After India’s PV Sindhu won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she landed numerous sponsorships including Bridgestone, Panasonic and Gatorade. Sindhu climbed on the list of 2018 Forbes list of highest-paid female athletes landing in at 7th with an income of 8.5 million USD.
But she is not the richest female badminton player, nor is she the richest player. The richest player in badminton seems to be quite unknown.
Princess Sirivannavari is the only daughter of the current Thai King Vajiralongkorn and is the richest badminton player ever. Her net worth is a staggering 44.8 billion USD, according to Express.
Princess Sirivannavari, at the age of 18, was part of the team that won gold at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. Her grandfather and the then king His Highness King Bhumibol awarded her the status of Princess the same year.
In 2007, she participated in the Southeast Asian Games.
In 2016, Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters debuted as a BWF Grand Prix Gold Tournament. It is currently staged as a BWF Super 300 tournament with a cash prize of 150,000 USD.
The princess told Tatler magazine that she puts all her efforts into achieving her goals. Her royal status is just an aspect of her personality; she is a woman of many talents. She is a former badminton player, an equestrian, a poet and a fashion designer.
The princess has a love for horses. She was part of the Thailand team that won the silver at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in equestrian.
In one of her poems, she wrote about a horse that unites lovers. And one of her latest fashion line named “Horse, Helen and Henri” debuted in 2018.
The Thai princess is certainly the richest badminton player ever, with no other player coming close to her net worth. The next richest player is China’s Lin Dan with an estimate net worth of 41 million USD, as per Net Worth Leaks.