Who are the top 100 most inspiring athletes in the world?

This list is in no particular order. I built it on what inspires people most: the story behind the success. Each one is here for how far they came, what they overcame or what they give back, not only for the trophies they win.

Top 10

• 1. N’Golo Kanté (France, Football): Lost his father at 11 and was passed over by academies, and was still in France’s lower divisions at 21. He went on to win the Premier League twice and the World Cup. He paid for a $5 million medical center in Bamako, Mali, where his parents are from, for children and families who can’t afford care. In 2023, while still playing, he bought Royal Excelsior Virton, a third division club in Belgium, and took over as its owner. Estimated net worth: $70 million.
• 2. Arthur Ashe (United States, Tennis): The first Black man to win Wimbledon, in 1975. After contracting HIV from a blood transfusion, he spent his last years campaigning on AIDS and for civil rights. He earned a business degree from UCLA, served as an Army first lieutenant at West Point, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993, months after his death.
• 3. Muhammad Ali (United States, Boxing): Gave up his title and years of his career rather than fight in the Vietnam War, then won it back. In 1990 he flew to Iraq and came home with 15 American hostages. The United Nations named him a Messenger of Peace in 1998 for his work in poor countries, and in 2005 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Net worth at death: about $50 million.
• 4. Jesse Owens (United States, Athletics): The grandson of enslaved people, he won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in front of Hitler. President Gerald Ford gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976, and after his death Congress awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990. Net worth at death: about $150,000.
• 5. Derrick Rose (United States, Basketball): Grew up in Englewood, one of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods, and at 22 became the youngest MVP in NBA history. Knee injuries, starting with a torn ACL in 2012, nearly ended his career, but he fought back and scored 50 points in a game in 2018. He retired in 2024, and the Bulls retired his No. 1 jersey in January 2026. In 2018 he started Rose Scholars, a program that gives high school students money for college tuition, and in 2019 he published a memoir, I’ll Show You.
• 6. Zion Clark (United States, Wrestling): Born without legs and raised in foster care, he became a high school wrestler, a record-setting racer on his hands and an inspiration to millions. His life is the subject of Zion, a short documentary that premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was released worldwide on Netflix.
• 7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Football): Left his family on the island of Madeira at 12 to chase football in Lisbon, and had heart surgery at 15 for a racing heartbeat. He became the top scorer in the history of men’s international football. He doesn’t get tattoos so he can keep giving blood, and in 2020 he and his agent gave €1 million to intensive care units in Lisbon and Porto. Madeira’s main airport was renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in his honor in 2017, and he runs a chain of CR7 hotels with the Portuguese Pestana group. Estimated net worth: $1.2 billion.
• 8. Tiger Woods (United States, Golf): Won the 2019 Masters after spinal fusion surgery, when many thought he would never win again. His TGR Foundation runs learning labs that help students into science and technology. He studied economics at Stanford University before turning pro, and in 2019 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Estimated net worth: $1.5 billion.
• 9. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Formula 1): His father worked several jobs to pay for his karting. He became Formula 1’s only Black driver and a seven-time world champion, and funds opportunities for young people through Mission 44. He was knighted at Windsor Castle in 2021, becoming Sir Lewis Hamilton, and he was a producer of the 2025 Hollywood film F1 starring Brad Pitt. Estimated net worth: $580 million.
• 10. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Football): Diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a boy; Barcelona paid for his treatment when his family could not. He went on to win eight Ballon d’Or awards and the 2022 World Cup. He has given millions to build a children’s cancer hospital in Barcelona. He has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2010, speaking up for children’s rights and visiting young people in need around the world. Estimated net worth: $1.1 billion.

11 to 25

• 11. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece and Nigeria, Basketball): The son of Nigerian immigrants in Athens, he sold sunglasses and watches on the street with his brothers, and he and his brother Thanasis shared one pair of sneakers, taking turns to play. He became an NBA champion and two-time MVP. His family’s foundation, named for his late father, helps families in need. In 2021 he bought a minority ownership stake in baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers, and his family’s rise from the streets of Athens was told in the 2022 Disney film Rise. Estimated net worth: $170 million.
• 12. LeBron James (United States, Basketball): Raised by a single mother in Akron, Ohio, who moved house again and again. He opened the I Promise School there for children who are struggling. He cofounded the SpringHill Company, which makes films and TV shows, and in 2020 he launched More Than a Vote to fight voter suppression in Black communities. Estimated net worth: $1.4 billion.
