When Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam, it was the highest ever by any male tennis player. That amount of success also brought enormous wealth to the American tennis star who had a raging rivalry with Andre Agassi. After his first-ever win against Andre Agassi at the 1990 US Open Final, Pete Sampras won $350,000 as prize money.
A 19-year-old Sampras beat Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, and took home the big amount, but he spent it carefully. This went a long way in building his net worth of an estimated $150 million. Unlike most athletes, including tennis players, Pete Sampras was cautious not to splurge the $350,000 he received as a winning prize. It was his first-ever Grand Slam win, and there was no harm in spending it all if he wanted. But that’s not what Sampras did.
“After beating Lendl, the next day I went shopping at Gresham Bros., a nice store in New York. I bought a suit because that’s something I’ll need in the future,” said Sampras, as reported by Los Angeles Times.
Pete Sampras beat Czech legend, Ivan Lendl 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, in the quarter-final. It was a big win for a young Sampras and a cause for celebration. However, he only bought a suit since he needed it; not for pleasure.
He continued, “Right now, I’m really not home that much. If I do get, say, a Porsche, my brother (Gus) would be driving it all the time. I’d come home and there would be 20,000 miles on it because he’s been going to Las Vegas and back.”
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Almost for hilarious reasons, Sampras attributes it to his sibling rivalry with Gus Sampras. Gus might be the biggest sports car nut among the two. This value of money and the nature of not being a spendthrift is a rarity among young athletes.
On most occasions, it is owing to their upbringing and the values instilled in them by their parents. Pete Sampras’ parents Sam Sampras and Georgia Sampras are very private but have been their son’s biggest supporters.
Pete Sampras’s overall wealth is a justification for his money habits
Although $350,000 is a low enough amount as compared to $150 million, it speaks volumes about how one manages that amount which leads to a greater wealth. Throughout his career, Sampras has earned $43,280,489 in prize money earnings from his tennis career. Besides that, he has secured endorsement deals from Wilson, Pizza Hut, Dannon, Nike, and Sergio Tacchini. All of those including, it account for nearly $100 million of his total wealth.
In other earnings, Sampras and his wife bought a massive, plush property in Beverly Hills California. It cost them $8.9 million in 2001. In 2007, when they sold them, the price was as high as $17 million. Several other real estate businesses kept adding enormous sums to their wealth.
