Kriti Mehrotra
It was back when Ayrton Senna da Silva of São Paulo, Brazil, was merely 4 years old that he first developed a deep passion for racing, thanks to his father building him his first go-kart. However, nobody could have ever imagined this would eventually lead to him not just making it into the world of Formula One racing but actually becoming one of its legendary drivers. In fact, with the record for most pole positions at 65, 41 Grands Prix wins, as well as three World Championships in 1988, 1990, and 1991 at the time of his death, the Brazilian racing driver was the best of the best.
How Did Ayrton Senna Earn His Money?
Although Ayrton started training when he was just a young boy, it wasn’t until he was 13 that he entered his first competition at the local circuit just to finish his debut race in pole position. Thus, it comes as no surprise he gradually began participating in bigger tournaments, resulting in his winning the 1977 South American Kart Championship and holding several runner-up titles. However, his most memorable races in this format were arguably from 1978 to 1980, when he was at DAP with teammate Terry Fullerton before deciding to move on to lower-level formulas.
It was in 1981 when Ayrton moved to England to pursue an open-wheel racing career, beginning in Formula Ford 1600 and winning two different championships that very same year. He essentially proved his mettle at every step of the way, yet he still returned to Brazil at the end of the season owing to familial pressure before realizing he simply couldn’t walk away. Therefore, even though it meant being away from his family as well as sacrificing his marriage, he again relocated to England in 1992 with a £10,000 Formula Ford contract and a few sponsorships in hand.
Ayrton actually won 15 of the 17 races at the British Championship that year, only to then also dominate the European Championship so as to catch the attention of those at Formula Three. This meant he spent the 1993 season at that level, winning the British Championship once again, before jumping straight to Formula One with Toleman after testing for several top teams. His debut season admittedly wasn’t the best, but by finishing 9th overall in the Drivers’ Championship with 13 points, he definitely made a statement that he was right where he belonged.
Then came Ayrton’s stint at Lotus from 1985 to 1987, following which he became a part of McLaren from 1988 to 1993 alongside 2-time Champion Alain Prost, just for it to kickstart their rivalry too. It was with this team that the Brazilian driver also won all three of his championships in 1988, 1990, as well as 1991, with 1989 being the year he was the runner-up to his teammate. As for 1993, that was again great for him since he finished the season with several wins, including one at the concluding Australian Grand Prix, which became his 41st and last Formula One career win.
Ayrton Senna’s Net Worth
While it is well known that Ayrton Senna joined Williams in 1994, unaware it would lead to a horrific tragedy, what many aren’t familiar with is that he was reportedly signed for a $20 million salary. But alas, before he could even utilize any of this money, he sadly passed away – it was on May 1, during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Italy, that he died as a result of a swerving crash. By this point, his career only comprised of racing, yet he was planning on evolving into a philanthropist by establishing an organization to help the youths of Brazil, which his family later did to keep his legacy alive.
Coming to Ayrton’s income, apart from his alleged 1994 salary of $20 million, it has been reported he was paid $1 million per race in the early 1990s at McLaren, making his earnings $16 million per year. For his Formula One career prior to his first Championship win, we believe he made approximately $2 million per year because the likes of Alain Prost reportedly earned $3 million at the time. As if that’s not enough, as per records, he also received financial bonuses on top of his base salary whenever he secured podiums as well as earned championships, making it clear he was very wealthy.
Unfortunately, though, we can not properly estimate Ayrton’s earnings for his lower formula or his karting career because it is unclear at what level they were paid or what kind of bonuses they used to get. Nevertheless, with the educated assumption that he made roughly $500,000 during the early 1980s in England, we believe he couldn’t have saved much of it owing to his accommodation and training expenses. Therefore, considering Ayrton’s incredible nearly two-decade-long career, his possible investments later on in life, his potential savings, as well as his expenses, his estimated net worth in 1994 was in the range of $60 million.
Read More: Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza: Where is Ayrton Senna’s Ex-Wife Now?
