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Meet the Kids of Billionaires Who Have Competed in the Olympics

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Aug 17, 2024 / 3991 Views

Athletes from all across the globe participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which concluded on August 11. This year’s tournament was a star-studded affair — from Lady Gaga and Celine Dion dazzling the opening ceremony to Tom Cruise’s thrilling closing ceremony act. The Paris Games have also witnessed the attendance of billionaires like Bill Gates who cheered for his athlete son-in-law, Nayel Nassar, at the tournament. Besides Nassar, here is a look at other billionaire kids comPeting in the Olympics.

With LVMH sponsoring the event, one of the world’s richest families — Bernard Arnault and family — are at the heart of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Notably, this marks the first time that a luxury brand has served as an Olympic sponsor.

The Olympics laser show was amazing! pic.twitter.com/CpN1GMMVnU

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 26, 2024

The tournament also witnessed the attendance of several other billionaires including Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani, along with tech titan Elon Musk for the opening ceremony. While a long list of VIPs turned up as spectators, some high-net-worth individuals also had their family members participating in the sporting event. Here’s taking a look at billionaires’ kids competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as those who made the cut in the past.

A look at billionaires’ kids competing in the Olympics

Emma Navarro

billionaire kids competing in the olympics — Emma Navarro is the daughter of billionaire businessman Ben Navarro. (Image: Emma Navarro/Instagram)

The 23-year-old American Tennis player delivered a smashing performance at this year’s Wimbledon, beating Naomi Osaka to reach the quarterfinals. Despite eventually being beaten by Jasmine Paolini, EMMA Navarro had an impressive tournament performance and hence all eyes were on her as she entered the 2024 Paris Olympics with a ranking of No. 15.

In a tense game, Navarro got knocked out of the women’s singles in the third round and was beaten by China’s Qinwen Zheng in three sets. The game also hit the headlines after a post-match confrontation took place between Navarro and Zheng.

What many don’t know about Navarro is that she is the daughter of billionaire Ben Navarro, who is the founder of the Sherman Financial Group and a former Citigroup exec. According to Forbes, the Sherman Group is the company behind Credit One, which has distributed over 18 million credit cards.

As of 2024, businessman Ben Navarro has a net worth of USD 1.5 billion. The Charleston, South Carolina-based billionaire has been a pillar of support to his athlete daughter and the Navarro family has been spotted at various tournaments to cheer for Emma. Ben Navarro also combined his love for tennis and business by buying the Western & Southern Open, a major tennis tournament in 2022 at a whopping price of USD 300 million.

Jessica Pegula

Team USA’s Olympic tennis team included not just one, but two American heiresses — Emma Navarro and Jessica Pegula. The latter is the daughter of billionaires Terry and Kim Pegula, who are the owners of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. According to Forbes, billionaire Terry Pegula built his fortune through the oil and gas industry and later turned it into a sports empire. As of 2024, his net worth is USD 6.8 billion.

Besides being a billionaire heiress, Jessica is also among the highest-paid female athletes in 2024. With a net worth of USD 12.5 million, the American tennis star earns from her exploits on the tennis court and has signed some major sponsorship deals. She also founded her skincare line called Ready 24. At the 2024 Olympics, Pegula faced premature exits in both the women’s singles and doubles tournaments.

Karl Cook

Karl Cook bagged the silver medal in the equestrian team jumping competition alongside his Team USA members McLain Ward and Laura Kraut on Friday, August 2 at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The athlete attended the Paris Games as an alternate member of the team and got a chance to compete with his horse Caracole De La Roque after an issue with a teammate’s horse.

Cook is the former husband of The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco. The duo was married between 2018 and 2022 before splitting up.

Most notably, he is also the son of billionaire Scott Cook who is the co-founder of financial software giant Intuit, known for products like QuickBooks, TurboTax and Mint. Karl’s father was also an initial investor in Snapchat and has a net worth of USD 6.2 billion.

Nayel Nassar

Nayel Nassar, a member of Team Egypt’s equestrian team, is the son-in-law of Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates. Nassar tied the knot with Gates’ daughter Jennifer in October 2021. At the ongoing Paris Games, Nassar was forced to end his Olympics journey after his horse Coronado sustained a minor injury.

In a lengthy Instagram post, the equestrian announced his withdrawal from the 2024 Olympic Games. Previously, he had helped Egypt earn its spot in the Tokyo Olympics, marking the first time in 61 years that the country’s equestrian team qualified for the Olympic Games.

While the equestrian himself is a multi-millionaire with a net worth of USD 100 million, it pales in comparison to the whopping USD 129 billion fortune of his father-in-law Bill Gates.

Anna Kasprzak

The Danish dressage rider has taken part in two editions of the Summer Olympics in 2012 and 2016, and is one of the richest Olympic athletes. Besides her contribution to equestrian Sports, she is also known to be the heiress of a family Business that has significantly added to her net worth.

According to Forbes, Kasprzak has a net worth of USD 1.3 billion. She is the granddaughter of late businessman Karl Toosbuy who founded the shoe brand Ecco, and much of her fortune comes from this family business which is currently being run by her mother. In addition, Kasprzak also operates a private dressage barn in Denmark.

As for her participation at the Paris Olympics, Kasprzak was among the riders long-listed by the Danish Equestrian Federation in the running for the team but was not selected for the 2024 games.

Jessica Springsteen

Legendary singer Bruce Springsteen’s daughter Jessica has carved a name for herself in the world of sport. The equestrian star shone at the Tokyo Olympics, earning a silver medal with Team USA in the jumping event. Despite making it to the Team USA Jumping Team Olympic short list as one of the finalists to make it to the roster, Springsteen failed to make the final cut for the 2024 tournament. While the 32-year-old athlete missed being a part of the Paris Games, she remains one of the most famous personalities to compete in the tournament on the list of billionaires’ children who have competed in the Olympics.

Thanks to his commendable musical legacy, Bruce Springsteen has a net worth of over USD 1.1 billion and that makes his equestrian daughter set to be an heiress to his massive fortune alongside siblings Evan James Springsteen and Sam Ryan Springsteen.

Honorary mention: The self-made billionaire competing at Paris Olympics

Lebron James — LeBron James is the first self-made billionaire to compete in the Olympics. (Image: Team USA/Instagram)

Beyond all the billionaires’ kids who are competing in the Olympics this year as well as in the past, one athlete to make the headlines for his net worth at the 2024 Paris Games is LeBron James. The NBA player — who became one of the first active players of the game to become a billionaire in 2022 — wasn’t born into privilege, but is recognised as the first self-made billionaire to compete in Olympics history. As per Forbes, James’ net worth is an eye-watering USD 1.2 billion. Much of this fortune is built atop his massive salary from the LA Lakers as well as endorsement deals and investments.

The basketball legend is one of the most famous athletes in the world and has been at the forefront of Team USA’s campaign at this year’s Olympics including taking on the role of the flagbearer at the opening ceremony.

(Main and featured image: Emma Navarro/Instagram; Karl Cook/Instagram)