🏎️ The Insane Business Portfolio of Sir Lewis Hamilton

No introduction today because the Formula 1 season returned this past weekend and it’s time to discuss the GOAT 🐐

Lewis Hamilton is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. What’s crazy is, alongside his impressive resumé as a driver is an even-more impressive business portfolio off the track.

To give you an idea, here are some financial stats on the man:

• 39 years old

• 103 race wins

• 104 Pole positions

• Estimated salary this year: £45,000,000

• Rumoured salary next year: £100,000,000 😮‍💨

• Reported net worth: £300,000,000

Today, we will cover how Lewis has chosen to invest his money so far. And what the potential for Lewis may be in the decades to come.

But first, we start with how he commands such a healthy annual wage.

Lewis has driven in Formula 1 for 14 seasons with the majority of them coming for Mercedes. A timeline on his contracts will give you a strong idea of what he is dealing with on an annual basis:

• In 2015: After 3 World Championship wins he signed a three-year contract extension rumoured to be worth £100m at the time.

• In 2018: He signed another three-year extension taking him to the end of the 2021 season. This contract was rumoured to be worth £40m a season and made him the highest paid F1 driver ever upon signing.

• 2021- Present: The performance of the Mercedes car and the Mercedes team has not been as strong in recene years so he began to sign shorter-term extensions in a similar salary range. These were often 2-year extensions with some clauses allowing him to keep his options open…

More on those clauses later!

Alongside some very impressive salaries are a bevy of sponsors.

F1 drivers have a lot of media commitments they must adhere to by virtue of driving for a team.

For Lewis this has included brands such as Qualcomm, Crowdstrike and UBS.

However, the needle-movers are the companies that align with Lewis himself regardless of the team he drives for.

There have been a few of those brands in his time and the main ones have included:

• IWC Watches

• Monster Energy

• Puma

• Tommy Hilfiger

When researching this video I saw an article which stated that Lewis makes $2.5m per annum from Monster.

It’s a healthy amount of money from an energy drink sponsor and gives you an idea a to how much Lewis can command from a brand for exposure to his platform.

It also aligns with Sportico who pinned his collective earnings in 2023 at $62m. They broke it down like this:

• Salary: $50m

• Endorsements: $12m

They pegged him at 19th highest paid athlete in the world which is incredible considering that he has been at this level for at least 4 years.

That then, gives you an idea as to his annual income. It’s a serious amount of money which in my estimation puts him as one of the highest earning British athletes ever.

His investments make for an even more beautiful picture however and the perfect place to start is his real-estate portfolio.

I did a full-length YouTube video breaking down many the business of Lewis Hamilton and gave more visual insight into the houses he owns globally. If you prefer this in visual form, check that below:

But alas, Lewis owns houses in:

• Luins, Switzerland 🇨🇭

• Fontvieille, Monaco 🇲🇨

• London, United Kingdom 🇬🇧

To name just three. But a famous unit he once owned was in Tribeca, New York 🇺🇸

Picture this. Two story Penthouse suite. Your neighbours include Meg Ryan, Harry Styles, The Weeknd and Justin Timberlake!

Lewis bought the apartment for $44,000,000 in 2019.

He sold it two years later for $49,500,000.

He never lived in the apartment!

It’s a significant uplift in value in a short amount of time and gives you an idea as to the access he has.

Alongside many homes across the world, he has also invested in a series of prominent startups. Three of which come to mind:

• Neat Burger: Series C, 2019

Neat have grown massively in the States and in the UK, helped by the growing demand for meat-free alternatives. Lewis invested in 2019, his first foray in this world.

• NotCo: Series C, 2021

NotCo create plant-based alternatives to animal products Lewis participated in the round valuing the company at $1.5bn at the time. Alongside Lewis in that investment round was Roger Federer.

• Bowery Farming: Series D, 2021

Bowery Farming are one of the most prominent sustainable farming companies in the US. They raised a healthy Series C round of $300 million US dollars, valuing the company then at just under $2.5 billion.

He's clearly aligning his strategic investments with the things that he values the most.

Which finally brings us to his latest venture which in theory could be the most lucrative of them all!

In November of 2023, Lewis launched Almave, his own non-alcoholic spirit. Lewis is a big tequila drinker and has been drinking tequila his entire life. However, drinking tequila and aligning with his plant-based values, it was always difficult for him So, in true Lewis fashion, he launched his own beverage which he named Almave.

It's scheduled to appear on shelves in the UK and in the USA in the coming months and hopes to follow the potential we have come to learn for celebrity-owned alcohol brands:

• Conor McGregor, Proper Twelve: Exit Value £600m

• George Clooney, Casamigos: Exit Value £875m

• Ryan Reynolds, Aviation Gin: Exit Value £475m

It remains to be seen what the market is for a non-alcholic alcohol beverage. But Lewis is on the journey to find out!

So there we have it. An extensive portfolio for Lewis, potentially supplemented by his imminent move to Ferrari which has him rumoured to earn £100m a season for two years starting next year.

GOAT Hamilton doing GOAT things.

See you next week.