Roger Federer has just celebrated 45 years in Croatia, between the sea and holidays with his family. But a few days after his birthday a decidedly unwelcome gift arrived: the Swiss champion left, at least for the moment, the small club of billionaire sportsmen.
The heavy collapse on the stock market of On Holding, the Swiss shoe and sportswear brand of which Federer is not only a testimonial, but also a shareholder, caused the assets of the former world tennis number one to fall below the symbolic threshold of one billion dollars.
According to Forbes estimates, after the title crash the personal fortune of the winner of 20 Grand Slam tournaments dropped to around $952 million. Just a few months ago, in the annual ranking of billionaires published in March, his assets were valued at 1.1 billion dollars.
The collapse of On Holding
It all happened on Tuesday 11 August, when On Holding shares lost around 19% in a single session, dropping up to 22% during trading. The market reacted badly to the second quarter accounts. The group recorded sales of 850.3 million Swiss francs, up 13.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, but lower than the over 878 million expected by analysts.
Numbers which, taken alone, therefore tell of a company that is still growing. But it wasn’t enough on Wall Street. Above all, the failure to reach sales expectations and the slowdown recorded on the American market weighed heavily. The result was one of the worst stock drops since the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2021.
How much Federer lost
For Federer the consequences were immediate. According to Forbes, the former tennis player owns around 2.5% of the company and the collapse of On shares would have reduced the value of his stake by at least $52 million in a single day. Enough, however, to bring the Swiss man’s total assets back below the one billion threshold.
The bet that made Federer a billionaire
It is also thanks to On that Federer managed to transform the earnings accumulated during his extraordinary sporting career into an even greater fortune. The relationship between the champion and the Swiss company began in 2019, when Federer entered the company’s capital. A choice that has proven extremely profitable over the years.
On has grown rapidly to become one of the most important emerging brands in the sports footwear sector, challenging giants such as Nike and Adidas. In 2025 the group exceeded 3 billion Swiss francs in annual sales for the first time.
Federer also had a direct role in product development, with a line of tennis shoes linked to his name. Today the brand dresses numerous professional athletes, including the Italian tennis player Flavio Cobolli.
The success of the investment had contributed decisively to bringing Federer over the billion dollar mark. Forbes had listed him among the billionaires for the first time in August 2025 and, in the ranking published in March 2026, estimated his fortune at around 1.1 billion.
Federer falls behind Ronaldo and Messi
With a fortune now estimated at around 952 million dollars, Federer is in fact back under the fortunes attributed to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese remains one of the richest athletes in the world, with an estimated wealth of around 1.2 billion dollars, while Messi is around 1.1 billion.
For Federer, however, the relegation may only be temporary. His wealth continues to largely depend on the performance of On and other financial holdings. If the title were to catch up, the Swiss champion could therefore quickly re-enter the billionaire club.