The name Arnold Palmer is one of the most iconic in the entire sports world. Even after his passing in 2016, his brand continued to amass a fortune which led Arnold Palmer’s net worth to a figure most of us just can’t comprehend. “The King” won 62 PGA Tour events, featuring four wins at The Masters, and is a Hall of Fame golfer.
How Much Money Did Arnold Palmer Make?
There are many reports out there, but the one that caught my eye was this report stating that his estate was worth an estimated $875 million. The only person in his orbit from the golf world is the wealth of Tiger Woods, who is still out there earning and holding a massive amount of money, even despite a very public, expensive divorce.
The best part about Arnold Palmer was that his legacy consists of being a great golfer, but additionally he’s just a tremendous human being. He was very involved with sports marketing, and helped found The Golf Channel, something that has brought a lot of new eyeballs on the sport and really garnered new viewers as well as servicing golf nuts across the globe with content. Palmer also designed over 300 golf courses across the world, and used his name in deals to do beverages, apparel, and other items.
While he played golf before the prize pools started to become incredibly lucrative, he amassed $3.6 million in earnings on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, but thankfully for him, he had an incredible nose for business and used his name to earn endorsements, guest appearances, and licensing to achieve a crazy amount of wealth. If you adjust his earnings for inflation, his estate would be $1.4 billion!
His estate made over $40 million in the 12 months after his death in 2016. His brand, like the Jordan Brand, is eternally earning respect and worth something.
Out of celebrities who have passed away, only Michael Jackson has earned more money. That, to me, shows you how big the Arnold Palmer brand is.
Arnold Palmer Golf Apparel
A lot of the income comes from over 400 stores that sell his branded apparel in Asia. Other markets are on the radar over there, such as Vietnam, and Thailand. There are agreements with 39 licensees with the estate of Arnold Palmer.
Arnold Palmer Beverages
Of course, many people know of the famous Arnold Palmer drink, which is a concoction of ice tea and lemonade. This officially launched in 2001, and AriZona Beverages made 500 million cans of this drink just last year, focusing on the 13 to 35 year olds who drink this refreshing beverage. It’s also said that the Palmer name is often thought of by associating it to the drink, and not his play on the golf course. (Mostly because he was before most people’s time.)
MillerCoors now offers a spiked version of this beverage.
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Arnold Palmer’s net worth of his estate continues to grow, thanks to deals with MasterCard and Rolex as well. It’s amazing what his brand was able to do over the years, and even more impressive as to what it continues to produce for the late, great golf icon.
