Beckhams make more from their second careers than their first
Victoria Beckham earns more now as a fashion designer than she ever did as a Spice Girl, with her business turning over £34 million a year.
But while her turnover is double the £17 million husband David made from marketing and sponsorship deals last year, she hasn't seen much of it. Accounts submitted to Companies House show that Victoria Beckham Ltd made a net loss, despite turning over £9 million more than last year.
Last year, Victoria was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Management Today magazine, which highlighted her company's sales growth of 2,900% over the last five years and described her as 'a supremely talented entrepreneur in the fashion business'.
Her product ranges have been expanded to include £18,000 handbags as well as makeup, denim and the lower-cost Victoria, Victoria Beckham range. Her company's expected to go into profit in the next couple of years.
Meanwhile, David's companies, which handle the licensing of his image rights, made a profit of £12.7 million.
During the year, the couple restructured their companies to create an umbrella company, Beckham Brand Holdings, which paid each of them a £3 million dividend. Manager Simon Fuller, the third shareholder in the company, received a similar amount.
According to the London School of Marketing (LSM), the Beckham family is now worth around £470 million - more than the Queen - and their brand value is rising by around £30 million to £40 million a year.
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David retired from football in 2013. And, like Victoria, he is now making more from his second career than his first. While he earned around £30 million a year at the peak of his footballing career, the LSM researchers calculate that he made a total of £50 million last year, mainly from a multi-million-pound contract with drinks giant Diageo to promote a new whisky.
He also has marketing and advertising deals with Adidas, H&M and Breitling, and is now the highest paid ex-sportsman in the world.
Many ex-footballers struggle to keep afloat after retiring from the game: last year, for example, ex-England goalkeeper David James was declared bankrupt, despite having made an estimated £20 million during his footballing career.