What is the net worth of badminton superstar Viktor Axelsen? That’s a question many people would like to know the answer to.
If you search for Viktor Axelsen’s net worth or the net worth of top badminton players such as Lee Zii Jia, Kento Momota, Anders Antonsen, or others, you will find a long list of websites proclaiming they know the income of these players.
Many websites list a number of players with (bogus) information about their annual earnings and their net worth. They claim they have these figures from reliable sources. That is utter nonsense.
It is nothing more than made-up, make-believe content designed to attract you to these websites. Truth is, no one, except Viktor Axelsen himself and perhaps his inner circle, knows how much Viktor Axelsen is worth.
Unfortunately many websites are (perhaps deliberately) misleading their audience.
Viktor Axelsen’s net worth – don’t believe it
Do not believe everything you read. Especially about something as private and personal as money. This is true for badminton players and just about any other athlete.
There is only one way for anyone to know the earnings of another person. And that’s if they have seen proof in the form of tax returns or similar official documentation.
So, there are very few people who know exactly how much money Viktor Axelsen clears every year. It is also difficult to know exactly how he invests his money, what sort of returns he gets, or, for that matter, how much money he burns every month.
Guessing the income of a badminton player
In my opinion, it is not possible to make an educated guess about a badminton player’s net worth. But it is possible to make an educated guess about an athlete’s annual gross income (that’s income before taxes). So let’s do that for Viktor Axelsen.
– USD 2 million yearly from the main equipment sponsor (Yonex)
– USD 0,5 million yearly from other sponsors
– USD 0,3 million in earnings in 2022 from tournaments
That’s a total yearly income of USD 2,8 million before tax for Viktor Axelsen.
On the expenses side, Viktor is responsible for paying for coaches and trainers, rental of training facilities, travel and accommodation, and a whole host of other costs. My guess is that this leaves Viktor a net amount of around USD 1,8 million per year.
(Bear in mind that your guess is (nearly) as good as mine 🙂
Viktor may have other income streams. Some badminton players make money from their social media accounts, get paid to do exhibition matches, earn royalties from their books, etc. (read about Viktor Axelsens’s latest book here)
As far as income tax is concerned, this varies a lot from country to country. Now that Viktor is a resident of UAE, he is taxed much less than he would be in his native country of Denmark
Many professional badminton players earn money by representing badminton clubs or participating in a badminton league such as PBL in India. While this is currently not the case for Axelsen, players such as Rasmus Gemke, Nhat Nguyen, Marc Caljouw, Line Christophersen, and the Danish men’s doubles team Kim/Anders, are paid by their clubs to participate in team event competitions. Some players even play for several clubs in different countries.
But someone like Viktor may also be exposed to financial risk. For example, Viktor established a supplement and superfood business – VA Health – and also runs a merchandise shop named VA Collection. A business requires investment. And any investment represents risk. If the going gets tough in any business, a player may be forced to invest additional capital, which obviously increases the risk.
Badminton players need to be smart with money
Badminton players must be smart with their money. Even top badminton players must think hard about how they make and spend money. A typical active badminton career is not very long. The tournament prize money is minuscule compared to tennis or golf. And there is always a very real risk of getting a serious injury, which may dramatically affect the income of any player.
Investing wisely is imperative for badminton players looking to build a good net worth. If players are smart with money, they have a good opportunity of acquiring a substantial fortune by the time they retire.
Speaking about smart investments: When Viktor Axelsen contracted Covid, he chartered an ambulance plane to airlift him back to Denmark. The desired return of that (significant) investment was based on his chances of getting back to training and competition quickly.
Did Viktor Axelsen consider or calculate the PR value of that action? Probably not, but he got an abundance of media coverage. As a result, he strengthened his personal brand. A strong personal brand will help a badminton player increase their earnings.
Viktor Axelsen also learned to speak Chinese. Smart move. This helped him increase his popularity in Chinese-speaking markets, which in turn added to his earning potential.
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