Ilie Năstase Highest-Paid Tennis player in the World

By Carol Kearney
Bucharest
Last updated on May 28, 2025

Ilie Năstase led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid tennis players” released on Tuesday.

Hot news

Pets May 22, 2025
Ilie Năstase’s Dog Recovering from Surgery
Babies May 26, 2025
Ilie Năstase to Be a Dad?
Rumor Central May 2025
Is Ilie Năstase secretly gay and hiding in the closet?

It's been a rough year for the tennis player, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 78-year-old Ilie Năstase has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid tennis players for 2025 with an estimated $58 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 28/05/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Ilie Năstase tops annual list of highest-paid tennis players

In 2022 it looked like the tennis player’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Tuesday (May 27) that Năstase is the highest-paid tennis player in the world, pulling in an astonishing $58 million between April 2024 and April 2025, a nearly $30 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The Romanian tennis player has an estimated net worth of $185 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Năstase Burger” chain) in Bucharest, a Football Team (the “Bucharest Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wondernăstase - Romania), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Ilie) and a fashion line called “Ilie Năstase Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Ilie fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.