Roger Federer tops The Most Powerful Athletes

Roger Federer has been at the top of the tennis world for a decade since he won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. He has racked up a record 17 Grand Slam titles and $78 million in career prize money. He is widely held up as the greatest men’s tennis player of all-time.

Federer is as powerful as ever as a celebrity thanks to his arsenal of sponsors, widespread appeal and media visibility. In fact, Federer is the most powerful athlete in the world by Forbes’ count and ranks No. 8 overall in our annual Celebrity 100. Oprah Winfrey tops the main list after ranking second the prior two years.

Forbes crunches the numbers each year on what celebrities wield the most power. Earnings carry the most weight in our algorithm, but we also account for print and TV mentions, social networking and marketability (click here for a detailed methodology).

Federer is the second highest-paid athlete in the world with earnings of $71.5 million in the 12-months between June 1, 2012 and June 1, 2013. His income jumped last year thanks to an exhibition tour of South America in December that netted him $14 million for six matches across three cities. He also added a tenth sponsor to the most impressive endorsement portfolio in sports in terms of the length of deals and quality of the companies. Federer inked a five-year deal with Moet & Chandon at the end of 2012, which is expected to pay at least $6 million annually (see “How Roger Federer Makes $71 Million A Year“).

Federer rises to the top for athletes’ power thanks to his marketability, which is higher than more polarizing athletes like Tiger Woods and LeBron James. Federer is also popular in the press with the most print mentions of any athlete over the last 12 months.

Forbes Top 10 Powerful Athletes:

1. Roger Federer

2. Tiger Woods

3. LeBron James

4. David Backham

5. Kobe Bryant

6. Cristiano Ronaldo

7. Lionel Messi

8. Usain Bolt

9. Drew Brees

10. Rafael Nadal

Forbes Top 10 Celebrity:

1. Oprah Winfrey

2.  Lady Gaga

3. Steven Spielberg

4. Beyonce Knowles

5. Madonna

6. Taylor Swift

7. Bon Jovi

8. Roger Federer

9. Justin Bieber

10. Ellen DeGeneres

Date: 28th June 2013, Source: Forbes