Ion Tiriac's Net Worth (Updated 2024)

What is Ion Tiriac’s net worth?

Net Worth:	$1.2 Billion
Age:	83
Born:	May 9, 1939
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Country of Origin:	Romania
Source of Wealth:	Professional Tennis Player
Last Updated:	March 8, 2023

Introduction

Ion Tiriac is a former star tennis player who retired from international tennis to pursue a business career managing professional tennis players.

He was not only a top professional tennis player, but also a professional ice hockey player who represented Romania in the 1964 Winter Olympics.

He retired from competitive sports in 1979 and is currently president of the Romanian Tennis Federation.

As of May 2024, Ion Tiriac’s net worth is estimated to be $1.2 Billion.

Ion Tiriac Facts

Ion Tiriac was the first male tennis player to play against a woman, Abigail Maynard, in an officially sanctioned match.
Ion is a collector of cars and motorcycles, with over 400 models in his collection.
After retirement, Ion coached top tennis players such as Guillermo Vilas, Ilie Năstase, and Boris Becker.
During Ion’s tennis years, he was nicknamed Count Dracula, because of his birthplace, Transylvania, Romania.
It has been revealed by Cinemagia that Ion dubbed a character in a Romanian version of Dinosaur.
The Mutua Madrid Open ATP tennis tournament is owned by Ion Tiriac.
Ions was initially a child table tennis champion who then became a member of the Romanian ice hockey team.

Early Life

Ion Tiriac was born May 9, 1939, in Transylvania, Romania. When he was 10, Ion’s father died, leaving his mother to raise him alone.

At the age of 15, Ion started working at a truck factory but discovered that he loved sports and cut his hours down to make room for practice. He is a graduate of the Institute of Sport, in Bucharest and received the Emeritus Sports Master distinction on graduating in 1964.

The same year that he graduated, Ion was chosen for the Romanian National ice hockey team, an opportunity which took him to the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.

Realizing that he needed a change, Ion changed over to his first love, tennis, shortly after competing in the Winter Olympics. Ion had previously played tennis at school and it would go on to become his main focus for the duration of his professional career.

Career

Alongside his partner, Ilie Nastase, Ion won the men’s doubles at the 1970 French Open and also reached the Davis Cup finals multiple times during the 1970s.

Ion was the first male tennis player to go up against a woman, Abigail Maynard, whom he defeated at the County International Tennis Championships.

In 1979, Ion retired after winning the Romanian tennis championships nine times, but his retirement did not end his connection with tennis. He decided to coach top tennis players and managed Stefi Graf as well as Boris Becker’s career from 1984 up until 1993.

Ion helped pave the way for players like Rafel Nadal, Roger Federer, and Venus Williams to earn the massive amounts of money that they do from tennis.

In 1998, Ion became the president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. Ion’s goal was to become a tennis promoter throughout Europe and the USA, which he did very successfully, managing tournaments worldwide. Some of the more popular events included the Eurocard Open, Italian Open, Austrian Open, and Open Romania.

Tennis was set to become a more popular sport, especially with the advent of televised sports and advertising in the 1980s. He wasted no time in buying licenses for multiple professional tournaments, a move that paid off handsomely. With his earnings from his tennis career not being as high as he had hoped, he decided to auction off the licenses to municipalities in different cities.

As his portfolio increased, he began construction of the complex called Casa Magica, which was to become one of the most important tournaments in the world.

With his talent for spotting profitable opportunities, hard work, and determination, he has created a net worth of over a billion dollars. You won’t find much in his official Instagram account as he’s old school, and not often found online.

Ion Tiriac’s Career Earnings

Ion is an entrepreneur who can spot a chance a mile away. With his background in professional sports, he has managed to earn massive fees from managing the top pros in tennis.

Here’s an estimated overview of Ion Tiriac’s income:

Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2015 – $50 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2016 – $55 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2017 – $57 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2018 – $57.5 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2019 – $59 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2020 – $58 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2021 – $60 million
Ion Tiriac’s Salary in 2022 – $60 million

Ion shows no signs of slowing down despite his age. It is expected that he will continue to pull in huge fees from tournaments and management contracts for many more years.

Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth Annually

Right from the start of his career, Ion Tiriac had his eyes on becoming incredibly wealthy. Based on his reported earnings, Ion has more than reached his early goals to become super-wealthy.

Here’s a breakdown of Ion Tiriac’s annual net worth:

Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2017 – $0.8 billion
Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2018 – $0.9 billion
Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2019 – $1 billion
Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2020 – $1.1 billion
Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2021 – $1.2 billion
Ion Tiriac’s Net Worth In 2022 – $1.2 billion

With his business dealings in management and property investment, Tiriac’s empire continues to grow. His enormous wealth will continue to increase as he finds new and innovative ways to extract value from professional sports.