• 13. Usain Bolt (Jamaica, Athletics): Has scoliosis, a curved spine, and became the fastest man in history, with world records in the 100 and 200 meters. His foundation supports schools and children in Jamaica. He owns Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records, a restaurant and sports bar brand that started in Kingston, Jamaica, and he has written autobiographies including Faster Than Lightning. Estimated net worth: $90 million.
• 14. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya, Athletics): Grew up in a small Kenyan village raised by his mother, a teacher, and became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. His foundation funds libraries and plants forests in Kenya. He was named United Nations Kenya Person of the Year in 2018, and his record run is the subject of the 2021 documentary Kipchoge: The Last Milestone.
• 15. Jackie Robinson (United States, Baseball): Broke Major League Baseball’s color line in 1947 through years of abuse. He served as an Army lieutenant in World War II, later became the first Black vice president of a major American company, Chock full o’Nuts, and cofounded Harlem’s Freedom National Bank.
• 16. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (United States, Basketball): Held the NBA scoring record for almost 39 years, and is also a bestselling author and a voice for civil rights. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the State Department named him a U.S. global cultural ambassador in 2012.
• 17. Bukayo Saka (England, Football): Born in London to Nigerian parents, he missed the deciding penalty in the Euro 2020 final at 19 and was flooded with racist abuse online. He answered with grace and became one of England’s best players. Through the charity BigShoe he paid for 120 life-changing surgeries for children in Nigeria in 2022.
• 18. Serena Williams (United States, Tennis): Learned the game on public courts in Compton and won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She survived life-threatening complications after giving birth and returned to play. Her fund has built schools in Kenya and Jamaica. She founded Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests mostly in startups led by women and people of color, several of which have grown into billion dollar companies. Estimated net worth: $350 million.
• 19. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica, Athletics): Grew up in Waterhouse, a tough Kingston neighborhood, where her mother sold goods on the street. She won three Olympic golds and ten world titles. Her Pocket Rocket Foundation gives scholarships to young athletes in Jamaica. She earned a bachelor’s degree in child and adolescent development from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and in 2010 became UNICEF Jamaica’s first national ambassador. Estimated net worth: $4 million.
• 20. Pelé (Brazil, Football): Shined shoes as a boy in Bauru to help his family, and won the World Cup three times, the first at 17. He served as Brazil’s minister for sport from 1995 to 1998, and Queen Elizabeth II gave him an honorary British knighthood in 1997.
• 21. Ronaldinho (Brazil, Football): Grew up in Porto Alegre, where his father died in the family’s swimming pool when he was 8. He wore the number 21 at Paris Saint-Germain, won the 2002 World Cup and the 2005 Ballon d’Or, and was famous for playing with a smile on his face. In 2019 Brazil’s government named him a national tourism ambassador, an unpaid role promoting the country to visitors around the world.
• 22. Michael Jordan (United States, Basketball): Was left off his high school varsity team as a sophomore and went home and cried. He used it as fuel, practicing harder than anyone, and became a six-time NBA champion, often called the greatest player of all time. He has paid for free medical clinics in his North Carolina hometown and gave a record $10 million to Make-A-Wish for his 60th birthday. He earned a degree in geography from the University of North Carolina in 1986, and President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Estimated net worth: $4.7 billion.
• 23. Sadio Mané (Senegal, Football): Ran away from his village of Bambali as a teenager to chase football in Dakar. Now one of Africa’s greatest players, he paid to build a hospital and a school back home. In 2022 he won the first ever Sócrates Award, given at the Ballon d’Or ceremony to the player who does the most charity and social work. Estimated net worth: $100 million.
• 24. Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Football): Grew up poor in São Gonçalo, outside Rio, and became one of the world’s best players at Real Madrid. He has refused to stay quiet about the racist abuse aimed at him, pushing Spanish football to act. His Instituto Vini Jr. uses football to help children in Brazil’s public schools learn. In 2024 UNESCO named him a Goodwill Ambassador for education and the fight against racism, following in the footsteps of Pelé. Estimated net worth: $80 million.
• 25. AJ Dybantsa (United States, Basketball): Grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of a father from the Republic of the Congo and a mother from Jamaica, and moved through high schools in three states chasing the game. In his one season at BYU he led the nation in scoring and was a consensus first team All-American. In June 2026 the Washington Wizards made him the first pick in the NBA draft, BYU’s first ever No. 1 pick. His foundation holds back to school and shoe giveaways in Brockton and helps send students from Jamaica and the Congo, his parents’ home countries, to universities.

26 to 50

• 26. Lamine Yamal (Spain, Football): Raised in Rocafonda, a working-class part of Mataró, by a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother. At 16 he became the youngest player ever to score at a European Championship and won it. He kept up his schoolwork during Euro 2024, bringing homework to the Spain team camp, and learned during the tournament that he had passed his secondary school exams. Estimated net worth: $15 million.
