Forbes has just released the list of top-earning celebrities under 25. The top four slots of the 20 Under 25 list went to athletes. Basketball superstar LeBron James landed at #1 ($27 million), followed by NFL rookie Reggie Bush ($24 million), Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova ($23 million) and golf prodigy Michelle Wie (19 million). The rest of the list was dominated by actors and entertainers.

According to Forbes, the 20 Under 25 list of the Top-Earning Young Superstars examined earnings from June 2006 to June 2007. They included salaries, winnings, endorsement deals and royalties.

Sharapova, Serena Among “Most Searched” on Yahoo!

According to Yahoo!, Sharapova is not only rich but also “most searched.” Yahoo! has announced the Top Trends in Search of 2007 based on the billions of searches conducted by millions of Yahoo! searchers around the world. Top sport-related searches show that Maria Sharapova was very hot this year, and Serena Williams’ win at the Australian open, after a series of injuries, also made her a favorite of Yahoo! searchers. Maria took the second spot (after NASCAR:-), and Serena was the fifth. GO GIRLS!

Visit Maria Sharapova’s section on the site to see all the other TOP lists that Masha made. Has anyone seen Sharapova’s Pepsi commercial in the U.S. or Europe? Is it for Japan-only?

Third year in a row, Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova tops the list of Russia’s Richest Athletes by making $25 million in a year. The second athlete on the list Andrei Kirilenko (basketball player of Utah Jazz) earns $11 million less than Masha. The other Russian tennis players who made the list are Svetlana Kuznetsova (No 29, $2.3 mln), Nikolay Davydenko (No. 32, $2.1 mln), and Anna Chakvetadze (No 50, $1.4 mln).

The list was released by the Russian Finans magazine. The income numbers included the prize money and the money received from endorsements. Bonuses and prizes were not calculated.

Recently Sharapova also made the list of 25 richest athletes of the world and was ranked at 73rd on Business Week’s list of Power 100 most influential people in the world of sports.

(Source: Championat.ru)

New York Times has a story about Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero’s recently inaugurated new luxury hotel near Valencia, Spain. Four years ago Ferrero bought a 19th-century house and 120,000 square feet of land and spent seven million euros to renovate it. The Hotel Ferrero has 12 suites, a swimming pool, a spa, two restaurants and, tennis courts. Rates start at 250 euros a night.

Ferrero is not the first tennis player who enjoys “playing” real estate. Andre Agassi and his wife, Steffi Graf — another tennis superstar— have hotels being built in Costa Rica and in Idaho.

For more photos visit hotelferrero.com. (The site is built in Flash which I find very irritating, but the pictures are beautiful.)

While most of the women tennis players are enjoying their so much wanted rest before the start of the new tennis season, Maria Sharapova keeps her off-court schedule busy while garnering her global fan base. Sharapova was invited to officially launch ETA Star Group’s Dh2.4 billion lifestyle project the Dubai Lifestyle City in Dubailand.

“When I retire this will be the place to come and enjoy with my family. Dubai is such an incredible place. I have launched such an ambitious project like the Dubai Lifestyle City. I hope I can be part of it when it is ready in two years’ time,” said Sharapova.

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As a follow up to my previous post about the richest athletes, I came across an interesting article written in Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge. Professor Anita Elberse discusses her research on sports marketing and her recent case on Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova. What is the secret recipe for her phenomenal success?

• There are few female athletes with global marketing appeal (basically shes doesn’t have a lot of competition)
• Having the right combination of brand attributes (e.g. Canon=power with precision and style)
• Public speaking skills
• Good look
• Overall clean image

It does not hurt that Sharapova is regarded as one of the most beautiful athletes in the world. But when I had the opportunity to follow her for a day of sponsorship and other commitments in New York City, I also learned she is a business professional and comfortable speaking in front of various groups; it’s easy to forget she is still only 20 years old.

Every time I see Sharapova on TV, whether it is an interview or blowing kisses to the crowd, I get an impression that all her moves and words are perfectly choreographed by managers/agents/consultants. I am sure she is a smart woman, but it is hard to get an understanding what the real Maria thinks, likes or feels.

Technorati Tag: Maria Sharapova

Forbes has announced its new list of highest paid athletes in the world. Tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer made the list. With $29 million Federer ranked 13th. 20-year-old Russian Maria Sharapova ranked 25th and is the sole woman on the list. The last time Forbes conducted the survey in 2004, no woman made the list. Masha’s $23 million income comes mostly from endorsements since she has been hampered by injuries during this season. Among others, the endorsement darling’s corporate sponsors’ list includes Nike, Canon, Land-Rover, Colgate-Palmolive, and Motorola. Pretty impressive, considering that Sharapova still can’t legally buy a drink.

Roger’s endorseability is a little bit hard to understand. There was an interesting article Federer: the anti-Kournikova in July on CNNMoney.com. The article discusses how Roger Federer is probably the most dominant athlete active today, yet there are two places he hasn’t been able to win — the French Open and Madison Avenue.

Federer lists Nike, Rolex and Wilson Sporting Goods among his sponsors and has recently appeared for the first time in a national television ad campaign in the United States with Tiger Woods and European soccer star Thierry Henry in the new Gillette Champions global ad campaign.

Technorati Tags: Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer

It looks like Maria Sharapova wants to add another title to her stats, in addition to becoming a TV producer. Below is Tennis Week magazine’s press release.

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire - October 24, 2007) - Tennis Week is partnering with one of tennis’ top stars to take readers inside the lifestyle of a champion. Maria Sharapova, named by Vogue as one of its top 20 best-dressed new faces, is bringing her distinctive style, health and fitness insight, beauty and wellness tips, fashion flair and personal presence to the pages of Tennis Week Magazine. The two-time Grand Slam champion has signed on as a regular Editorial Contributor to Tennis Week Magazine, TW publisher Randy Master announced today.

A trend-setter on and off court, Sharapova will share the latest and hottest fashion, beauty and wellness and health and fitness tips with readers. In her role as editorial contributor Sharapova will personally create and edit material and produce her own page in each of the next nine issues of Tennis Week Magazine. Sharapova will make her editorial debut in the year-end November/December issue of Tennis Week and continue to create and edit her page in each of Tennis Week’s eight issues in 2008.

“Maria Sharapova is a beautiful, glamorous, intelligent global tennis star. We are thrilled to welcome her as a regular contributor to Tennis Week Magazine,” Master said. “Maria contributes content to her official web site, MariaSharapova.com, she’s a very creative person and she’s already working on ideas for her premier page in Tennis Week. We’re excited to bring one of the world’s most well-known athletes to the pages of Tennis Week and we believe Maria’s page will become a popular destination for readers in each issue.”

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The world’s highest-paid female athlete Maria Sharapova keeps her schedule busy without playing tennis. According to Variety Magazine, the Russian tennis star, who is still recovering from shoulder injury, is aiming at adding “television producer” to her resume.

“Sharapova has partnered with writer Jacob Epstein to lob a sports-themed drama toward the CW net. Project will be set inside the world of professional women’s tennis — a topic Sharapova, currently ranked fifth among the world’s female players, knows a thing or two about.”

An interesting thing to look out for in the new drama is the guest star appearances. For example, Serena Williams has done some TV acting, and Andy Roddick has hosted the Saturday Night Live. Would be fun to watch!

Technorati Tags: Maria Sharapova, Russian Tennis Player