Michael Schumacher’s Salary and Net Worth December 2024

michael schumacher net worth

Michael Schumacher is the legend and ultimate start of F1. The German Formula 1 race car driver shares a record of winning seven F1 World Championship titles with F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Over the course of his Formula 1 career, he has been a part of various teams, like Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Before Lewis Hamilton, he held most of the records; however, he still holds the record for the fastest laps.

What is Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher net worth

$ 800.000.000

Michael Schumacher is one of the very few sportsmen to have acquired more than $1 billion during his career as an F1 car driver. At the peak of his career, he made $80-$100 million annually. The German superstar has a networth of a whopping $800 million.

Net worth$ 800 million
Salary from Ferrari$100 million
Investments$100 million
Assets
Loans and liabilitiesNone

Michael Schumacher salary from Ferrari

$ 100.000.000

Former German race car driver Michael Schumacher had a salary of $60 million during his first two years as an F1 driver for Ferrari. At the peak of his career, he made $80-$100 million annually

Table of Contents

This video shows the top 10 riches F1 drivers of all time.

Michael Schumacher Endorsements

Michael Schumacher, the famous Formula 1 icon, has had endorsement deals with various big names such as Shell, who paid him $10 million annually to wear a cap with the company’s logo in all public appearances. He also had endorsement deals with Omega, Marlboro, and Vodafone, among many others.

Some of his other sponsors during his career were:

  • RTL Television
  • L’Oreal
  • AMD
  • OMP
  • Piaggio Aero
  • Puma
  • Rosbacher
  • Navyboot
  • Jet Set
  • Audemars Piguet
  • Hormann
  • Bacardi

Even though he is retired and bedridden, he earns $50 million yearly. He is currently sponsored by:

  • Deutsche Vermögensberatung, a financial services distributor, who has been sponsoring him since he entered the sport in 1991.
  • Mercedes Benz 
  • and CS Ranch, a reining facility, run by his wife Corinna Schumacher and his daughter Gina Schumacher.

Key takeaways

  • Michael Schumacher, known to be the greatest Formula 1 driver in history, was born in Hurth, Germany, on 3rd January 1969.
  • Schumacher began his career in Formula 1 with the Irish team Jordan in 1991 and won his debut race in Belgium Grand Prix.
  • He won his first championship by a single point in 1993 and won the Championship title for the second time in 1994, making him the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history.
  • He finally ended Ferrari’s 21-year drought, won the championship for the team in 2000 and went on to win the Driver’s Championship title for the next four years in succession.
  • Throughout his career, he has won 7 world championship titles, 91 Grand Prix victories, 68 pole positions and 155 podium finishes, making him an absolute icon of motorsport.
michael schumacher net worth

Learn more about Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher, known to be the greatest Formula 1 driver in history, was born in Hurth, Germany. Although he did not come from a wealthy family, his passion, determination, and hard work have made way for him to become a legend. He has been a part of several F1 teams, including Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes and has won the World Championship title seven times in his F1 career. When he retired, he set the record for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes. He also has a record for 77 fastest laps. 

Full NameMichael Schumacher
NationalityGerman
Date of BirthJanuary 3rd, 1969
Height1.74m
Weight74kg
Salary$100.000

Early life

The extraordinary Michael Schumacher was born in an ordinary town in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, to parents Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher on 3rd January 1969. His father ran a local kart track while his mother ran the track’s canteen. At 4, he joined the karting club and became its youngest member. He won several Junior Kart Championships and, by 1987, became the European and German Kart Championship.

He participated in the German Formula Ford in 1988 and, in 1989, entered the Formula Three series, winning the championship in 1990. That year he also took part in the World Sportscar Championship.

Formula 1 Career

(Jordan 1991)

Schumacher began his career in Formula 1 with the Irish team Jordan in 1991 and won his debut race in Belgium Grand Prix. After a stunning performance in his first race, he was wrestled by the formula 1 team, Benetton. After many legal discussions, Schumacher had to move to Benetton for the remaining season. 

Benetton (1991–1993)

He finished the 1991 season with a score of 4 points out of six races. He finished 5th, his best, in the Italian Grand Prix.  

In 1992, Schumacher took his first podium, finishing third in the Mexican Grand Prix and taking his first victory in the Belgium Grand Prix. He finished the season by taking third in the Drivers Championship, scoring 53 points. 

