Top 10 Richest Snowboarders
Snowboarding emerged in the late 1960s as a winter sport inspired by the likes of skiing, surfing, and skateboarding. Its popularity has soared to great heights since then, largely due to the successes of some of its most renowned athletes. Read on to learn about some of these individuals who rank as the 10 most financially successful snowboarders of all time.
Who Are the Richest Snowboarders in the World?
- Shaun White
- Torah Bright
- Travis Rice
- Danny Kass
- Anna Gasser
- Ayumu Hirano
- Mark McMorris
- Jamie Anderson
- Chloe Kim
- Lindsey Jacobellis
1. Shaun White
Shaun White is the wealthiest snowboarder in the world, with an estimated net worth of $65 million. White began competing professionally at the Winter X Games in the year 2000 at the age of 13. He decided to retire after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, finishing as a five-time Olympic participant and a three-time Olympic gold medalist, with all of his events in the halfpipe. White has won a total of 15 gold medals at the X Games, including two in the Summer X Games as a skateboarder.
Even with all of these medal wins, White’s career wealth has mostly come from his numerous endorsement deals and other business ventures, where he has partnered with Red Bull, Target Corporation, and American Express. He worked with Ubisoft Entertainment in 2008 to create his own video game franchise, Shaun White Snowboarding. White also holds minority stakes in multiple Southern California ski resorts, including Mammoth Mountain.
2. Torah Bright
Torah Bright is the second-richest snowboarder of all time, with an estimated net worth of $6 million. Bright is the most decorated winter Olympian to come from Australia, as a former Olympic gold and silver medalist. In 2014, she made history by becoming the first athlete to ever qualify for three different snowboarding events at a single Olympic Games. She is also a two-time X Games gold medalist and a recipient of the Best Female Action Sports Athlete at the ESPY Awards.
Bright’s wealth has mostly come from several different sponsorship deals throughout her career, as she has a lifetime sponsorship with Rhythm Snowsports from her hometown Cooma. She has her own snowboard design through her endorsement with Roxy, a female-specific brand of Quiksilver, and has been sponsored by other companies like Subway and Boost Mobile. She has also appeared as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars.
3. Travis Rice
Travis Rice is one of the most well-known names among snowboarding fans and the third-richest snowboarder ever. His estimated net worth is $5 million. A two-time X Games gold medalist, Rice is known for pulling off some of the greatest tricks at snowboarding large hill competitions.
His performances at these events have led to a later career in action filmmaking, where he has produced shots for snowboarding movies such as The Art of Flight and Dark Matter. Rice’s films have garnered him critical acclaim as well as numerous awards, and today he is recognized as one of the most influential snowboarders of the 21st century.
4. Danny Kass
Former Olympic snowboarder Danny Kass has an estimated net worth of around $5 million. Kass began snowboarding at the age of 12 in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, and broke out in 2001 with a gold medal win in the X Games. He went on to qualify for two consecutive Olympics in 2002 and 2006, finishing with Silver in the halfpipe for both.
Since then, Kass has mostly faded from the snowboarding competition spotlight but owns and runs a successful company with his brother known as Golden Gloves, which sells snowboarding gloves, accessories, and other types of extreme sporting gear. Kass is perhaps most known for being one of the stars of his TV show, The Adventures of Danny and The Dingo, which began in 2008 and ran for five seasons.
5. Anna Gasser
Anna Gasser is an Austrian snowboarder who competes in big air and slopestyle. Her estimated net worth is $5 million. She won gold at consecutive Olympic Games in 2018 and 2022, both in the big air event. She is also a decorated X Games competitor, with four golds and six total medals.
Unlike many others on this list, Gasser was not familiar with snowboarding in her childhood. She was introduced to the sport at the age of 18 and broke onto the scene quickly after. Gasser’s earnings have mostly come from her many endorsements with brands such as Red Bull, Audi, Huawei, and snowboard outfitter Burton. She is also Austria’s most followed athlete on Instagram.
6. Ayumu Hirano
Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano comes in at six with an estimated net worth of $5 million. He became the youngest to medal in X Games history in 2013, winning a silver in the superpipe. He has won a total of four X Games medals, with two gold and two silver, and is also a three-time Olympian, with his one and only gold medal coming in the 2022 Olympic games.
