New Jersey, often overshadowed by its bustling neighbor New York, has become a popular choice for many of the world’s wealthiest individuals, including top athletes. Its close proximity to New York City, combined with relatively more spacious living options, has made it an attractive place to call home. From the luxurious suburbs in Bergen County to the serene shores of the Jersey Shore, New Jersey offers a variety of upscale living environments.
In addition to its prime location, New Jersey provides the benefit of slightly lower living costs compared to nearby metropolitan areas like Manhattan. For top athletes with immense wealth, New Jersey provides an appealing balance of exclusivity, privacy, and convenience. The average monthly cost of living in New Jersey is estimated at around $5,500 to $7,500 depending on location, lifestyle, and property. For the wealthiest athletes, this sum is minuscule compared to their vast earnings, but it’s still interesting to calculate just how many months these athletes could afford to live in New Jersey based solely on their current wealth.
Cristiano Ronaldo has firmly secured the number one spot, significantly outpacing Lionel Messi by 150 million US dollars. A renowned financial media outlet has revealed the list of the top 10 highest-earning soccer players, both on and off the pitch, for 2024.
Forbes, the well-known financial media company, has disclosed that Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese forward playing for Al-Nassr, is the highest-earning soccer player in its 2024 rankings. Ronaldo's total earnings for this year amount to $285 million, with $220 million coming from his salary and $65 million from off-the-field income. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, the Argentine forward for Inter Miami, ranks second with total earnings of $135 million, comprising $60 million from on-field earnings and $75 million from off-field activities.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) - $285 million (220+65)
2. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) - $135 million (60+75)
3. Neymar (Al Hilal) - $110 million (80+30)
4. Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) - $104 million (100+4)
5. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) - $90 million (70+20)
6. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - $60 million (46+14)
7. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) - $55 million (40+15)
8. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - $53 million (35+18)
9. Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr) - $52 million (48+4)
10. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - $39 million (35+4)
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Let’s break down how long the wealthiest athletes could live in New Jersey based on the estimated monthly cost of living at $6,500 per month, and per year at $78,000. Here’s how many months and years they could comfortably afford to live in the state, assuming they spent their entire fortune just on living costs:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) - $285 million
Monthly: 43,846 months
Yearly: 3,653 years
2. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) - $135 million
Monthly: 20,769 months
Yearly: 1,731 years
3. Neymar (Al Hilal) - $110 million
Monthly: 16,923 months
Yearly: 1,410 years
4. Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) - $104 million
Monthly: 16,000 months
Yearly: 1,333 years
5. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) - $90 million
Monthly: 13,846 months
Yearly: 1,154 years
6. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - $60 million
Monthly: 9,230 months
Yearly: 769 years
7. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) - $55 million
Monthly: 8,461 months
Yearly: 705 years
8. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - $53 million
Monthly: 8,154 months
Yearly: 679 years
9. Sadio Mané (Al Nassr) - $52 million
Monthly: 8,000 months
Yearly: 666 years
10. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - $39 million
Monthly: 6,000 months
Yearly: 500 years
These calculations illustrate the immense wealth of these athletes, who could afford to live comfortably in New Jersey for thousands of years. Of course, these figures are purely hypothetical, as their lifestyles and expenditures go well beyond basic living costs, but it highlights just how vast their fortunes are.
To better illustrate how affordable New Jersey is in comparison to other major cities, let’s take a few athletes from the list and do some rough calculations for living costs in places like New York, Los Angeles, and London. This comparison will provide a clearer picture of just how far their wealth would stretch depending on where they choose to live.
For our comparison, we’ll assume monthly living costs as follows:
New Jersey: $6,500
New York City: $10,000
Los Angeles: $9,000
London: $12,000
Let’s take Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah as examples:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Wealth: $285 million)
In New Jersey: Ronaldo could live 43,846 months (3,653 years)
In New York City: Ronaldo could live 28,500 months (2,375 years)
In Los Angeles: Ronaldo could live 31,666 months (2,638 years)
In London: Ronaldo could live 23,750 months (1,979 years)
2. Lionel Messi (Wealth: $135 million)
In New Jersey: Messi could live 20,769 months (1,731 years)
In New York City: Messi could live 13,500 months (1,125 years)
In Los Angeles: Messi could live 15,000 months (1,250 years)
In London: Messi could live 11,250 months (937 years)
3. Mohamed Salah (Wealth: $53 million)
In New Jersey: Salah could live 8,154 months (679 years)
In New York City: Salah could live 5,300 months (441 years)
In Los Angeles: Salah could live 5,888 months (490 years)
In London: Salah could live 4,416 months (368 years)
These calculations show a stark difference in how long these athletes could afford to live depending on the city. Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, could live over 1,600 more years in New Jersey compared to London. For Lionel Messi, choosing to live in Los Angeles instead of New York would afford him nearly 125 extra years of living expenses. And for Mohamed Salah, New Jersey offers him the ability to live almost 240 more years than in London.
Clearly, when it comes to the wealth of top athletes, New Jersey offers one of the best value-for-luxury ratios compared to major American and global cities, while still providing proximity to top-tier metropolitan areas.
The financial security of the world’s top athletes allows them to choose from the most exclusive and sought-after places to live, with New Jersey ranking high on the list due to its proximity to New York City, spacious homes, and luxurious lifestyle. For these athletes, the cost of living in the Garden State is a fraction of their earnings, and they could, quite literally, afford to live here for millennia.
