Pele Net Worth: Football Career & Lifestyle

The legendary Brazilian footballer, whose name still echoes around the world as the best soccer player of all time, aka Pele net worth is $115 Million!

A national hero, who even till this date holds several records unchallenged, is undoubtedly a “one in a billion” player to have ever stepped on the field.

In Frame: Pele

It’s no wonder that such a great individual is worth millions of dollars. His prowess, skill, and vigor as a player remain unmatched, and the sum is a mere outcome of his extraordinary talent.

The guy is so well-known that almost anybody on the planet can identify him as soon as the name or the sport comes to mind.

To have graced the field in such an era, the man with all his hard work and dedication is truly worthy of the title, “Highest-Paid Athlete of All Time.”

Quick Facts

Before we get to the specifics, here are a few well-known facts about the legendary footballer:

Pele: Net Worth and Income

The Greatest Soccer Player in the World, otherwise known as Pele, has an outstanding net worth of $115 Million!

Hailing from one of the remotest places in the world and having reached this standard with sheer dedication and continuous struggle, the man’s net worth is the last thing that resembles him.

In his 37-year long career, Pele managed to set numerous records and amass a sum of $15 million through his endeavors from Santos FC and New York Cosmos.

The salary he received from Santos FC is not revealed even to this date. What we do know is that by the end of New York Cosmos’s contract, Pele had bagged a decent sum of $6 million.

Most of his records and earnings came while he was in Santos FC. He was even declared a national treasure by the Brazillian president during this time.

He only joined New York Cosmos towards the end of his career and played for about 3 full seasons. The rest of his earnings came through endorsement deals, $14 million to be precise.

Even though he is retired, he still earns as high as $30 Million annually through his endorsement deals. He flies around the world, representing tons of international companies.

Net Worth of Pele in Different Currencies

Let’s have a look into Pele’s net worth in different currencies. 

Pele: Houses & Cars

Houses

How does multimillionaire live like? He leads a luxurious lifestyle, traveling to different places and enjoying life to the fullest. Currently, he’s chilling out on his own turf of Brazil.

Pele owned a huge mansion in East Hampton that was purchased back in 1979 for a sum of $156,000. It’d been empty for a long time since Pele was back in his hometown, for good.

Pele’s East Hampton Retreat [Source: mansionglobal.com]The beach-side house occupied an area of 3,400 square feet and came with a pool, outdoor shower, spacious living room and kitchen, and a large deck for entertainment.

Even though it was pretty lavish, it was still of no use to the legendary footballer. So, he put it up for sale back in 2018 and got a huge rebound of $2.85 million!

Cars

Do you know what’s more impressive than the East Hampton retreat? I’d probably say his car collection. The 4 wheelers that he’s had in his garage are quite enough to make a collector jealous.

Pele received his very first car at the age of 18 years old. It was a Volkswagen Beetle that he got as a prize while in his first year of Santos FC.

Following that, in 1960, he received a BMW and the classic Aeron Willys 2600, which were considered to be among the best cars of that era.

Further down the line, Mercedes gifted him the Mercedes-Benz 250 W114 and then a 280-S! During his golden years, he drove some of the finest vehicles available.

However, with age, that slowly fades away. He can’t drive the way he used to and now just takes the wheels out for shorter rides.

At the moment, he’s downgraded to the modest Fiat 500 for his daily commutes. Besides that, he’s also been behind the wheels of a Maserati and a Jeep.

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Pele: Lifestyle & Vacations

Lifestyle

What about his lifestyle, how does he lead his retired life now? Well, to be honest, he’s still leading a pretty decent lifestyle. However, with age, his body is slowly starting to give up on him.

In February 2020, his son announced that Pele was suffering from depression and hardly leaves the comfort of his house.

Despite all that, he still watches certain matches and rejoices in football every now and then. And let’s not forget his continuous humanitarian efforts. He does whatever he can to still promote and donate to different organizations.

He posts a couple of videos every now and then to let the world know he’s fine, but it’s still quite rare to actually see him outside.

Vacations

At the moment, Pele is quite restricted from taking vacations since he has to rely on a walking stick even to walk for a shorter distance.