In 1993, He managed to take a victory in one race, the Portuguese Grand Prix and took five podiums. He finished the season by taking 4th place in the Drivers Championship, scoring 52 points.

(1994 – 1995)

In the 1994 season, most of the recent champions had retired, making way for Schumacher to win his first championship. He had won nine out of the first 16 races; however, the Benetton team was accused of cheating, and he was disqualified from the British Grand Prix. His car collided with Damon Hill’s, which was later suspected to be intentional, and he was able to win his first championship by a single point. 

Schumacher was able to show his amazing driving skills without controversies in the 1995 season. Although he started off with a slow start, he managed to excel in the rest of the races. He faced several clashes with Hill during the season, especially in the Italian and British Grand Prix. He won 9 of the 17 races, taking 11 podiums and achieved the Drivers Championship title for the second time, making him the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history.

Ferrari 

(1996)

In 1996, he joined Ferrari, which had suffered a catastrophic downturn in the early 1990s. Schumacher was all set to conquer Ferrari and bring them to the top. Even though the F310 wasn’t a good ride, Schumacher drove it, taking third place in the World Drivers Championship and helping his team to take second place in the Constructors’ Championship, for which he is known to have transformed the Ferrari team. 

(1997)

In the 1997 season, he competed against his Canadian rival Jacques Villeneuve for the Championship title. During the first course of the season, Villeneuve took the lead; however, mid-way through the season, Schumacher was able to take the lead by winning five races and reaching the season final with a one-point advantage. He again tried to collide and move his rival from the race, but that didn’t go well, and he was ultimately disqualified from the 1997 Drivers’ Championship.

(1998)

1998 began with an old F3 rival, Mika Hakkinen, who took most of the wins at the start of the season. Schumacher competed fiercely, and it came down to the final race in Suzuka, where he started from the pole position. However, his car collided with David Coulthard’s, resulting in a lost tire. The championship title was given to Hakkinen, and Schumacher took the runner-up place.

(1999)

The 1999 season started well with wins in San Marino and Monaco. However, an unfortunate accident in the British Grand Prix left him with a broken leg, resulting in him missing out on six races. He made his comeback in the Malaysia Grand Prix and finished the season by taking fifth place in the World Driver’s Championship. 

(2000)

Schumacher won the first three races of the 2000 season and later went out to win five of the first eight. After a great battle between the two rivals, Schumacher and Hakkinen, the championship fight came down to the last race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Schumacher ended the season by showing extraordinary driving skills and becoming Ferrari’s first champion in 21 years. That year he was termed the “greatest driver of his era.”

(2001 – 2004)

With his passion for racing and an endless quest for improvement, Schumacher went on to win the Driver’s Championship title for the next four years in succession. In the Canadian Grand Prix of 2001, Schumacher finished second to his brother Ralf, setting a record for scoring the first-ever 1–2 finish by brothers in Formula One. That year he also broke the fifty-one career win record of Alain Prost.

With a bit of controversy in the  Austrian Grand Prix of 2002, he managed to win the World Championship title once again, scoring 144 points, winning 11 times and finishing all 17 races on the podium.

Although the 2003 season started off with collisions and running off the track, he still managed to break Fanigio’s record by winning his sixth Championship title. In 2004, he set a new record of winning 12 out of the first 13 races. In the Belgium Grand Prix, the passionate German broke his own record and took the Championship title for the seventh time.

(2005- 2006)

The 2005 season began with a change in technical rules, which ended Schumacher’s dominance. In 2005 tire changes during the race were banned, forcing both tire companies, Michelin and Bridgestone, to build more complex compounds. Due to this, Schumacher managed only to win one race during the season. He finished the season in third place in the Driver’s Championship scoring 62 points.

In the 2006 season, Schumacher only managed to score 11 points after the first three races. He broke Ayrton Senna’s 12-year-old record and took his 66th pole position in San Marino. He took his last victory in the China Grand Prix. He finished the season with a fantastic drive in the Brazil Grand Prix, taking fourth place in the Driver’s Championship. Having excelled in his career as an F1 driver, he decided to hang his helmet in 2006.

Mercedes (2010–2012)

41-year-old Michael Schumacher made a comeback as a driver for the new F1 Mercedes team alongside German driver Nico Rosberg. Although he gave his best, it was the first time in his career since 1991 that he completed a season without a win, pole position, podium or fastest lap. He finished ninth in the World Driver’s Championship, scoring 72 points.