• 27. Luka Modrić (Croatia, Football): Grew up a war refugee after his grandfather was killed in the Croatian war, living in a hotel for displaced families and practicing in its car park. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2018. In 2025 he bought a stake in Welsh club Swansea City, becoming a co-owner while still playing at the top level. Estimated net worth: $75 million.
• 28. Kylian Mbappé (France, Football): Grew up in Bondy, a Paris suburb, and won the World Cup at 19. He gave his entire 2018 World Cup bonus to a charity for children with disabilities. He started his own foundation, Inspired by KM, which mentors and supports children from poor neighborhoods in France and helps them chase their dreams. Estimated net worth: $250 million.
• 29. Marcus Rashford (England, Football): Raised by a single mother who sometimes went without meals, he used his fame during the pandemic to push the UK government to keep feeding millions of children in school holidays. He was made an MBE in 2020, has written bestselling children’s books including You Are a Champion, and became the University of Manchester’s youngest honorary degree recipient. Estimated net worth: $25 million.
• 30. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Football): After qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, he knelt with his teammates on live TV and begged both sides of Ivory Coast’s civil war to lay down their weapons, helping bring about a ceasefire. His foundation built a hospital in Abidjan. He has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme since 2007, and in 2021 the World Health Organization also named him a Goodwill Ambassador. Estimated net worth: $90 million.
• 31. George Weah (Liberia, Football): Grew up in a Monrovia slum and became the only African player to win the Ballon d’Or, in 1995. He later served as president of Liberia. He went back to school as an adult, earning a business degree and a master’s in public administration, and won a seat as senator for Montserrado County in 2014.
• 32. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria, Football): Sold bottled water in Lagos traffic as a boy after losing his mother, and became one of the most feared strikers in Europe. In 2023 President Muhammadu Buhari made him a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, one of Nigeria’s national honors. Estimated net worth: $30 million.
• 33. Jamie Vardy (England, Football): Played non-league football while working in a factory making medical splints. At 29 he was a Premier League champion and set a record by scoring in 11 straight games. He set up the V9 Academy to give non-league players a way into the professional game. He told his life story in the 2016 autobiography From Nowhere, and later wrote a children’s book, Cedric: The Little Sloth with a Big Dream, with his wife Rebekah. Estimated net worth: $50 million.
• 34. Marta (Brazil, Football): Played with boys in a small town in northeast Brazil when girls were told not to play. She scored more World Cup goals than any player, man or woman. She is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, speaking up for girls and women in sport. In 2023 she launched her own sportswear brand, Go Equal, and gave all royalties from its sales to football groups that promote leadership by women.
• 35. Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Football): As a teenager he rode buses for hours each way from his village, Nagrig, to train in Cairo. He is now a Premier League legend and pays for a school, an ambulance unit and other services in the village that raised him. In 2019 TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world and put him on the cover of that issue. Estimated net worth: $140 million.
• 36. Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria, Football): Her parents wanted her to focus on school instead of football, but she kept playing. She became a record six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year. Her academy in Lagos trains girls to play football. In 2014 President Goodluck Jonathan honored her with the Order of the Niger, one of Nigeria’s national awards, and in 2021 she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
• 37. Christine Sinclair (Canada, Football): Scored 190 goals for her country, more than any player in international football, man or woman. In 2026 she was promoted to Companion, the highest level of the Order of Canada, years after first being named an Officer of the order.
• 38. Kobe Bryant (United States, Basketball): Won five NBA titles, then an Oscar in 2018 for his short film Dear Basketball. He died in a helicopter crash in 2020 with his daughter Gianna, and his work ethic is still called the Mamba Mentality. He founded Granity Studios to create stories for young readers, and its book The Wizenard Series: Season One reached number one on The New York Times best-seller list in 2020.
• 39. Dikembe Mutombo (DR Congo, Basketball): Came to the US on a scholarship to study medicine, became an NBA great and built a hospital in Kinshasa named for his mother. At Georgetown he earned bachelor’s degrees in linguistics and diplomacy in 1991, and he spoke French, Spanish, Portuguese and five Central African languages. Net worth at death: about $75 million.
• 40. Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast, Football): Grew up in a house of about 25 people in Abidjan, playing on dirt with Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol. Rejected at trials by Chelsea, Crystal Palace and others, he kept going after his sister Roxane, who always believed he could be “the next Cristiano,” died at 15. In August 2026, at 19, Real Madrid, Ronaldo’s old club, signed him for €125 million.
