In 2016, Forbes magazine did an article on the richest athletes. It estimated that the richest athlete was Michael Jordan with accumulated earnings of $1.7 billion. Tiger Woods was second with $1.67 and Arnold Palmer was third with $1.35. However, a University of Pennsylvania historian named Peter Struck argued that the actual richest athlete was Gaius Appuleius Diocles. Gaius was a Roman chariot racer who earned a total of 32,863,120 sesterces, which would be the equivalent of $15 billion dollars. Chariot racing was the most popular sport in Ancient Rome. More popular than gladiators. Most days had chariot races in the Circus Maximus stadium that held 200,000 spectators. The racers were usually slaves (who soon bought their freedom if they won races) or the very poor. There were four teams of chariots: Blue, Red, White, and Green. Each had its fanatical supporters. There was a lot of gambling on the races. Successful drivers were idolized. Usually the chariots were pulled by four horses, but sometimes it was 2, 3, 6, or 7. The most prestigious were the six and seven horse chariots which were usually the ones that Gaius drove. We know that he started at age 18 and an inscription commemorating his retirement mentions that he was 42 when he retired as the “champion of all charioteers.” He must have been both good and lucky to survive 28 years in the very dangerous sport. He won 1,462 of his 4,257 races. (Pompeius Musclosus held the record with 3,559 wins).
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