Haile Gebrselassie is a former Ethiopian long-distance runner, road running athlete, and Businessman. He is a two-time Olympic champion who has many other records in history. Haile is regarded as one of the greatest long-distance runners.
Gebrselassie became the international event ambassador for the Delhi Half Marathon in September 2022. The Delhi Half Marathon is a world Athletics Elite Label Road Race.
Similarly, Haile Gebrselassie is one of them who has garnered a net worth of $1 million.
Ethiopia is home to world-class runners, including Kenenisa Bekele, Abebe Bikila, and Mamo.
For those unaware, Haile is a long-distance runner and a marathoner. The former runner was born on 18th April 1973 in the Asella, Oromiya Region of Ethiopia.
Besides, Haile has nine siblings: five sisters and four brothers.
Likewise, Haile had to live in extreme poverty, and due to the lack of enough income, he had to spend most of his days bare-footed.
Besides, it was tough for his father to provide food for him and his siblings.
Nonetheless, Haile’s childhood was full of struggles and hardships. Despite that, Gebrselassie never stopped dreaming.
He was optimistic about overcoming this situation and providing a good life for his family.
Haile successfully got whatever he wanted due to his hard work and dedication.
Today, we will discuss Haile’s net worth, income, and expenditures in this article. We will also discuss his brand deals, contracts, endorsements, and many more.
But before we start our article, let us have an instant glance at the quick facts.
Haile Gebrselassie | Quick Facts
| Full Name | Haile Gebrselassie (haylē gebre silassē) |
| Nick Name | The Emperor |
| Date Of Birth | 18 April 1973 |
| Birth Place | Asella, Oromiya Region, Ethiopia |
| Age | 51 Years Old |
| Achievements |
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| Records |
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| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in / 1.64 m / 164 cm |
| Weight | 54 kg / 119 lb |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | Ethiopian |
| Ethnicity | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Tattoos | No |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Alem Gebrselassie |
| Kids | Eden, Melat, Bete. |
| Father’s Name | Bekele Gebrselassie |
| Mother’s Name | Ayelet Degtu |
| Siblings | Nine |
| High School | Unknown |
| Profession | Ethiopian Long-Distance Track & Road Running Athlete |
| Active | 1992-2015 |
| Net Worth | Estimated $1 Million |
| Salary | $250,000 |
| Endorsements | Diageo |
| Foundation | Unknown |
| Social Media | |
| Merch | The Greatest: Haile Gebrselassie Story (Book) |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Haile Gebrselassie | Net Worth & Income
As of 2021, Haile Gebrselassie had a net worth of $1 million. After converting it into Kenyan shilling, his net worth amounts to a whopping Kshs. 100 million.
Similarly, the major source of Haile’s income comes from his running career. Gebrselassie has also been featured in some brand deals and endorsements.
Likewise, Haile turned into a businessman after his retirement. And coming from poverty himself, Gebrselassie now works for his community.
The former Olympic runner has also opened various business ventures so that his country’s people can get employment opportunities.
Nonetheless, even now, it is expected that Haile earns around $250,000 for appearing in any marathons.
Moreover, at the peak of his career, Haile made $400,000 for every marathon, a whopping $70,000 as the time bonus.
If you don’t know, the winner of the New York marathon is provided with $130,000 and $60,000 for breaking the record.
Given that he set a world record in 2008, the Ethiopian runner received $250,000 as prize money, which means he earned $500,000 by just breaking the record.
Haile Gebrselassie Net Worth | Endorsements
Apart from his whopping net worth, Haile doesn’t have many brand deals, unlike other athletes.
But in 2010, Haile signed a one-year contract with Diageo (a London-based beverage company) worth $100,000.
However, this deal turned out to be one of the most controversial advertisements ever. Since Haile is a role model, many people didn’t like him promoting the whiskey brand.
On the eve of the 2008 Berlin Marathon, Haile wore yellow colored pair of prototype Adidas running shoes. He first tested shoes in the corridor outside his hotel room and decided after getting a feel for them.
The next day he trained in Adidas adizero adios, debuting the shoe to the world in Berlin Marathon.
Gebrselassie broke the marathon world record with a time of 2:03:59 wearing the adizero Adios. It was the first milestone recorded in the history of the Adidas adizero franchise.
He is seen wearing Adidas products on several occasions and has promoted the Adidas brand on his social media platforms. However, the is no information regarding the contract signing between the two.
Some sources claim that he is worth $200 million. However, there is no verified information regarding this claim.
Haile Gebrselassie Net Worth | Businesses
One of Haile’s privileges as an Olympic medalist is an exclusive license in Ethiopia to import Hyundai cars into the entire country.
Besides, Haile owns the Alem Building, one of the tallest buildings in Addis Ababa, which is bought under his wife’s name.
Moreover, Haile and his wife run a successful property business that has financed seven of Addis Ababa’s tallest buildings.
Around 1600 people work on his farms to make the world’s most flavorsome coffee. Similarly, Haile claims his coffee to be the world’s best coffee.
Moving on, Gebrselassie owns an athletic training center at Yaya village, a luxurious villa with all the facilities.
Apart from that, Haile has a cinema hall and even a school named after his wife. Haile is also the president of the Ethiopian Athletic Federation.
His fortunes and business ventures have made him the richest man in Ethiopia.
