Monaco's Athletes
*The real size of their fortunes may be much larger than our estimates . We compile data from several credible sources and public lists.
*The real size of their fortunes may be much larger than our estimates . We compile data from several credible sources and public lists.
Leclerc is the third successive Monegasque driver in the history of Formula 1. He began his career in F1 races with the Sauber team, and in the 2019 season he will perform as part of Scuderia Ferrari.
Interesting fact: the 21-year-old Monegasque will be the youngest driver in the Ferrari team’s history since 1961. We hope he will show excellent results.
The former Formula 1 driver, who participated in the championships from 1994 to 2008, is a resident of Monaco. The Scottish racer has lived for some time in Monaco and even owned the Columbus hotel in Fontvieille.
Coulthard took part in 247 races, won 13 of them and walked up to the podium 62 times. The Scottish racer published the book «The Formula for Victory», in which he raised issues such as the importance of teamwork, motivation and leadership; he also wrote about the strategies needed to win in the world of Formula 1. David Coulthard, who today works as a journalist and commentator, lives in Monaco.
LEWIS HAMILTON SEALED his fifth Formula One title at the Mexican Grand Prix on October 29, despite a fourth-place finish. He is now tied with Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio as the second most successful driver of all time, but Schumacher holds the record with seven Title Wins.
The two-time Formula 1 champion participated in races from 1991 to 2001. Apparently, it is during this time that his love for Monaco began, as he was competing on one of the most prestigious F1 tracks. Despite the fact that the former racer has apartments in France and Finland, Mika since 1991 has lived in the Principality.
29-year-old tennis player Petra Kvitova also decided to move to Monaco and to enjoy all the pleasures of life in this country. However, her journey to obtaining Monegasque residency was not without controversy.
In fact, after she won her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, her return home was unusually lacking in warmth. Social Democrat MP Stanislav Huml accused her of avoiding income taxes and suggested she should be deprived of her Czech citizenship. «I am not sure if it is worth moving to Monaco just to pay less tax when the Czech Republic actually helped her to achieve some of her success», the deputy said in his interview for Czech radio. Nevertheless, Petra did not change her mind and settled in the Principality. In 2020, Petra Kvitova played in the Australian Open quater finals and lost to her rival.
AFTER WINNING SIX of eight Grand Slam events between 2014 and 2016, Djokovic has made it past the quarter finals only once in Slam events. He ranked among the top two players in the world for nearly six straight years starting in July 2011. Injuries and poor play now have him ranked outside the top 20. The result: Djokovic’s on-court earnings dropped from $21.6 million in 2015 to $1.5 million over the last 12 months. (Djokovic was the first tennis player to earn $20 million in prize money.)
NICO ROSBERG finished runner-up to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2014 and 2015 in the final F1 standings. Rosberg won the final three races of the 2015 season, which was a sign of things to come. He continued his streak and captured the 2016 Formula One World Champion Title, although five days later he announced his retirement due to the demands racing made on his time.
Daniil Medvedev’s sports career all started with his mother taking him to tennis classes as a child. At a point when tennis became predominant in his life, Daniel did two high school years externally in order devote more time to his sports. The tennis world first heard of him in 2013 when Daniil took part in the European Championship, making his way to the finals in doubles and to the quarter finals in singles. He then debuted in the World Tour’s main draw in singles in May 2016.
Daniil Medvedev is a Monaco resident. He is favouring the Principality since his progress and training in the native Moscow are admittedly more complicated. The tennis player speaks three foreign languages, including French.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is a rising Monaco-based tennis star who has already had a spectacular career. 22-years old, talented and ambitious, the tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, is currently ranked fifth in the world.
The young man is a son of the Soviet tennis player, Yulia Salnikova (daughter of the famous Russian footballer, Sergei Salnikov) and the Greek tennis coach, Apostolos Tsitsipas. This sports family has four children. The eldest son, Stefanos, accompanied his parents on the tennis court from a very young age and eventually started playing seriously, coached by his own father. During the 2000s, his tennis career has sky rocketed in an amazing way.
AFTER HIS PROLIFIC scoring tear at Atletico Madrid in 2013 in which he scored 34 goals in 41 caps for the club, the Colombian striker nicknamed El Tigre (The Tiger) left Spain’s La Liga when he struck a 5-year deal that doubled his salary to $70 million with AS Monaco, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. Falcao justified the move to the club saying his heart had been with it since his idol Thierry Henry had played there. Also like his formal idol, he picked up Gillette as a sponsor, fronting a campaign airing in his homeland. Falcao spent two miserable seasons on loan at Man U and Chelsea before he returned to Monaco in 2016 to help AS Monaco win the Ligue 1 Championship for the 2016-17 season.
The 33-year-old Czech tennis player also lives in the Principality. Berdych is a former No. 4 in men’s singles, following the example of his compatriots, choosing the Principality as their home. Now the Czech is training on courts with a beautiful view of the sea. Tomáš, who is a two-time winner of the Davis Cup, began his professional career in 2002, although he has been playing tennis since he was five years old. In 2019, the 34-year-old Tomas Berdych confirmed completing his professional career. Over the recent years, the Czech tennis player has been struggling with his injuries. On November 16, he thus held a special farewell ceremony in London dedicated to the athletes who completed their professional career that year.