Back in his days through his profession, he did travel to several countries. Most parts of the 3 decades were spent traveling from one part of the world to the other.

His popularity was so immense that even when he used to go out for a cup of coffee, the place would turn chaotic in an instant!

These days he just prefers to sit around, spend time with his children and grandchildren, and to connect with the world through his “wireless bug” or cellphone.

Charity

Coming from a struggling background himself, he well understands the need for basic things. Through this understanding, he has always strived to help those people in need.

Besides being a footballer, he’s also a humanitarian, a Brazilian ambassador for sports, a FIFA ambassador against racism, and a UNESCO Goodwill ambassador.

He has worked for several children’s causes through UNICEF.

For his relentless humanitarian work, UNESCO even awarded Pele with the “Children in Need” award in 2012.

Furthermore, he has his own global charitable foundation, Pele Foundation that he founded in 2018 in an effort to empower children, specifically around poverty and education.

The Pele Foundation

It’s not just that, he has supported tons of other organizations, including 46664, ABC Trust, FC Harlem, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Prince’s Rainforest Projects, and The Littlest Lamb.

Even when he is incapacitated, he’s never stopped helping others. Recently, he even brought together other sporting stars for a charity auction.

A total of 229 items were up for auction organized specifically by Pele for his organization. Pele’s 10 numbered Jersey, David Beckham’s AC Milan shirt, Christiano Ronaldo’s items are some of the highlights of the event.

This isn’t the only auction that he has held. Previously in 2016, he auctioned more than 1600 items and raised a massive sum of $4.90 Million!

I could go on and on about this section, and it still wouldn’t describe all the work that Pele has done in service of mankind. He truly is a king in every respect.

Pele: Book Publications, Movies & TV Shows, and Endorsements

Book Publications

After his resignation from UNICEF, Pele had a lot of time in retirement to think about a lot of things. He revisited his entire life and captured the essence of it all in a couple of Autobiographies.

The books were highly appreciated by people from his native countries, and they went on to become a best-seller in several different countries as well.

Movies & TV Shows

It wasn’t just books that Pele dwelled in. He starred in a number of documentary movies and composed musical pieces too.

In 1969, he starred in a television show titled “Os Estranhos,” which had something to do with the Apollo missions and aliens. Of course, this wasn’t the only show he showed face in.

Other titles include, O Barão Otelo no Barato dos Bilhões, A Marcha, Escape to Victory, A Minor Miracle, Pedro Mico, Hotshot, Os Trapalhões e o Rei do Futebol, Solidão, Uma Linda História de Amor.

Similarly, he had a cameo role in a movie about himself, titled “Pele: Birth of a Legend.”

Endorsements

Endorsements have always been a steady source of income for the Brazilian footballer. In fact, a huge percentage of his accumulated net worth is thanks to his numerous endorsement deals.

Through his deals with companies like Puma, Hublot, Volkswagen, Subway, Emirates, Santander, he has managed to collect a revenue of $14 million to date!

On top of that, he was appointed the Goodwill Ambassador by UNESCO in 1994. Following that, he was also bestowed with the title of Extraordinary Minister of Sports by the then-Brazilian President.

Through this post, he enforced the Pele law to uproot corruption in football. After a while, he was accused of money laundering, and he resigned.

Soon after, the legend founded a television company that broadcasted football matches and international contests. The whereabouts of the company are unknown today.

He even had a construction company back in the days, however, it could not survive that well and eventually collapsed. And, he also had a Cafe named “Café Pelé,” but that do did not last for long.

Pele was also named the brand ambassador for a number of companies when the 2014 world cup and 2016 Olympics were held.

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4 Facts About Pele

• The Brazilian Government declared Pele a national treasure in 1961!
• To date, he’s the only player known to have won 3 world cups.
• Santos celebrates November 19 as Pele’s Day.
• He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Nelson Mandela!

FAQ’s

How many World Cups did Pele win?

In total, Pele has won 3 World Cups. With wins in 1958, 1962, and 1970, he still holds the record as a player for most World Cup medals.

Categories: Net Worth
Source: ASIA EDU