Personal Life

Ion was married to handball player, Erika Braedt, in 1963, but unfortunately, the couple got divorced after only two years had passed.

He had a son named Ion Tiriac Jr. with fashion model, Mikette von Issenberg, as well as two more children, Karim Mihai and Iona Natalia, with an Egyptian journalist, Sophie Ayad.

Tiriac loves Africa and bought the Wabi Game Lodge in Namibia a few hundred miles to the north of the capital Windhoek. He is reported to have said that he’d retire there if he wasn’t such a workaholic with a tight schedule.

Awards & Achievements

Having spent a long time at the top of international sport, it is little wonder that Tirac has collected such a vast array of tournament wins and awards.

In his home country of Hungary, Tiriac is seen as a hero for what he has done for their image on the world stage.

Here are some memorable moments from Ion Tiriac’s career:

In 2019, Ion was awarded the Order of Merit of Hungary, one of the highest awards the state can give a civilian.
Ion has been awarded the title of Professor of Physical Education and Sports.
Between the years 1957 and 1972, Ion won 40 titles and was awarded the title “Master Emeritus in Sports”.
In 2022, he was ranked as the 3rd richest person in Romania.
Ion was ranked #77 in the 100 Greatest Romanians in 2006.

While Ion is no longer quite as much in the limelight, it is expected that he will continue to receive awards and accolades for his contribution to the modern sports scene.

How Does Ion Tiriac Spend His Money?

It is well known that Ion has a passion for collecting cars and motorcycles. He has over 400 different models and owns a museum with over 200 rare luxury cars that are a part of his collection.

With his love for driving the most expensive cars in the world, Ion is regularly behind the wheel of whichever car takes him to meetings or appointments.

His other investments are mainly in real estate. He has 7 houses throughout Europe, with one of them being in his hometown in Romania.

Another of Ion’s passions is boar hunting. When they are caught, they are then donated to orphanages. He also spends a considerable amount of time at his game lodge in Namibia.

Highlights

Ion Tiriac is a multi-sport Olympian with a passion for tennis and for ice hockey, which took him to both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

He took his knowledge of the international sports scene and used it to manage some of the richest tennis players in the world, such as Goran Ivanišević.

Here are some of the best highlights of Ion Tiriac’s career:

Ion represented Romania in ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics.
Ion not only participated in the Olympics for hockey but also played tennis at the Summer Olympics in 1972.
He formed a formidable doubles team and captured a Grand Slam doubles title along with a runners-up finish.
Ion became the president of the Romanian National Olympic Committee in 1998.
He was a part of Romania’s Davis Cup team and went on to compete for them for 15 years.
In 1990, he founded the Ion Tiriac Bank, which later merged with HBV.
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the 13th of July 2013.
He was Boris Becker’s manager, a player who went on to become one of the greatest tennis stars in the world.

While he may not be quite as active on the tennis court these days, Ion Tiriac still has his fingers on the pulse of the sport.

Favorite Ion Tiriac Quotes

After having seen and done it all as far as professional sport is concerned, Ion Tiriac turned to management with the same aggression and tenacity that made him such a formidable opponent on the court.

He’s coached some of the world’s best athletes to tournament wins by applying the same aggression and tenacity that made him such a formidable opponent as a player.

Here are our favorite quotes from Ion Tiriac:

“I eat leftover caviar by hand, with baked potato, like peasants. ” – Ion Tiriac
“I am not Shakespeare or Hemingway, but I have written stories on tennis that were brilliant.” – Ion Tiriac
“Me writing about tennis is like a baker baking bread. ” – Ion Tiriac
“I have every single Ferrari that came out. I have all the Mercedes they came out with, all the Jaguars they came out with, all the Porches they came out with. ” – Ion Tiriac
“I don’t need to impress children. ” – Ion Tiriac

3 Amazing Lessons From Ion Tiriac

Ion Tiriac is a phenomenal sportsman and businessman. He has managed to steer his business through skill and intuition, never wavering in his prime focus on being the best at whatever he puts his mind to.

Now that you know all about Ion Tiriac’s net worth, here are some of the best success lessons to learn from Ion Tiriac:

1. Hard Work and Determination Are The Keys To Success

If you work hard and are determined to get what you want, you will get it. There are no shortcuts in life. If you desire something strongly enough, then you need to put in the work to get it.

2. Know What You’re Good At

If you can’t do it, teach. Once you realize that you will never get any further than where you are, try another route to reach your goal.

3. Honesty And Integrity Is Everything

To be a success in business and life, don’t let others down, rather stay true to yourself.

Summary

Ion Tiriac became the richest former sports player in the world. He now lives a luxurious lifestyle, investing in all of his passions and sharing them with the world.

Even after his retirement, he continued to help his former players become the very best they could be.

Through his unique character and many sporting and business achievements, Ion Tiriac has secured a position of wealth and celebrity that he could only have dreamed of as a young tennis player.