He scored his first point of the 2011 season in Malaysian Grand Prix. It was an overall average season for him, and he ended the season 8th in the Driver’s Championship, scoring 76 points.

The third year of Schumacher’s comeback got off to a promising start; however, most of the races ended up in retirement or collisions. Schumacher finished third at the European Grand Prix, his only podium finish since his return to Formula One. In the Germany Grand Prix, he managed to set the fastest lap for the 77th time in his career. The Belgium Grand Prix marked his 300th Grand Prix. 

In October 2012, Schumacher announced he would retire for a second time.

Injury

While he managed to survive his dangerous profession for so many years, the year of his permanent retirement proved to be ironic. The following year in 2013, Schumacher was involved in a devastating skiing accident, which resulted in him going into a coma for several months. He is reported to be wheelchair bound and can no longer speak.

Michael Schumacher, the famous Formula 1 icon, has had endorsement deals with various big names such as Shell, who paid him $10 million annually to wear a cap with the company’s logo in all public appearances. He also had endorsement deals with Omega, Marlboro, and Vodafone, among many others.

Highlights

Though he has had an amazing career, here are some of his best moments:

  • In 1992, Schumacher took his first podium, finishing third in the Mexican Grand Prix. 
  • He took his first victory in the Belgium Grand Prix in 1992.
  • He won his first championship by a single point in 1993.
  • In 1995, he achieved the Drivers Championship title for the second time, making him the youngest two-time World Champion in Formula One history.
  • He claimed a remarkable victory on the rainy tracks of the Spanish Grand Prix in 1996, making it one of his greatest races.
  • He finally ended Ferrari’s 21-year drought and won the championship for the team in 2000.
  • In the Canadian Grand Prix of 2001, Schumacher finished second to his brother Ralf, setting a record for scoring the first-ever 1–2 finish by brothers in Formula One. That year he also broke the fifty-one career win record of Alain Prost.
  • He managed to break Fanigio’s record by winning his sixth Championship title in 2003.
  • In 2004, he set a new record of winning 12 out of the first 13 races.
  • In the Belgium Grand Prix 2004, the passionate German broke his record and took the Championship title for the seventh time.
  • Throughout his career, he has won 91 races and 155 podiums and achieved the World Championship title 7 times.
  • He has won several awards like Best Driver ESPY Award, Bambi – Millennium Award and Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman.

Favorite quotes from Michael Schumacher

The extraordinary ultimate star of Formula 1 has said a lot of wise words during his career. Here are some of his favorite quotes:

  • “Once something is a passion, the motivation is there.”
  • “The more precisely I can drive, the more I enjoy myself.”
  • “If you do things to the limit, and don’t purposely go over that limit, then I think it’s fine to do whatever you want. So long as you enjoy it. That’s what’s important.”
  • “Your ups and downs in sports, I think they are as normal as daily life: One day you wake up and feel great, the next day you wake up and feel maybe less great.”
  • “The first thing, when I got the money, I knew I would support somebody. And the person I supported was my family. Because we were really in debt with the money. And – so I gave my father this suitcase full of money. And he couldn’t believe it. And that was something very special.”
  • “First, you have to finish.”
  • “I like to share my life, and spend time with someone I love. That has worked 100 per cent with my wife.”
  • “I’m Michael Schumacher. I don’t need to test my driving ability.”
  • “When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back.”
  • “I’ve always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there’s only a slightest chance.” 
  • “Everyone is replaceable, including me”

Personal Life

Schumacher is married to Corinna Betsch. The couple tied the knot in August 1995. They have a daughter named Gina-Marie and a son named Mick, together. Mick is also a race car driver affiliated to the ‘Ferrari Driver Academy.’

