Richest tennis player of all time worth more than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic has £1.63 billion fortune but is completely unknown

A former tennis grand slam winner who also played professional ice hockey has a current net worth of £1.63 billion, which is more than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic combined.

Ion Tiriac, who played ice hockey for Romania at the 1964 Winter Olympics before turning his attention to tennis, won the 1970 French Open men’s doubles alongside Ilie Năstase – arguably his biggest achievement in the game.

In total, he made around £200,000 from playing tennis, which isn't bad going considering his best finish in a singles Grand Slam was making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 1968.

He was best known for his doubles play, winning 22 career professional titles, and after his playing career ended in the mid-1970s, Iiriac turned his hand to managing athletes like Boris Becker, Marat Safin, and Guillermo Vilas.

So, how did he manage to acquire such a lucrative net worth? The Romanian would go on to make a series of shrewd investments in later life.

Ion Tiriac attends the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros. Image credit: Getty

Back in 1990, after the fall of communism, he founded Banca Tiriac, the first private bank in Romania. The bank merged several times, eventually becoming UniCredit Țiriac Bank, one of the largest banks in the country.

He also became involved in other businesses, including insurance, auto leasing, auto dealerships, and local airlines, with his various ventures entitled Tiriac Holdings, TiriacAIR, HVB Tiriac Bank, Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari Romania, TiriacAuto, Tiriac Leasing, and Tir Travel.

More than a decade later and Tiriac was named in Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in the world.

Back in 2014, he was considered as the richest former athlete of all-time, with his net worth standing at an estimated at over $2 billion (US). Now, he is said to be worth $2.3 billion, which is significantly more than any current tennis player.

Novak Djokovic has a net worth of £180 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, who claim Roger Federer is worth £413 million, making him one of the world's richest athletes. Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, is said to have a fortune of £162 million.