# Pro-Athletes who came from rich/well off backgrounds **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 29, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469 "2015-07-29T13:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/41 "2015-08-02T21:36:11Z")
Josele Garza, a former Indy Car driver, grew up in a mansion in Mexico City that had a separate room for his pet lion. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/42 "2015-08-02T22:18:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Tom Brady may be the only NFL player to make less than his wife. That is as may be, but Tom’s father is chairman and CEO of an international estate planning corporation, so Tom, Jr. comes from money. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/43 "2015-08-02T22:27:26Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Don’t know many civil engineers, huh? Biographies of Kaka say he comes from a well-off family. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/44 "2015-08-03T00:42:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Biographies of Kaka say he comes from a well-off family. Due to his father’s salary? Not unless Brazil paid.civil engineers a lot more than they do in the US. Or, I guess, if by will of you man middle class. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/45 "2015-08-03T16:24:09Z")
I’m not sure if Joakim Noah, of the Chicago Bulls qualifies. His father got famous (and presumably at least well-off) by being a tennis player, but is now making his bank as a singer (and has to be some fairly serious bank, given that, according to Wikipedia, French authorities wanted 6 million francs for two years of back taxes, during his post-tennis career). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/46 "2015-08-04T12:23:57Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Due to his father’s salary? Not unless Brazil paid.civil engineers a lot more than they do in the US. Or, I guess, if by will of you man middle class. I would not be surprised if they do, I Civil Engineers tends to make some big bucks in rapidly developing countries like Brazil. Say, equivalent to a U.S. Professional class. I’ll accept Yannick Noah’s kid. Was Oliver Bierhoffs father not a CEO of some large multinational? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/47 "2015-08-04T14:34:36Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Not a pro but if you want someone to root for to become one, Snoop-Dog’s son Cordell Broadus signed as a football player with UCLA. I know I’m a bit dyslexic but how’d I mis-read “football” as “basketball”? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/48 "2015-08-06T20:38:39Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > In Formula 1 in the past there were some drivers from wealthy families such as Nikki Lauda (Austrian banking), Peter Revson (Revlon cosmetics) and B Bira (royal family of Thailand, his paternal grandfather was King Mongkut of Anna and the King of Siam/The King and I fame). It is a question on how much family connections helped them at the top level. Ayrton Senna’s dad was a very well-off developer. For a while he owned an [airport](http://www.infraero.gov.br/index.php/br/aeroportos/sao-paulo/aeroporto-campo-de-marte.html). Honestly, not coming from at least a middle class background is practically a bar to making it to Formula 1 now. At the very least, you need a parent who can afford a kart, not to mention the cost of traveling to karting events. After that, you normally need either a family business connection or some other lucky break so you can get sponsorship money. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/49 "2015-08-07T14:51:29Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > I would imagine you are correct about the past, but I would bet the population of most mature sports where there is lucrative compensation will be skew towards those with money and stability growing up. Even in my lifetime, most of tennis’ most prestigious tournaments were reserved for amateurs, meaning only wealthy players could afford to compete in them. Lord knows how many majors a Pancho Gonzalez might have won if he didn’t have to make a living. And before there was big money in endorsements, a lot of Olympic athletes were true amateurs, meaning they mostly came from wealthy backgrounds. I don’t know if Erich Segal was right, but he says that in the early Olympiads, most US Olympic athletes were Princeton men or Harvard men, and thought they were representing their schools rather than representing their country. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/50 "2015-08-07T14:59:59Z")
Russel Wilson may qualify: > [@](#): > > Wilson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio[10] and grew up in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Harrison Benjamin Wilson III, a lawyer, and Tammy T. Wilson, a legal nurse consultant. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/51 "2015-08-07T15:03:03Z")
The following sports stars were the sons of doctors: Linebacker Karl Mecklenburg (the Denver Broncos’ “Albino Rhino”) was the son of a prominent obstetrician in Minnesota. The Detroit Lions’ great defensive tackle Alex Karras Brooklyn Dodger pitcher “Preacher” Roe KC Royals 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas came from a rich family in Cuba, where his father was a doctor ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/52 "2015-08-07T15:04:55Z")
Karras’ father died when he was 12 or 13, and hadn’t begun practicing medicine until after Alex was born, so he probably didn’t grow up with that much money. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/53 "2015-08-07T15:26:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Karras’ father died when he was 12 or 13, and hadn’t begun practicing medicine until after Alex was born, so he probably didn’t grow up with that much money. Didn’t know that. Okay, scratch Alex. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/54 "2015-08-07T15:30:57Z")
The great Yankee pitcher Herb Pennock came from a very wealthy Pennsylvania family, whose Quaker ancestors came to America with William Penn himself. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/55 "2015-08-07T15:37:27Z")
Even though he was leader of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang, who tried to make themselves look like tough guys, Frankie Frisch came from a rich family of linen manufacturers. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/56 "2015-08-07T16:00:19Z")
I think Gianluca Vialli, the 1990’s Italy and Chelsea soccer player grew up as the son of a business magnate. In F1, was Michael Schmacher from a particularly rich background? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/57 "2015-08-07T16:37:20Z")
Knicks’ star and future Senator Bill Bradley came from a rich family- his father was a bank President and a delegate for Dewey at the 1948 Republican Convention. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/58 "2015-08-07T17:41:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > In F1, was Michael Schmacher from a particularly rich background? Nope. His father was a mason (small m) and built Michael’s first two karts himself. Schumacher’s early career was largely financed by a local businessman after that. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/59 "2015-08-07T18:34:57Z")
Thanks. So, in F1, and open wheel motorsports you still need either well off parents or a generous patron. Sports like Tennis and Golf, it’s possible for a poor background person to take up, public tennis courts and golf courses do exist. What about equestrian? Many of those come from well off backgrounds? I know Zara Phillips is literally royalty, being Queen Elizabeth’s grand daughter , and she won an Olympic medal. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469/60 "2015-08-07T18:37:44Z")
Well, competitive horses are even more expensive than karts, and you can build them yourself. But I suppose you could train one if you were already in the business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-athletes-who-came-from-rich-well-off-backgrounds/726469.md?page=4)