Fun Facts

  • Michael Schumacher got his German license after he won the German Junior Kart Championship in 1983. 
  • His brother, Ralf Schumacher, is also a racer.
  • He used to enjoy other sports like scuba diving, Bike racing, and Horse Riding.
  • Michael Schumacher and Schubert’s team made a lightweight and ultra-strong helmet called RF 1.5.
  • He is an avid football fan and enjoyed attending football matches organized for charity.
  • His wife, Corinna Schumacher, gifted him a ceramic amulet when they married. He owns his success to it and wore it throughout his career. The lucky charm has his family members’ names engraved.
  • He helped the Italian automaker in designing the Ferrari Enzo.
  • When he retired in 2006, he was known to hold records for most World Driver’s Championship titles, most wins, podium finishes, pole positions, and fastest laps.
  • In 2006, MotorSport awarded him an FIA Gold Medal to honor his racing career and improve safety. 
  • He was also part of the FIA Hall of Fame and Germany’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
  • Schumacher never wanted his son to race because of the dangers related to high-speed racing.
  • Schumacher was involved in an unfortunate skiing accident at the French Alps Resort on 29th December 2013, which left him wheelchair bound.

Michael Schumacher cars

Schumacher has a number of luxury cars in his garage, including a Ferrari Enzo, 430 Scuderia, the famous Ferrari race car with seven championship titles to its name, and Ferrari California in his collection.

Some of the other cars he owns include a Formula Ford racer that he drove in 1988, a unique gull-winged doored Mercedes SLS AMG and a Sauber Mercedes-C291.

Unlike other Formula One sportsmen, Schumacher wasn’t a fan of driving flashy sports cars. His daily drive was a Fiat 500 Abarth.

Michael Schumacher House

Schumacher has a £50m mansion in Gland, Switzerland. He also has a family home on the shores of Lake Geneva. He is recently reported to have been shifted to a $40m Majorcan villa which features two swimming pools, a helipad, a gym and a huge palm-tree-fringed garden.

Michael Schumacher Boat/Yacht

Michael Schumacher is the proud owner of a yacht ,The Smooth Operator, which is moored in the Port D’alcudia.

Michael Shumacher Charity

Schumacher has been a special ambassador to UNESCO since 2003 and has donated over US$1.5 million to several UNESCO projects. He has also been reported to have donated between US$5m – US$10m to the Clinton Foundation. Moreover, after the Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004, he donated US$10 million as aid.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Michael Schumacher earn in a year in F1?

Michael Schumacher, the F1 star, earned $80-$100 million during the peak of his career. While working for Ferrari, he was paid $50 annually, which was increased to $75 million when he joined Mercedes.

How rich is Michael Schumacher?

Michael Schumacher, a former German F1 driver, reportedly has a whopping $800 million net worth. Most of his wealth has been earned through his career as an F1 driver and through endorsements.

Why is Michael Schumacher so rich?

Michael Schumacher, 7 time F1 Champion, has acquired most of his wealth as an F1 race car driver and through several endorsements.

Where did Michael Schumacher get his money?

The 7 times World Champion, Michael Schumacher, has an estimated net worth of $800 million. He earned it mainly on the track; however, he also has various endorsement deals with big names. He is said to have earned $10m a year just from wearing the Shell-branded cap.

Is Michael Schumacher a billionaire?

After retiring in 2006, the German F1 star made a comeback in 2010 and announced his final retirement in 2012, his networth still continues to grow, and currently, he has a networth of $800 million. He was named the world's first billionaire athlete in 2005 by Euro business magazine.

Michael Schumacher net worth compared to active Formula 1 drivers

Schumacher is known to have held almost every record when he retired in 2012, which includes his 7 victories, currently tied with Lewis Hamilton, and 91 wins. While Hamilton may have been able to win the same number of titles as Schumacher, he is still way behind in the networth race, with a networth of $285 million, which is significantly less compared to Schumacher’s whooping $800 million. If compared to other current F1 drivers like Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, who have an annual salary of $25 million and $10 million, respectively, Schumacher tops the charts with an estimated annual salary of $80 – $100 million.

Michael Schumacher net worth compared to former Formula 1 drivers

Some of the well-known former names of Formula 1 history rank in the top ten highest-paid drivers, such as Don Schumacher, who, although he shares the same last name, is not related to Michael Schumacher, has a networth of $300 million. While they all have relatively high net worths, Schumacher has taken the title once again by being the wealthiest F1 driver with a networth of $800 million.

Conclusion

After rising to power in the ’90s and dominating the F1 motorsports, Schumacher is one of the most significant F1 drivers of all time. Throughout his career, he has achieved almost every significant record in motor racing. He currently holds the record for the fastest laps and career points earned, making him an absolute legend of Formula 1.

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