Hamilton, Vettel feature in Forbes rich list

Formula 1 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have featured on the annual Forbes list of the 100 highest earning athletes.

The three-times champion Hamilton made it as #11 on the list with four-times title holder Vettel at #19.

According to the earnings released by Forbes Magazine Hamilton raked in $US46 million ($61 million AUD) while Vettel earned $41m ($54m).

Among Hamilton’s net earnings, $4m ($5.3m) was in endorsements for sponsors while Vettel’s bounty included just $1m ($1.3m) for endorsements.

The list was topped by footballer Cristiano Ronaldo who is the world’s highest earning athlete on $88m ($117m).

It topped that of Barcelona striker Lionel Messi who earned $81.4m ($108.7m) while basketball giant LeBron James was third on the list at $77.2m ($103m).

Mercedes star Hamilton and Ferrari’s Vettel were the only two motor racing drivers to feature in the top 20, which is made up largely of NFL players and golfers.

The next highest earning motoring racing driver was McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who sits 24th on the list with an earn of $36.5m that includes $1.5m in endorsements.

NASCAR stars Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson are 71st and 82nd respectively on $23.5m ($31.4m) and $22.2m ($29.6m).

Currently F1 points leader Nico Rosberg rounds out the motorsport representatives in 98th having earned $21m ($28m).

Top 20 athlete rich list

Athlete	Sport	Earnings (US million)
Cristiano Ronaldo	Football	$88
Lionel Messi	Football	$81.4
LeBron James	Basketball	$77.2
Roger Federer	Tennis	$67.8
Kevin Durant	Basketball	$56.2
Novak Djokovic	Tennis	$55.8
Cam Newton	NFL	$53.1
Phil Mickelson	Golf	$52.9
Jordan Spieth	Golf	$52.8
Kobe Bryant	Basketball	$50
Lewis Hamilton	Motor Racing	$46
Tiger Woods	Golf	$45.3
Eli Manning	NFL	$45
Joe Flacco	NFL	$44.5
Tom Brady	NFL	$44.1
Floyd Mayweather	Boxing	$44
Rory McIlroy	Golf	$42.6
Russell Wilson	NFL	$41.8
Sebastian Vettel	Motor Racing	$41
Philip Rivers	NFL	$38