Lewis Hamilton named wealthiest UK sport star in Rich List history

Hamilton’s wealth rose by £37m over the past year, thanks to a lucrative ongoing contract with Mercedes, taking him past the £200m mark boasted by David Beckham at the time of his retirement in 2013

Lewis Hamilton is the most affluent active sports star in Rich List history with a £224 million fortune, according to the latest annual figures published by the Sunday Times.

Hamilton's wealth rose by £37m over the past year, thanks to a lucrative ongoing contract with Mercedes, taking him past the £200m mark boasted by David Beckham at the time of his retirement in 2013.

Rory McIlroy is the only other sports star to make the main Rich List rankings, having seen his fortune rise by £32m to £170m on the back of a return to form and a series of sponsorship deals.

Gareth Bale tops sport's Young Rich List, with his fortune rising £20m to £114m despite a less-than-ideal campaign at Real Madrid.

But he is being pushed by Anthony Joshua, who saw the biggest individual increase in wealth over the last 12 months, rising by £58m to £107m after his lucrative world heavyweight title rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua is the only non-football player to make the young list top 20.

He is followed, respectively, by Paul Pogba (£34m), Kevin De Bruyne (£34m) and David De Gea (£28m).