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| Medals |
The medals are all looking nice and shiny, bringing glory to the motherland, but they are not worth nearly as much as you think.
1. Gold ($587) – It is actually only 1% gold and the rest is 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper. That means Phelp's entire gold medal collection is roughly worth $13,000. If the medal was actually made entirely out of gold, each gold would be worth $21,000.
2. Silver ($325) – 92.5% silver and 7.2% copper.
3. Bronze ($3) – I guess it doesn’t pay to really be in third. The bronze is made up of 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, and 0.5% tin.
3. Bronze ($3) – I guess it doesn’t pay to really be in third. The bronze is made up of 97% copper, 2.5% zinc, and 0.5% tin.
1. United States – $25,000; China – $31,400 per gold medal
Not a surprise here, mostly because countries that often win a lot of gold medals tend to give lower cash incentives as the total payout ultimately ends up being much higher. $25,000 sounds like a lot until you look at taxes, though. A gold medalist like Michael Phelps owes $9,900 in taxes for every gold medal won. God bless, America. USA and China place third and fourth to last, respectively, in cash bonus amounts.
2. The United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, and Croatia – $0.00
All these European countries offer absolutely no cash bonuses, coming in dead last for cash incentives. Why not the UK offer a cash incentive? According to British Olympic Association Spokesman, it is because they believe “that financial rewards do not significantly impact the motivation of an athlete to reach the Olympic podium. We believe that the drive, dedication and commitment required of Team GB athlete is motivated, first and foremost, by the desire to represent their country to the very best of their ability.” There you go. All for the motherland.
3. Taiwan – 20 million New Taiwan Dollars aka $640,000
Taiwan offers the second highest cash bonus of any country at the Olympics, with the silver coming in at $223,000 and bronze at $160,000. Only Taiwanese gold medalist so far at Rio 2016? 53kg weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching. She’s rolling in money right now.
4. Italy – $180,000 per gold medal
Italy’s cash incentive to win a gold is the highest of any first-world country, and they aren’t slouches at the Olympics either, netting seven golds (as of 16/08/16).
5. Indonesia – 5 billion Indonesian rupiahs ($384, 000) per gold medal
Indonesia offers the third highest cash incentive bonus of any country at the Olympics. Silver medalists fetch a cool $152,000 while bronze medals have to settle for a paltry $76,000.
6. Thailand – 10 million baht ($287,000) per gold medal
Thai Olympians are highly rewarded, as Thailand ranks fourth among countries for highest cash bonuses. Silver medalists are not in too bad of a shape as second place earns a Thai athlete $172,000. Additionally, the Thai private sector adds in cash prizes, too, sometimes adding millions of Thai baht.
7. Singapore – 1 million Singapore dollars…
Which is $746,000! No Singaporean athlete has ever won the prize until Joseph Schooling defeat Michael Phelps in the men’s 100m butterfly at Rio. This is a part of what Singapore calls the “Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme.” No other country offers a gold medalist more money than Singapore.
8. Azerbaijan – 400,00 Azerbaijani manat (~$250,000)
Silver medalists earn $124,000 while bronze medalists fetch $62,000. Azerbaijan ranks fifth in most cash offered for medals.
9. Kazakhstan – 86 million Kazakhstani tenge ($250,000)
Silver medalist earns a cool $150,000 while bronze medalists can be buying Porsche Boxsters with their $75,000, making Kazakhstan the sixth highest-paying country for medals.
10. The Philippines – 10 million Philippine pesos ($215,000)
The Philippines come in at a cool seventh place for their cash incentives. As silver medalists get $107,000 while bronze medalists earn $43,000.
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