Athletes train for their entire lives to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympics. But in some countries, the reward for taking home a medal is more than just eternal bragging rights – it could also mean a six-figure bonus, a new apartment or a lifelong pension.
The steepest medal bonuses come from two countries: Hong Kong and Israel. Gold medalists from Hong Kong are rewarded with bonuses of up to $768,000 – but even athletes who fail to place in the top three can have a lucrative Olympics. Fourth place finishers get $100,000 and fifth through eighth place get $50,000.
Individual Israeli athletes receive $275,000 for gold, $192,000 for silver and $137,000 for bronze. Athletes in partner and team sports also receive similar tax-free cash prizes that are divided among their groups, according to a Forbes report.
Italian athletes, on the other hand, receive massive payouts regardless of their events. The prize for being on a gold-winning team or earning a solo gold is the same –$196,000. Silver and bronze winners are rewarded $98,000 and $65,000 respectively.
Other countries compensate their competitors with more than just a single cash prize. In Poland, for example, gold medalists receive an $82,000 bonus while every athlete who reaches the podium gets a slew of other rewards. Medalists may receive investment grade diamonds, vacation vouchers, a painting by a Polish artist and apartments in Warsaw, according to Forbes.
Serbia, Malaysia and Bulgaria are among the countries which make lifelong payments towards their athletes – with every Malaysian Olympian earning between $400 and $1,100 a month. Other countries, including Kosovo, Chile and Estonia give monthly payouts to their winning athletes but for a shorter span of time. Lithuanian medalists can receive up to $182,000, in addition to having their rent paid after they retire, Forbes reported.
American Olympians take home comparatively paltry sums: gold medalists earn a $37,500 bonus. Some American athletes, like Stephen Curry and LeBron James, dominate the list of highest paid Olympians for their performance in regular season sports – others, however, invest more money than they earn in their athletic careers.
Many athletes on the American women’s water polo team, for example, were working multiple jobs to support themselves until captain Maggie Steffens publicly asked for financial support prior to the Olympics. Rapper Flavor Flav eventually stepped in to finance the American men’s and women’s teams and signed a five-year deal to “elevate the visibility and excitement surrounding water polo in the United States.”
Even superstars, such as gymnast Simone Biles, make far less than their Olympic peers in more mainstream sports. Biles earned $7.1 million in 2023, primarily through endorsement deals. This makes her the 16th highest-paid female athlete in the world but it doesn’t even approach the earnings of the richest athletes in Paris.