• 41. Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria, Basketball): Did not start playing basketball until his late teens in Lagos, and became an NBA champion and one of the greatest centers ever. After retiring he became a major real estate investor in Houston, making a fortune by buying land and buildings and later selling them for much more. Estimated net worth: $300 million.
• 42. Joel Embiid (Cameroon, Basketball): Only started playing at 15 and lost his younger brother in an accident early in his career. He became NBA MVP in 2023. In 2023 he founded Miniature Géant, a film and TV studio working with LeBron James’s SpringHill Company to tell African stories. Estimated net worth: $140 million.
• 43. Jimmy Butler (United States, Basketball): Told by his mother to leave home at 13, he was taken in by a friend’s family, and became a six-time All-Star. During the 2020 NBA bubble he sold $20 cups of coffee to other players from his hotel room, then turned the idea into a coffee brand called Bigface. Estimated net worth: $80 million.
• 44. Yao Ming (China, Basketball): An NBA Hall of Famer who used his fame to campaign against shark finning and the ivory trade. He started Yao Family Wines, which makes Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley grapes and released its first vintage, from 2009, in China in 2011. Estimated net worth: $160 million.
• 45. Colin Kaepernick (United States, American football): Adopted as a baby by a white couple, he led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. In 2016 he began sitting, then kneeling, during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality, and he never played in the NFL again. He founded the Know Your Rights Camp for young people and pledged $1 million to groups working in oppressed communities. He founded Kaepernick Publishing in 2020, and in 2021 cocreated the Netflix series Colin in Black & White with Ava DuVernay about his teenage years.
• 46. Maya Moore (United States, Basketball): Walked away from the WNBA at her peak to help free Jonathan Irons, a man wrongly imprisoned. He was released in 2020, and they later married. With her husband Jonathan Irons she wrote Love and Justice, a 2023 book about their fight to free him, and they run the nonprofit Win With Justice. Estimated net worth: $1 million.
• 47. Venus Williams (United States, Tennis): Learned the game on public courts in Compton with her sister Serena, and in 2003 lost her older sister Yetunde Price to a shooting there. She won seven Grand Slam singles titles and led the campaign that won women equal prize money at Wimbledon in 2007. Diagnosed in 2011 with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that forced her out of the US Open, she came back to win Olympic doubles gold in 2012 and reach the Wimbledon final at 37. With Serena she opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton for families affected by violence, and she speaks out to raise awareness of Sjögren’s. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Indiana University East in 2015 and runs her own interior design firm, V Starr Interiors. Estimated net worth: $65 million.
• 48. Gabby Thomas (United States, Athletics): A Harvard graduate in neurobiology with a master’s in public health, she won Olympic gold in the 200 meters in 2024. She volunteered almost weekly for about a year and a half at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin, Texas, which serves people without health insurance.
• 49. Naomi Osaka (Japan, Tennis): A four-time Grand Slam champion who spoke openly about her mental health and wore masks bearing the names of Black victims of violence on her way to the 2020 US Open title. Her Play Academy gets girls into sport in Japan, Haiti and Los Angeles. In 2022 she and LeBron James launched Hana Kuma, a media company telling stories about different cultures and social issues, starting with a documentary on Congresswoman Patsy Mink. Estimated net worth: $120 million.
• 50. Novak Djokovic (Serbia, Tennis): Trained through the 1999 bombing of Belgrade, sometimes in an empty swimming pool, and won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. His foundation funds preschools and early education in Serbia. UNICEF named him a Goodwill Ambassador in 2015, after four years of working with the agency on programs for poor and marginalized children. Estimated net worth: $240 million.

51 to 100

• 51. Rafael Nadal (Spain, Tennis): Played through a rare, painful foot condition for most of his career and won 22 Grand Slams, 14 of them at the French Open. His foundation runs centers for children and young people in Spain and India. With Meliá Hotels he launched ZEL, a hotel brand whose first property opened on his home island of Mallorca, and he has invested in the Tatel restaurant chain. Estimated net worth: $220 million.
• 52. Roger Federer (Switzerland, Tennis): Won 20 Grand Slams, and his foundation has helped more than a million children get an education in southern Africa. In 2007 he became the first living person on a Swiss postage stamp, and in 2020 he became the first living person on a Swiss commemorative coin. Estimated net worth: $950 million.
• 53. Coco Gauff (United States, Tennis): At 15 she beat her idol Venus Williams at Wimbledon, and at 19 she won the US Open. At 16 she spoke at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida, urging people to use their voices and vote. Estimated net worth: $50 million.