Hirano rose to stardom through that performance, as he managed to land a triple cork twice, which had never been done before in Olympic competition. He also became the first Japanese athlete to ever win gold in snowboarding at the Olympics. Hirano’s largest endorsements come from the likes of Monster Energy, Burton, and Oakley, where he’s made most of his money.
7. Mark McMorris
Mark McMorris is the seventh-richest snowboarder of all time, with an estimated net worth of around $5 million. The Canadian specializes in big air and slopestyle and is the most decorated Winter X Games athlete of all time at just the young age of 29. He has won a total of 22 Winter X Games medals, 11 of them gold.
McMorris has also competed in three separate Olympics, with a bronze medal for the slopestyle event in each. McMorris’s numerous sponsorship deals generate most of his wealth, as he has starred in commercials for well-known brands like Toyota, General Mills, Nike, and Subway.
8. Jamie Anderson
Jamie Anderson comes up next as the eighth-richest, just after McMorris, with an estimated net worth of $4 million. Interestingly enough, it was also Anderson who held the record for most Winter X Games medals before McMorris broke it in the 2023 Games. Her tally of 21 total medals spans all the way back to 2005 when she was the youngest to ever medal at an X Games. Anderson specializes in the slopestyle event and has won the gold medal in two different Olympic games for slopestyle.
Anderson’s sponsors include GoPro, Oakley, Xfinity, and Polo Ralph Lauren, among many others. She also has her own charity in the Jamie Anderson foundation, giving back to the youth by supporting their athletic dreams.
9. Chloe Kim
Chloe Kim is the ninth-richest snowboarded of all time and also one of the youngest, alreadying holding an estimated net worth of $2 million. She burst into the spotlight by winning gold in the 2018 Olympic games halfpipe at just 17 years old. She followed up by winning gold in the halfpipe at the 2022 Olympics and has also won five gold medals in the superpipe at the Winter X Games.
Following her 2018 win at the Olympics, Kim was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was later included on Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018. She is sponsored by several major brands, such as Nike, Toyota, and Monster Energy. And in March of 2022, she was even added as a playable character to the game Fortnite.
10. Lindsey Jacobellis
The most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time, Lindsey Jacobellis is the tenth-richest snowboarder of all time, with an estimated net worth of $1 million. She dominated the snowboard cross event at the Winter X Games from 2003 to 2016, winning the gold 10 times during that span. But despite all of her success in the X Games, Jacobellis was remembered for a long time because of her failure in the 2006 Winter Olympic games, where she was leading by a great margin all the way to the last ramp and showboated a little to celebrate, causing her to land awkwardly and let an opponent pass her for gold.
16 years later, in 2022, she finally redeemed herself with a gold medal win and was greatly lauded for her perseverance. She also won the mixed team snowboard cross with partner Nick Baumgartner, earning her two Olympic gold medals. Compared to most others on this list, Jacobellis’ sponsor list is relatively small as she’s worked with lesser-known companies like hair care brand Paul Mitchell and snow helmet company Bern Unlimited.
Honorable Mentions
- Terje Håkonsen
- Torstein Horgmo
- Hannah Teter
- Gretchen Bleiler
- Jeremy Jones
- Maxence Parrot
- Todd Richards
- Kelly Clark
- Gigi Rüf
- Shaun Palmer
FAQ
Who is the richest men’s snowboarder in the world?
The richest men’s snowboarder in the world is Shaun White, whose career earnings sit at about $65 million. As is the case with most athletes, the vast majority of his wealth has come from outside of playing salary or prize money. White earned most of his money from endorsement deals with major consumer brands like Red Bull, Target, and Hewlett-Packard. He has also recently started his own lifestyle brand of snowboards and apparel, known as Whitespace.
Who is the richest women’s snowboarder in the world?
The richest women’s snowboarder in the world is Torah Bright, who has an estimated career net worth of $6 million. Many of Bright’s sponsorship deals have stuck around for much of her life, as she has a lifetime sponsorship with Rhythm Snowsports from her hometown Cooma. She has her own snowboard design through her endorsement with Roxy, a female-specific brand of Quiksilver and has been sponsored by other companies like Subway and Boost Mobile.