Rich Dudes│How Dustin Johnson’s Net Worth Swung to $100M

Dustin Johnson is an American professional golfer from Columbia, South Carolina. Born June 22, 1984, the high-flying professional has a net worth of $100 million. Dustin fathered two kids, Tatum Gretzky and River Jones Johnson, in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Johnson began his career as an amateur golfer playing in the Ryder and Palmer Cups before going pro in 2007.

Dustin Johnson started golfing at a young age, but it wasn't until his incredible college career at Coastal Carolina University that his talent became widely known.

In 2007, he won the Monroe Invitational and the Northeast Amateur as an amateur. He’s grown leaps and bounds since securing his PGA Tour card in 2008.

His accolades include winning two major championships—the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters Tournament—as well as the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the RBC Canadian Open in 2018.

His expertise on the course has earned him $68 million from winnings, and $20 million in endorsements. Johnson built on his exploits by establishing The Dustin Johnson Foundation to give back through philanthropic initiatives.

Dustin Johnson net worth at a glance:

Dustin Johnson won the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in 2014 and grabbed $1.2 million in prize money, making him a millionaire. Johnson had previously notched wins at the Turning Stone Resort Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am competition, which earned him $720,000 and $792,000, respectively.

From 2017 to 2020, Johnson won four more tournaments and made nearly $7 million from each event. This cemented his place as one of the most affluent golf players in the world and pushed his net worth to tens of millions. Johnson's success seemed a distant dream when he first began the golf tour, yet now he is one of the most popular millionaires in the sport.

Adidas features a Dustin Johnson collection with products ranging from sneakers to hats, and Johnson earns over $20 million yearly from various endorsements.

Dustin Johnson's reportedly signed a $150 million contract to leave the PGA tour and join the LIV Golf series where he’ll make even more money depending on how he finishes the tournament. There’s still a chance he’ll compete in the three U.S. majors outside of the PGA tour, potentially increasing his overall net worth with his winnings.

Dustin Johnson is a high-rolling golfer. From luxurious homes to exotic cars, it’s hard to keep up with all his assets. He’s purchased multiple properties and luxury cars like a Mercedes Benz SLS, Audi B6, and BMW.

He sold his Palm post-Garden estate for $16.5 million having paid $5 million for it in 2015. Dustin Johnson isn't stopping anytime soon as he recently invested in OxeFit—a high-end fitness training system contributing part of the $35 million seed capital. Let's drive into the details.

Real estate

Dustin Johnson is an avid real estate investor. The pro golfer has two pimped-out cribs in Palm Beach worth an estimated $12.7 million and $14 million each. He sold the $5 million Palm Beach Gardens manstion he bought in 2015 for $16.5 in 2021—a high-flying 330% return on his investment in just 6 years.

Real estate’s been an investment powerhouse over the past two decades, outpacing short-term treasuries yearly with an average of 9.1% returns. Residential real estate averages a 10.6% return on investment, while commercial real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs) average 9.5% and 11.8%, respectively.

Long-term real estate investing yields an average of 10.3 percent, so investing in real estate is a great way to make some serious money.

Exotic cars

DJ invests big money in his car collection. He owns at least three luxury cars—a McLaren, aG Wagon, an Audi B6, and a BMW. Dustin knows how to get the most bang for his buck and is definitely riding to the greens in style with his impressive car collection.

Investing in classic cars has been quite the ride these past few years. In 2019, the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) saw an impressive 33.78% climb in its HAGI Top Index tracking vintage collectible cars like Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti, and Alfa Romeo.

The pandemic caused a slight detour, yet exotic cars still increased in value by 6.19% in 2020 followed by a 2.73% increase in 2021.

Startups

Dustin Johnson took a massive leap of faith on May 11, 2022, when he invested $7.5 million in OxeFit. It was a no-brainer for the PGA tour card-holder as he continued to grow his portfolio of smart investments.

With his funding—and others, the company raised up to $35 million to expand hiring, increase sales and marketing for their XS1 product, and launch a product for professional teams, rehab centers, and college programs. It's no surprise that Dustin Johnson is cruising with his investments.

With the company’s now estimated at between $80 million and $120 million, he’s projected to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in positive returns.

The startup investing outlook for 2023 is uncertain, with venture capital investment in North American startups plunging 63% in the fourth quarter of 2022. This reflects growing concerns over the economy, tech industry stock prices, and the potential for a recession.

Despite this, startup funding is unlikely to disappear completely in 2023, due to successes from down periods throughout the past two decades.

IoT startups received the most venture capital investment in 2018, with artificial intelligence and fintech startups occupying the next two positions. Unfortunately, the outlook for startup investing in 2023 is still unclear. 90% of investors use personal savings to support the startup in the initial phase and 70% of startups go under within a decade.

Despite uncertainties, investors are still willing to invest in startups. For example early-stage funding in 2021 amounted to $210 billion across 8,000 startups. There are also over 1,100 Unicorns worldwide as of January 2023 and the global e-commerce unicorn market size stands at $114 billion.

Even with the skepticism, startup investing still offers numerous s growth opportunities.

1. Teamwork is key

2. Take action

3. Aim for the top