• 54. Ons Jabeur (Tunisia, Tennis): The first Arab and North African woman to reach a Grand Slam final, known at home as the “Minister of Happiness.” In 2024 the United Nations World Food Programme named her a Global Goodwill Ambassador to speak up for people facing hunger around the world. Estimated net worth: $5 million.
• 55. Billie Jean King (United States, Tennis): Beat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes,” founded the women’s tour and fought for equal pay. In 2024 she became the first individual female athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, adding to the Presidential Medal of Freedom she received in 2009. Estimated net worth: $20 million.
• 56. Andy Murray (Great Britain, Tennis): Survived the 1996 Dunblane school shooting as a child, won three Grand Slams and two Olympic golds, and played on with a metal hip. He was knighted for services to tennis and charity, including his work as a UNICEF ambassador, in the New Year Honours announced at the end of 2016. Estimated net worth: $140 million.
• 57. Allyson Felix (United States, Athletics): Won 11 Olympic medals, the most of any American track athlete, and spoke out when her sponsor cut her pay over pregnancy, pushing Nike to change its maternity policy. In 2021 she and her brother Wes cofounded Saysh, a shoe and lifestyle brand designed for women.
• 58. Sha’Carri Richardson (United States, Athletics): Raised by her grandmother in Dallas, she lost her birth mother the week before the 2021 Olympic trials, then missed the Tokyo Olympics after a positive test for marijuana. She came back to win the 100 meters world title in 2023, saying “I’m not back, I’m better,” and won Olympic gold in the relay in 2024.
• 59. Faith Kipyegon (Kenya, Athletics): Came back from having her daughter to break world records and win Olympic gold again. In December 2023 President William Ruto named her an Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart, one of Kenya’s highest national honors.
• 60. Letsile Tebogo (Botswana, Athletics): Won Olympic gold in the 200 meters in 2024 with his mother’s name on his spikes, months after she died. After his Olympic win, President Mokgweetsi Masisi gave the whole country a half-day holiday so the nation could stop and celebrate him.
• 61. Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia, Athletics): Lost her father at 12 and nearly quit. She won Saint Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal, gold in the 100 meters. Saint Lucia’s government declared September 27, 2024, as Julien Alfred Day, and in 2025 she received the Saint Lucia Cross, one of the country’s highest national honors.
• 62. Sifan Hassan (Netherlands, Athletics): Arrived in the Netherlands from Ethiopia as a teenage refugee and won Olympic gold in the marathon in 2024, days after two bronze medals on the track. After settling in the Netherlands, she was studying to become a nurse when she first took up running.
• 63. Mo Farah (Great Britain, Athletics): Brought to the UK as a child under another boy’s name and made to work as a servant, he became a four-time Olympic champion. He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours and received the title from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace later that year, becoming Sir Mo Farah. Estimated net worth: $5 million.
• 64. Carl Lewis (United States, Athletics): Won nine Olympic gold medals, including four at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, matching what Jesse Owens did in 1936. In 2011 he ran as a Democrat for the New Jersey State Senate, but a court ruled he did not meet the residency rule and removed him from the ballot.
• 65. Michael Johnson (United States, Athletics): Won both the 200 and 400 meters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in his golden shoes, the only man to do it at the same Games, and recovered from a stroke in 2018 to walk and run again. Since retiring he has worked as a BBC television analyst at every Summer Olympics from 2004 to 2024, and he opened a training center for young athletes in Texas.
• 66. Wilma Rudolph (United States, Athletics): Had polio as a child and wore a leg brace, and won three Olympic golds in 1960. She refused to attend her own 1960 homecoming parade in Clarksville, Tennessee, unless it was open to everyone, making it the town’s first integrated event, and later became a schoolteacher.
• 67. Kathrine Switzer (United States, Athletics): In 1967 she ran the Boston Marathon when women were not allowed, finishing even after an official tried to tear off her race number. She earned journalism degrees from Syracuse University, won an Emmy for her TV commentary, and in 2015 founded 261 Fearless, a nonprofit that uses running clubs to empower women.
• 68. Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia, Athletics): Won the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome running barefoot, the first Olympic gold for a Black African. He was a soldier in Ethiopia’s Imperial Guard, the elite unit that protected Emperor Haile Selassie, and was promoted after each of his Olympic wins, eventually reaching captain.
• 69. Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia, Athletics): Ran about 10 kilometers to school and back each day, and went on to set 27 world records. He built a business empire in Ethiopia, including Haile Resorts hotels, a Hyundai dealership that assembled the country’s first electric cars, and a coffee farm, employing thousands of people.
