion, put his net worth north of $100 million. Diocles' total career earnings were 35,863,120 Sesterces, equivalent to 358,631.20 gold aureus or 26,000 kg of gold. By the time he retired at age 42, Diocles had taken home enough money to last a lifetime. Twelve rivals. 104): The charioteer’s winnings could’ve provided grain for Rome for a year $210b Marcus Licinius Crassus (c. 115 … He didn’t need to win; he really had to survive. This first notable victory outside his native land brought him international fame and encouraged him to go to Rome. This man, Gaius Appuleius Diocles, raced chariots for a living. For comparison’s sake, Tiger Woods is known to be the first sportsperson/athlete of our modern times to cross the $1 billion threshold. Over the course of his career, Diocles reportedly won 35 863 120 sesterces (Roman coins). The race lasted around ten minutes. The best paid athlete of all time was a Lusitanian Spaniard named Gaius Appuleius Diocles, who had short stints with the Whites and Greens, before settling in for a long career with the Reds. NFL quarterbacks routinely sign contracts of more than $100 million, baseball players have taken home deals with more than 10 years of security, and LeBron James has basically told the Cavaliers that he's only signing one-year deals so he can maximize his earnings as the salary cap continues to rise. As a change of pace from Climate Change and the impending Electric Boogaloo in Virginia, here's some interesting trivia. It was the greatest racing stadium Rome ever built. The last name on the list, that of Gaius Appuleius Diocles, might be put down slightly tongue-in-cheek, but there’s no question that historians consider him to be one of the best-paid sportspeople of all time. Take a look, The Doctor Who Wanted to Cure Disease Through Starvation, Exploring Soviet Isotypes: Digitizing “The Struggle for Five Years in Four”. That was it. However, there's one athlete who was better paid than anyone else in the history of professional sports. Or a European soccer legend? Gaius Appuleius Diocles knew his racket. That was it. Their $800 million and $2.1 billion net worths, respectively, are nothing compared to what charioteer Gaius Appuleius of the Roman Empire earned. And he did it all without the help of sponsorships or marketing deals. Twelve competitors. If Diocles stayed with the Greens, he would be one of the many good racers, but by switching to the Red team, Diocles stood out as the greatest racer on his team. 7 laps. Diocles, who drove for the Red Team. One per season of the year. At the end of his chariot racing career, Diocles had earned 35,863,120 sesterces, enough money to pay the salaries of 29,885 Roman legionaries for a year. People always want to have social capital and more money and more of that is better. The Circus Maximus was dizzying like that. Whatever happened next could determine whether he would race another day, or … Share 0. Greed and fame-seeking is not limited to the modern period of sports. Gaius Appuleius Diocles entered the realm from an underground holding orbit. He was an ancient Roman charioteer. Professional athletes make an absurd amount of money nowadays. Chariot racing was extremely dangerous and many promising racers died at a very young age. The highest paid athlete of all time is Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a Roman charioteer who earned 35.8 million sesertii, equal to over 15 billion dollars, an order of magnitude more than Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. Tweet 0. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was born in approximately 104 A.D in Lamecum, in the Roman province of Lusitania (now Lamego, Portugal). At the age of 27, Gaius Diocles made a surprising move. He began racing chariots at the age of 18, and like many of his fellow racers, he was recruited from the lower rungs of the social class ladder. Diocles' signature move was a strong final dash, and it netted him 35,863,120 sesterces in prize money over the span of 24 years of racing. Also, switching teams in order to get even more money is not a trademark of modern times, it was there already in Roman times as we could see in case of Gaius Diocles. Riders only had flimsy leather helmets, shin guards, and simple chest armor for protection. Over a 24 year career, he amassed a fortune worth 35,863,120 sesterces (an ancient Roman coin), or roughly $15 billion in today’s dollars. His father owned a small transport business, and the family was comparatively well off.