{"id":133124,"date":"2016-08-13T12:30:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-13T10:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=133124"},"modified":"2016-08-12T17:49:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T15:49:00","slug":"how-much-money-you-get-if-you-win-an-olympic-gold-medal-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wealth\/133124\/how-much-money-you-get-if-you-win-an-olympic-gold-medal-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"How much money you get if you win an Olympic gold medal in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winning a gold medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience. You can\u2019t put a price on it. But, depending on where you\u2019re from, you might expect a financial windfall.<\/p>\n

Statista rounded up the prize money being given out by 12 countries to their winning athletes at the Olympic Games in Rio. The values are converted to US dollars.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re at the top of the podium and the Singaporean national anthem plays \u2014 which would be a first: of the four medals the country\u2019s Olympians have ever won, not one has been gold \u2014 you\u2019ll walk away with glory and a $753,000 bonus.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nearly 30 times more money than you would earn winning the same medal if you were competing for the U.S. Olympic Team, which in Rio has racked up 11 golds among its world-beating 32 overall medals<\/a> as of midday Thursday.<\/p>\n

With its population of 5.5 million (versus, for example, New York City\u2019s 8.17 million), the island city-state Singapore racked up a pair of medals, both bronze, in table tennis at the London Games in 2012. Its two silvers came in 1960, in weight lifting, and 2008, again in table tennis.<\/p>\n

\"Medals\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In contrast, the US has won 1,071 gold medals and 2,698 total medals since the 1896 games in Athens \u2014 the kickoff of the Olympics\u2019 modern era \u2014 not including the medals won in Rio, where the likes of Goldman Sachs and PricewaterhouseCoopers have forecast<\/a> the U.S. will garner more than 100 medals.<\/p>\n

Other countries, including the UK, don\u2019t offer cash bonuses to medalists.<\/p>\n

As competition continues in Rio, executives with the International Olympic Committee and at national sports federations have come under scrutiny over how little of the money generated by the Games trickles down to the athletes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, top athletes in the most popular sports can rack up millions through endorsements, sponsorships and paid appearances. Gymnast Gabby Douglas<\/a> has a reported net worth of $3 million, while swimmer Michael Phelps boasts a reported net worth of $55 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

South Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n