• 70. Simone Biles (United States, Gymnastics): Spent time in foster care before being adopted by her grandparents. She stepped back at Tokyo to protect her mental health, then returned to win three golds in Paris. She works with Friends of the Children to support kids in foster care. In 2022 President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, making her one of its youngest recipients. Estimated net worth: $25 million.
• 71. Rebeca Andrade (Brazil, Gymnastics): Came back from three knee reconstructions to beat Simone Biles for Olympic gold on floor in 2024. The BBC named her to its 100 Women list in 2024, which honors inspiring and influential women from around the world each year.
• 72. Surya Bonaly (France, Figure skating): A Black skater in a sport with few, she won five European titles and three world silver medals, and at the 1998 Nagano Olympics landed a backflip on one blade, a move the judges had banned. A longtime vegetarian and animal rights supporter, she posed for a 2007 PETA campaign against Canada’s seal hunt and the fur trade.
• 73. Nadia Comăneci (Romania, Gymnastics): Scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic history, at 14. She wrote the 2004 book Letters to a Young Gymnast, a memoir framed as advice to young athletes about her life, her career and what she learned along the way. Estimated net worth: $5 million.
• 74. Aly Raisman (United States, Gymnastics): A six-time Olympic medalist who spoke out against the team doctor who abused gymnasts, and pushed for change. She wrote the 2017 memoir Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything, which describes her Olympic journey and the abuse she suffered. Estimated net worth: $4 million.
• 75. Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan, Gymnastics): Competed in eight Olympics, in part to pay for her son’s leukemia treatment. In 2024 she opened a combined school and gymnastics academy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which she said would be free for children.
• 76. Suni Lee (United States, Gymnastics): Won Olympic all-around gold in 2021, two years after her father was paralyzed in a fall, then came back from kidney disease to win three more medals in 2024. Months after her Olympic win she competed on season 30 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, reaching the semifinals and finishing fifth. Estimated net worth: $5 million.
• 77. Michael Phelps (United States, Swimming): Diagnosed with ADHD as a boy, he won 23 Olympic golds and now speaks openly about depression. His foundation teaches children water safety, and he campaigns for mental health care. He narrated and executive produced The Weight of Gold, a 2020 HBO documentary about Olympians struggling with depression after the Games. Estimated net worth: $100 million.
• 78. Simone Manuel (United States, Swimming): In 2016 she became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic swimming gold. In 2018 she added an inclusion rider to her sponsorship deal with TYR, requiring the brand to create opportunities for underrepresented groups, reported as a first in professional sports. Estimated net worth: $3 million.
• 79. Yusra Mardini (Syria, Swimming): Fleeing war in 2015, she and her sister jumped into the sea and pushed their sinking boat of refugees to Greece. She swam at the Olympics a year later. She became a UN refugee agency Goodwill Ambassador, wrote the memoir Butterfly, and her story became the 2022 Netflix film The Swimmers.
• 80. Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe, Swimming): Africa’s most decorated Olympian, she became the first woman and first African elected president of the International Olympic Committee. Before leading the IOC, she served as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, first appointed in 2018.
• 81. Manny Pacquiao (Philippines, Boxing): Left home at 14 and lived on the streets of Manila, and became the only boxer to win world titles in eight weight classes. He has built homes for poor families in the southern Philippines, where he grew up. He served in the Philippine House of Representatives and then as a senator from 2016 to 2022, and he ran for president of the Philippines in 2022. Estimated net worth: $220 million.
• 82. Francis Ngannou (Cameroon, MMA): Worked in a sand quarry as a boy, crossed the Sahara and the Mediterranean as a migrant and slept rough in Paris. He became UFC heavyweight champion. His foundation runs a free MMA gym in his hometown of Batié so young people have somewhere to train. He made his Hollywood acting debut with a small role in the 2021 action film F9, part of the Fast and Furious series. Estimated net worth: $25 million.
• 83. Mary Kom (India, Boxing): A mother who kept fighting after having children and won six world boxing titles and an Olympic medal. In 2016 she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament, and her life was the subject of a 2014 Bollywood film. Estimated net worth: $4 million to $5 million.
• 84. Tyson Fury (Great Britain, Boxing): Came back from depression and addiction to win the world heavyweight title again, and speaks openly about mental health. His autobiography Behind the Mask won Autobiography of the Year and Sports Book of the Year at the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards. Estimated net worth: $220 million.
• 85. Jessica Long (United States, Swimming): Born in Siberia and adopted as a baby, she had both legs amputated at 18 months and became one of the most decorated Paralympic swimmers ever. She wrote the memoir Unsinkable: From Russian Orphan to Paralympic Swimming World Champion, which tells the story of her adoption and her path to the pool.
