Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. He owns the record for the most race wins, the most world championships, and the number of fastest laps in F1 Grand Prix history. Between his F1 winnings and his bevy of endorsements, Schumacher earned over $1 billion in his career. His $600 million net worth is one of the highest of any living athlete today, but it doesn’t come without a tragic detail.

Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest F1 drivers in history

Michael Schumacher was a dominant Formula One driver throughout his entire career. During his racing years, Schumacher won a record 91 races and seven F1 titles. He also holds the record for the number of fastest laps with 77.

Schumacher was untouchable during his prime. From 2000-2004, he won five consecutive world championships — an unprecedented feat in the sport. In 2002, he won 11 of the 17 races he competed in, and he didn’t come in worse than third place in a single race. It’s still one of the most dominant seasons ever recorded by a Formula One driver.

Schumacher finished in the top five of the F1 world championship in 14 of his 19 seasons as a professional. His sustained success is unmatched by any driver to ever race in Formula One.

Michael Schumacher built up a massive $600 million net worth

Schumacher’s success on the race track didn’t just give make him the winningest Formula One driver of all time, it made him the richest. In fact, Schumacher is one of the five highest-earning athletes of all time. He earned over $1 billion in his career, which put him only behind Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Michael Jordan.

During his peak, Schumacher made close to $100 million per year. Even when he wasn’t racing, he could make $50 million per year from endorsements alone.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Schumacher’s current net worth is $600 million.

A tragic brain injury from a skiing accident changed Schumacher’s life forever

In December of 2013, Michael Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing in the French Alps. Schumacher fell and his head struck a rock that was sitting in between two ski slopes.

Schumacher was placed in a medically-induced coma for six months after the accident. Doctors performed several surgeries to remove blood clots in his brain and skull, but Schumacher would never be the same. In 2019, Schumacher reportedly underwent stem cell treatment as his health started to deteriorate. However, he hasn’t been seen in public since the incident, and his family is extra secretive about his health.

Surgeon Nicola Acciari worked with Schumacher during his rehabilitation process. Earlier this year, she told Contro Copertina that Schumacher would never be the same person.

“We must imagine a person very different from the one we remember on the track, with a very altered and deteriorated organic, muscular and skeletal structure,” Acciari said.

Although he’ll never return to the man he was as a racing legend, Schumacher is lucky to be alive today. If his work ethic translates from the race track to his rehab, Schumacher will improve his health as much as he physically can.

All stats courtesy of Racing Reference