Zverev is a German professional tennis player; he is the current «ATP Finals» champion and the winner of 11 ATP tournaments. Thanks to his hard work and talent, today, the athlete is No. 4 in the world.
After he defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals last year, the Serb tennis player commented, saying that there’s no doubt Zverev «will be one of the favourites in every slam».
In 2020, Alexandre first made it to the Australian Open semifinals where he lost to a German Dominic Thiem. His best result had previously been performing in the French Open quarter finals (2018, 2019).
Today, Zverev lives in the Principality, preferring it to his hometown of Hamburg.
THE DANE BROKE THROUGH at the Australian Open in January with her first Grand Slam singles win. The title was worth $3.1 million in prize money. Her endorsement partners include Adidas, Rolex, Usana, Babolat and more. She partnered with Ovvo Optics in 2018 for her own sunglasses line.
The Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, who lives in Monaco, has quite an impressive list of achievements. The 27-year-old is winner of eight ATP Singles titles and was ranked inside the top 10 in ATP Singles. In 2017, his success led the tennis player to being ranked No 3 in the world.
His fortune is estimated at 12.7 million dollars. Last year Grigor was ranked #7 in the list of the highest-paid tennis players, according to Forbes.
Radek Stepanek can also be added to the list of Czech tennis players who settled in Monaco. The winner of two Grand Slam tournaments, he began his career back in 1996. During this time, he managed to play against Roger Federer, Marat Safin, Christoph Rochus, Andy Murray and many others. Radek also has won bronze at the 2016 Olympics. In 2018, Radek Stepanek married his former wife Nicole Vaidisova for the second time. They first got married in 2010 and separated in 2013.
The Canadian tennis player also moved to Monaco, becoming a resident of the Principality like his «colleagues» on court. Since 2014, permanent injuries have not allowed the tennis player to fully perform at tournaments. Nevertheless, subsequently, two years later, Miloš reached the final of the Masters series in Indian Wells, but lost to the finest racket in the world at the time, Novak Djokovic. In 2018, he returned to the court after another injury, but his return has not been easy. Perhaps his losses last year were due to lack of time preparing for the season due to injury. In 2020, Milos Raonic made it to the Australian Open quite finals and then lost to Novak Djokovic.
FINISHING THE YEAR ranked No. 3 in the world, Raonic was the Association of Tennis Players Newcomer of the Year in 2011. He was also a finalist at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, 2013 Canadian Open, 2014 Paris Masters, and the 2016 Indian Wells Masters.
Breel Donald Embolo is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Switzerland national team.
Born in Cameroon, Embolo moved with his family to France before finally settling in Switzerland. After working his way through their junior teams, Embolo made his professional debut for Basel in March 2014, and won the Swiss Super League in all three of his first seasons before moving to Schalke 04 for a reported fee of €20 million. Shortly after moving to the Bundesliga, he suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out for nearly a year. He later played in Germany for Borussia Mönchengladbach and in the French Ligue 1 for Monaco.
Embolo made his senior international debut in 2015, earning over 60 caps. He represented Switzerland at the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, and at the FIFA World Cup in the 2018 and 2022.
Another Czech tennis player has become the neighbour of Monaco’s famous tennis players. Apparently, this winner of four Grand Slam tournaments in doubles could not resist the opportunities she could have in our small Principality. In general, the former No. 1 in doubles enjoys her life in beautiful Monaco.
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco and the Russia national team. He can also play as a central midfielder or a winger.
Russian racer Daniil Kvyat also decided to move to the Principality. The former driver of Toro Rosso and Red Bull lives and trains in Monaco. According to him, the Principality is his «base». In the 2018 season, the young driver became a development pilot for the Scuderia Ferrari team. Who knows, maybe in future seasons the Russian will be able to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari, not only on the simulator, but also on the track.
Felipe, like some of his Formula 1 mates, chose Monaco as his second home. He spent many years in Formula 1, having competed in 2002 and from 2004 to 2017, becoming the vice-champion (2008).
During his F1 career he was driver for Sauber, Williams and Ferrari. Today he lives in Monaco and is a Formula E racer. In April 2018 it was announced that Massa would be taking part in Formula E racing for Venturi Grand Prix for 3 years starting with the 2018–19 Formula E season.
Lucas di Grassi has a life-time’s experience in motorsport. He has raced in Formula 3, Formula One, WEC, and Formula E, winning the 2016–2017 Formula E driver’s championship. He has been named the best endurance driver, the best Formula E driver, and one of the most important figures in motorsport. A genius in engineering, Lucas di Grassi worked many years as a test-driver, improving the mechanics of cars, from tyres to efficiency.
At the age of 26, this Australian tennis player lives in Monaco and is developing his sports career. Tomic has already managed to show promising results, having won two junior Grand Slam tournaments in singles and the No. 2 title in the junior rankings.
Having started his professional career at the age of 15, he has already played against Tomáš Berdych, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and other outstanding tennis players, earning a well-deserved place in the top twenty. Tomic is currently 27. He has previously won two junior Grand Slam tournaments in the singles and owns the title of the world second junior racket.
The Belgian racing driver Thierry Boutsen began his career in Formula 1 in 1983 and spent 10 years on the track. Monaco did not leave the pilot indifferent, and Thierry moved to the Principality. Here he launched his own company, Boutsen Aviation, which operates in the field of business aviation. He founded the company in 1997 together with his wife Daniela and since then has been successfully developing it.