• 86. Tatyana McFadden (United States, Wheelchair racing): Born with spina bifida, she spent her first years in a Russian orphanage without a wheelchair, walking on her hands, and became a Paralympic and marathon champion. After suing for the right to race with her high school track team, she and her family campaigned for a 2008 Maryland law, the first in the nation guaranteeing equal sports opportunities for disabled students.
• 87. Bebe Vio (Italy, Wheelchair fencing): Lost her forearms and lower legs to meningitis at 11 and won Paralympic gold in fencing. Her parents founded the charity art4sport in 2009 with her as its inspiration, paying for sports prostheses so children with amputations can play sports.
• 88. Alex Zanardi (Italy, Handcycling): Lost both legs in a racing crash and won four Paralympic golds in handcycling. He also became a television host, presenting the sports storytelling program Sfide on Italy’s Rai 3 for four seasons starting in 2012.
• 89. Shohei Ohtani (Japan, Baseball): The first player in a century to star as both a top hitter and a top pitcher, with multiple MVP awards. In 2023 he donated about 60,000 youth baseball gloves to every elementary school in Japan, three gloves per school, to encourage children to play. Estimated net worth: $250 million.
• 90. Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico, Baseball): A Hall of Famer who died in a plane crash in 1972 while taking aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1958 to 1964, completing basic training at Parris Island during the baseball offseason.
• 91. Damar Hamlin (United States, American football): Survived cardiac arrest on the field in 2023, returned to play, and turned his small toy drive into a national charity. He campaigned on Capitol Hill for wider access to defibrillators and CPR training, and the HEARTS Act he backed was signed into law in December 2024.
• 92. Sachin Tendulkar (India, Cricket): Debuted at 16 and became the only player to score 100 international centuries. His foundation supports children’s health, education and sport in India. In 2014 he became the youngest person and first sportsperson to receive the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, and he served as a nominated member of Parliament’s Rajya Sabha. Estimated net worth: $170 million.
• 93. Virat Kohli (India, Cricket): Batted for Delhi the morning after his father died, when he was 18, and became one of the greatest batters of his era. Off the field he built the clothing brand Wrogn and the lifestyle label One8, and he is a co-owner of the Indian Super League football club FC Goa. Estimated net worth: $120 million.
• 94. Bethany Hamilton (United States, Surfing): Lost her left arm to a shark at 13 and was back on her board within weeks, going on to compete at the top level. Her 2004 memoir, Soul Surfer, became a bestseller and was turned into a 2011 feature film of the same name starring AnnaSophia Robb. Estimated net worth: $2 million.
• 95. Siya Kolisi (South Africa, Rugby): Grew up in the Zwide township, sometimes without food, and became the Springboks’ first Black captain, winning two World Cups. His Kolisi Foundation fights hunger and gender-based violence in South Africa. He told his life story in the 2021 autobiography Rise, written with novelist Boris Starling, about growing up in poverty and finding his way to the top.
• 96. Ilona Maher (United States, Rugby): Won Olympic bronze in 2024 and became a leading voice for body confidence. She earned a nursing degree from Norwich University in Vermont, and in 2024 she finished second on the television show Dancing with the Stars.
• 97. Neeraj Chopra (India, Javelin): Took up sport as a boy to lose weight and won India’s first Olympic gold in athletics. He joined the Indian Army as a junior commissioned officer in 2016, and in 2025 the army conferred on him the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army.
• 98. Mirabai Chanu (India, Weightlifting): Carried firewood as a child in Manipur and won Olympic silver in Tokyo. After her Olympic medal she joined the Manipur Police as an additional superintendent of police, and India had earlier honored her with the Padma Shri in 2018.
• 99. Mikaela Shiffrin (United States, Skiing): Came back from her father’s sudden death to break the record for the most World Cup wins in skiing. TIME magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023. Estimated net worth: $12 million.
• 100. Lindsey Vonn (United States, Skiing): Returned to World Cup racing at 40 with a partly replaced knee. She wrote the 2022 memoir Rise: My Story, and her Lindsey Vonn Foundation gives scholarships and mentoring programs to help young girls build confidence and reach their goals. Estimated net worth: $16 million.

Honorable Mentions

• Riyad Mahrez (Algeria, Football): Lost his father at 15 and was told he was too thin to make it. He was the star of Leicester City’s 5,000-to-1 Premier League title.
• Stephen Curry (United States, Basketball): Too small and thin for the big colleges, only Davidson offered him a place. He changed how the game is played and won four NBA titles. His Eat. Learn. Play. foundation feeds children and helps them read and stay active. Thirteen years after leaving Davidson College for the NBA, he finished his coursework and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2022.
