Lewis Hamilton tops the rich list of Britain's wealthiest sporting stars with staggering £68m

Jenson Button came second and Wayne Rooney third in The Times' list

Lewis Hamilton tops The Times' rich list (Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton has topped The Times’ 2014 rich list of British sporting stars, being worth a staggering £68million.

Formula One tops the table with Jenson Button’s £63m in second while Wayne Rooney’s worth of £60m puts him third on the list.

Of the top 29 earners, 15 were from the world of football, eight from golf, three from basketball, two from F1 and one from tennis, with all worth in excess of £17m.

Rio Ferdinand (£44m), Steven Gerrard (£37m), Frank Lampard (£37m) and Ryan Giggs (£36m) join Rooney in the top five wealthiest British footballers.

Andy Murray is the sole tennis star in the top 30 and the reigning Wimbledon champion has a worth of £40m.

LA Lakers’ player Steve Nash, who has a Canadian/British nationality, is in fourth with his estimated fortune of £56m while fellow NBA star Luol Deng completes the top ten with his £36m.

Chelsea is a common theme throughout the list with seven current or former players who have benefitted from Roman Abramovich's investment.

Stars from the golfing world also feature heavily on the list. Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie top the richest golfers with Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy not far behind.

Of the wealthiest woman in British sport, golfer Laura Davies is worth the most at £8m with rival Catriona Matthews (£7m) in second.

Jessica Ennis-Hill (£3m), Trish Johnson (£3m) and Victoria Pendleton (£2m) complete the top five in the woman’s table.

Here’s the full run down of Britain’s top sporting earners…

1. Lewis Hamilton - £68m

2. Jenson Button - £63m

3. Wayne Rooney - £60m

4. Steve Nash - 56m

5. Rio Ferdinand - £44m

6. Andy Murray - £40m

7= Steven Gerrard - £37m

7= Frank Lampard - £37m

9= Luol Deng - £36m

9= Ryan Giggs - £36m

9= Padraig Harrington - £36m

12. Colin Montgomerie - £32m

13= John Terry - £31m

13= Fernando Torres - £31m

15= Luke Donald - £30m

15= Lee Westwood - £30m

17. Rory McIlroy - £28m

18. Ben Gordon - £25m

19. Ian Poulter - £24m

20. Yaya Toure - £23m

21. Petr Cech - £22m

22= Ashley Cole - £21m

24= Sergio Aguero - £20m

24= Justin Rose - £20m

24= David Silva - £20m

27= Damien Duff - £18m

27= Robbie Keane - £18m

29= Darren Clarke - £17m

29= Robin van Persie - £17m