F1's Lewis Hamilton is Britain’s richest sports star of all time

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has been named Britain’s wealthiest sports star in the history of the Sunday Times Rich List.

The 2020 Sunday Times Rich List shows Hamilton’s wealth increased by £37 million in the past year to £224m in total, making him the richest British sports star in the Rich List’s 32-year history.

Hamilton has overtaken David Beckman as the richest active sportsman, with the former England footballer worth £200m at the time of his retirement in 2013.

The 35-year-old won his sixth world championship title in 2019 and is on course for a bumper new contract extension at Mercedes, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the year.

Hamilton could equal Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven drivers’ world titles once the 2020 season gets underway following the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused racing to be put on hold temporarily.

Golfer Rory McIlroy is the only other sports star to make the main Rich List rankings which features Britain’s 1,000 richest people.

The four-time Major winner’s fortune was boosted up by £32m to £170m following a successful 2019 including a number of lucrative sponsorship deals.

Sport - and footballers in particular - dominated the Young Rich List with Gareth Bale topping the pile on a combined wealth of £114m. Boxer Anthony Joshua is the only non-footballer on the list which is made up of people aged 30 or under.

Joshua enjoyed the biggest individual increase in wealth over the last 12 months thanks to his world heavyweight title rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr, with his earnings soaring by £58m to £107m.