• Pascal Siakam (Cameroon, Basketball): Went to a Catholic seminary as a boy and picked up the game late. His father died before he could see him play in the NBA; he won the title in 2019. His PS43 Foundation promotes education in Cameroon and helps Cameroonian students study at the University of New Brunswick in Canada through a partnership with the McKenna Institute.
• A’ja Wilson (United States, Basketball): Struggled with dyslexia at school and now speaks openly about it, while winning WNBA titles and MVP awards. In 2024 she published Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You, a book of advice and personal stories written for young Black girls.
• Caitlin Clark (United States, Basketball): Became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball, men or women, and drew record crowds to the women’s game. She started the Caitlin Clark Foundation, which supports education, nutrition, and sports opportunities for young people in Iowa and beyond.
• Brittney Griner (United States, Basketball): Held for nearly 10 months in Russia before her release, she now speaks up for Americans wrongly detained abroad. She described her detention and return in the 2024 memoir Coming Home, written with Michelle Burford and published by Knopf.
• Alex Morgan (United States, Football): A World Cup winner who put her name first on the lawsuit that won equal pay for the US women’s team. She wrote The Kicks, a popular series of middle grade novels about a girls’ soccer team, and co-founded the women’s sports media company TOGETHXR.
• Cindy Ngamba (Refugee Olympic Team, Boxing): Born in Cameroon, she won the Refugee Olympic Team’s first ever medal, a bronze, in Paris in 2024. Alongside her boxing, she earned a degree in crime and criminal justice from the University of Bolton in England in 2023.
• Masomah Ali Zada (Afghanistan, Cycling): Kept cycling in Afghanistan despite abuse and attacks, and rode at the Olympics for the Refugee Olympic Team. She studied civil engineering at the University of Lille in France, became the first refugee athlete on an IOC commission, and served as chef de mission for the Refugee Olympic Team in 2024.
• Jim Abbott (United States, Baseball): Born without a right hand, he pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 1993. After baseball he became a motivational speaker and wrote the 2012 memoir Imperfect: An Improbable Life, with sportswriter Tim Brown.
• Biniam Girmay (Eritrea, Cycling): In 2024 he became the first Black African to win a stage of the Tour de France, and went on to win the points jersey. In 2025 the United Nations Development Programme named him Eritrea’s national goodwill ambassador for climate action and youth empowerment.
• Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa, Athletics): Broke Michael Johnson’s 400-meter world record coached by a great-grandmother in her 70s. He studied marketing at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein while training on its track.
• Megan Rapinoe (United States, Football): Won two World Cups and led her team’s fight for equal pay, which ended with US Soccer agreeing to pay women and men equally. In 2022 President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, for her work on equality and inclusion.
• Tom Brady (United States, American football): Picked 199th in the 2000 draft, far behind players few remember, and went on to win seven Super Bowls. After retiring he became Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst, and in 2024 league owners approved him as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
• Magic Johnson (United States, Basketball): Announced he had HIV in 1991, came back to win Olympic gold with the 1992 Dream Team, and became a leading voice on HIV and a major investor in Black neighborhoods. In January 2025 President Biden awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
• Terry Fox (Canada, Running): Lost his right leg to cancer at 18, then ran 5,373 kilometers across Canada on an artificial leg in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. The Terry Fox Run has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since. In 1980, at age 22, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the youngest person ever to receive that level of the country’s highest civilian honor.
• Derek Redmond (Great Britain, Athletics): Tore his hamstring in the 400 meters semifinal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and hobbled on, with his father coming out of the stands to help him finish. He went on to a business career as a motivational speaker and performance coach, and he wrote the book Sports Is a Business and Business Is a Sport.
• Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya, Athletics): Trained on the hills near Eldoret and set the marathon world record of 2:00:35 in Chicago in 2023. He died in a car crash in 2024, at 24.
• Diego Maradona (Argentina, Football): Grew up in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown outside Buenos Aires, and led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup. In 2005 he hosted his own prime time television talk show, La Noche del 10, on Argentina’s Canal 13, welcoming famous guests from sports, music and politics.
• Zinedine Zidane (France, Football): The son of Algerian immigrants, raised in a tough part of Marseille, he scored twice in the 1998 World Cup final. Since 2001 he has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme, helping to stage the annual Match Against Poverty charity games.
• Tom Daley (Great Britain, Diving): Lost his father to cancer at 17, and after four Olympics finally won gold in 2021. A keen knitter, he launched his own knitting brand, Made with Love, and hosts the knitting competition show Game of Wool on British television.