He's The Second Richest Athlete In The World (Behind Only Michael Jordan) – And You've Probably Never Heard His Name

Pop quiz: Who is the richest athlete in the world? Is it Magic Johnson? David Beckham? Lionel Messi? Cristiano Ronaldo? Let's be honest. You probably guessed Michael Jordan without skipping a beat. If you did, you were right! With a net worth of $3.6 billion, Michael Jordan is indeed the richest athlete on the planet.

But here's a curveball: I guarantee 99% of CelebrityNetWorth readers have never even heard of the second richest athlete in the world. You could sit next to him on a bus (though I don't know why he would be riding a bus), and you wouldn't even recognize him.

I won't tease this out anymore. With a net worth of $2.4 billion, the second-richest athlete in the world is Ion Țiriac. Ever heard of him? Most Americans are probably shaking their heads, but if you were a fan of professional tennis in the 1970s and 1980s, OR if you have a debit card from a bank in certain Eastern European countries, the name might be very familiar.

Count Dracula

Ion Țiriac was born on May 9, 1939, in Transylvania, Romania. So, for better or worse, later in life, when he started to slay opponents on the tennis courts, he earned the nickname "Count Dracula."

Before he became a tennis star, Ion was a star player for Romania's national ice hockey team. He even represented Romania at the 1964 Olympic Games in Austria.

Shortly after returning from Austria, Ion decided to switch to professional tennis. Around this same time, future tennis Hall-of-Fame inductee (and fellow Romanian) Ilie Năstase (pictured above with Ion) had begun his ascension to the top ranks of tennis. Together, the Romanian duo became one of the most feared doubles partnerships in tennis. Ilie Nastase's nickname was "Nasty," so it was literally Nasty and Count Dracula vs. the world. They finished second in one of the very first major tournaments they entered, the 1966 French Open. They would win the French Open doubles title in 1970.

As a doubles player, Ion Țiriac won 294 matches, including 22 titles. As a singles player, he won 167 matches, including a number of significant regional titles (but no majors). He was a member of two finals-reaching Davis Cup teams, and he won a gold medal as both a singles and doubles player at the 1965 World Summer Games in Budapest.

It was a very respectable career. Respectable enough that when Ion retired in 1980, he was a hot commodity as a coach and manager. He immediately became Ilie Năstase's full-time coach and eventually went on to coach superstars such as Mary Joe Fernández, Guillermo Vilas, Marat Safin, Steffi Graf, and Goran Ivanišević. Between 1984 and 1993, Ion personally orchestrated Boris Becker's ascent to become the #1 ranked player in the world (1991).

Business Career After Tennis

Managing Boris Becker required Ion to spend the majority of his time in Becker's home country of Germany. And as you might imagine, the late 80s/early 90s were a very interesting time for a Romanian person to be living in Germany. Keep in mind that back in the 80s, Romania was still a communist-controlled nation that technically was known as the Socialist Republic of Romania. But that changed overnight on November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell.

As a beloved Eastern European sports star living in Berlin, Ion Țiriac was uniquely positioned to capitalize on the rapidly changing world landscape. He had the money, experience, fame, connections, and guts to strike while the iron was very hot. Ion knew there would soon be many opportunities to bring capitalist-driven businesses to formerly communist countries like Romania.

And what's more capitalist than opening a bank???

Business Empire

In 1991, Ion founded Banca Țiriac, the very first privately owned bank in post-communist Romania. Over the next decade, the bank grew steadily, and in 2005, it merged with HVB Bank Romania to form HVB Țiriac Bank, a move that expanded its national footprint and market share. That merger combined Țiriac's 60-branch operation with HVB's customer base and capital, elevating the bank's position in Romania's rapidly modernizing financial sector.

In 2008, the bank became part of a larger European consolidation when UniCredit Group acquired Capitalia and its subsidiary Banca di Roma, which had operations in Romania. The local branches were merged into UniCredit Țiriac Bank, increasing its footprint and positioning it as one of the top five banks in the country. The bank gained a reputation for its focus on real estate, cross-border financial services, and digital banking innovations.

In August 2015, Țiriac Holdings sold its 45% stake to UniCredit Bank Austria AG. Following the transaction, the bank was rebranded as UniCredit Bank, fully integrating into the broader UniCredit Group, which now operates more than 8,500 branches in 17 European countries. Today, the Romanian operation has around 3,000 employees, 208 local branches, and hundreds of thousands of clients.

Banking was only part of his empire. Ion also built a sprawling business empire touching nearly every corner of post-communist commerce.

• ȚiriacAuto: One of Romania's leading luxury car dealership networks, representing brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, and Land Rover
• Țiriac Leasing: A car leasing company serving both corporate and private clients
• ȚiriacAIR: A private aviation company offering executive air travel services
• Tir Travel: A travel services company providing custom logistics and tourism solutions
• Allianz-Țiriac Asigurări: One of Romania's largest insurance companies, in which Ion maintained a major stake
• Țiriac Holdings: The parent company that manages and oversees all of Ion's major business ventures

Stejarii Country Club

He also invested heavily in real estate. One of his most ambitious developments is the Stejarii Country Club, an ultra-luxurious complex on the edge of Bucharest. Stejarii isn't just a country club. It's a private, high-end community featuring luxury apartments and athletic facilities. Check it out:

Car Collection

Oh, and one more fun fact about Stejarii – Ion houses his absolutely off-the-charts, world-class car collection at the club. His collection includes more than 400 rare and exotic automobiles. If you enjoy cars, you must watch this video tour of the "Țiriac Collection":

Madrid Open

And then there's tennis. In 2002, Ion launched the Madrid Open, a tournament he owns outright. What began as a mid-level ATP event has evolved into one of the most prestigious and commercially successful tournaments in the world. Ion not only owns the tournament license but also personally bankrolls its operations and has long advocated for the event to be elevated to Grand Slam status. It remains the only major tennis tournament owned and operated by a former professional player.

Legacy

Through all of this, Ion never lost touch with his athletic roots. He is a licensed professional pilot. He is a devoted patron of sports and culture in Romania. And his business empire, while vast, has remained remarkably low-profile outside of Europe. That anonymity is one of the reasons many people have no idea just how wealthy Ion Țiriac truly is.

He had never earned more than a few million dollars as a professional athlete, but within two years of the Berlin Wall falling, Ion Țiriac was worth over $100 million. By 2000, he was worth $500 million. In 2005, his net worth was estimated at $900 million. By 2007, his net worth topped $1 billion for the first time.

In 2013, Ion was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Today, Ion Țiriac's net worth is $2.4 billion. He was Romania's first billionaire. He's the richest person in Romania. And he's the second richest athlete in the world, behind only Michael Jordan.

So there you have it! The next time someone asks you to name the SECOND richest athlete in the world, you'll know the correct answer!