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Haile Gebrselassie Net Worth | Lifestyle & Vacation
Even though Haile has earned a lot of money and can live a luxurious life, he seems to follow a simple lifestyle.
Gebrselassie knows how it feels to live in extreme poverty, so he has invested most of his money in creating job opportunities for Ethiopian people.
Moreover, even at the inauguration of his cinema hall, Haile was seen wearing a simple blue t-shirt, jeans, and simple shoes.
Hence, we can say that Haile doesn’t believe in showing off and likes to keep everything simple and minimal.
Haile follows a healthy lifestyle and takes excellent care of his diet even after retirement.
Likewise, Haile is happily married and has a family of his own. However, Haile feels that instead of spending money on luxurious vacations, he could use that money to develop his country.
But occasionally, Haile takes his wife and children on vacations. The small family usually visits religious places full of history, so his children can learn good things.
Haile Gebrselassie | Training Routine
Every morning after waking up at 5:30, Haile starts his training. Likewise, to warm his muscles, he traveled 20 km of unpaved terrain.
The former runner covers that distance in about two hours.
Haile goes to the gym for physical exercises in the afternoon and focuses on strengthening the muscles, especially the calf twins.
Again, he goes for a 10km run in the evening. Not to mention, Haile does it so smoothly, as if he was working out on a treadmill.
Haile Gebreselassie | Movie, Books & Publications
As iconic and inspirational as Haile is, it is no wonder that he has been featured in various movies, books, and magazines.
One and only movie Haile appeared in was Endurance, a 1999 released documentary drama about his childhood. We can see him portraying himself in the film.
Similarly, The Greatest: The Haile Gebrselassie Story is an autobiography of Haile written by Jim Denison.
This autobiography was published in 2004 and contained everything about the runner’s life.
Apart from that, Haile has been featured in various magazines as well. Similarly, in 2011 he was listed as one of the top 100 most influential African men by New African Magazine.
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A Glance At Haile Gebrselassie’s Life
As mentioned above, Haile was born into a very low-income family, and they didn’t have proper clothes or good food to eat.
Although that, Gebrselassie’s parents wanted him to study hard so that he didn’t have to face all the problems they faced.
However, Haile had a different plan for himself. He wanted to be an athlete and make his country proud.
And surely, his parents were against his decision, so Haile left his home. At that time, Gebrselassie found solace in his older brother.
Furthermore, his brother was very supportive and encouraged him to pursue his dream. Hence, this gave Haile a confidence boost, and he started to work for his career.
Haile made his debut in 1992 at World Junior Championship, which was held in Seoul, Korea.
Amazingly, Haile got everyone’s attention from his very first game. Nonetheless, Haile has not looked back ever since.
Likewise, Gebrselassie created record after record and even broke his own. Then he started getting recognition from everyone, along with fame and name.
Slowly, he became a big name in long-distance running.
Moreover, slowly, his economic condition started to improve. Through his career’s prize money and bonuses, Haile successfully lived the life he once dreamt of.
Indeed, Haile is an inspiration to many youths and aspiring athletes. Haile proves that one has to dream and work for the dream to have a successful life.
Life Of Haile In 2022
Haile was named an ambassador for the Delhi Half Marathon 2022 in September 2022.
Later, he tweeted, ” I will run as long as I live. Running is my life, and I am proud yet excited to be the Event Ambassador for the most prestigious half marathon, #VedantaDHM22!”
After arriving for the event, he was honored with the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon Finisher’s medal on 14 November.
The 2022 edition was held on October 16 at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where Avinash Sable was declared the winner by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Achievements Of Haile
- Two times Olympic gold medals.
- Four World Championship titles.
- Four times consecutivelyBerlin Marathon winner.
- Sixty-one Ethiopian national records.
- Twenty-seven world records.
- AIMS Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Two times Track and Field News Athlete of the Year.
- Princess of Austria award for Sports.
Quotes
- “Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.”
- “When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runner and not against the time.”
- “You need three things to win: discipline, hard work, and, before everything maybe, commitment. No one will make it without those three. Sport teaches you that.”
Haaile Gebrselassie | Charity
Haile lives a happy life with his family; he is a record-holder athlete and an even better human. Likewise, Haile has done a lot to help people in need.
Without a doubt, Haile has donated a lot of his fortunes to the development of Ethiopia.
Similarly, in 2020, Haile donated a whopping amount of $50,000 to the people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from that, he has also been involved in various other charitable activities, which have not been disclosed yet.
Nonetheless, if we find any information regarding his philanthropic activities, we will update you soon.
Social Media Presence
The former athlete is currently active on Twitter. Apart from that, Gebrselassie doesn’t use any other social media platforms.
Similarly, Haile has 301.9k followers on his Twitter handle.
Thank you for a great weekend and fantastic races @adidasrunning! pic.twitter.com/NOvw59r04P
— Haile Gebrselassie (@HaileGebr) May 2, 2022
However, his tweets are mostly about awareness, charity, and social work. From his social media handle, he tries to make people aware as much as possible.
If you want to know more about Haile, you can find various articles about him on different websites.
Popularity Graph
Haile Gebrselassie is a former track athlete from Ethiopia who has many achievements.
His search on the internet hiked as people wanted to know about this talented player’s children and net worth details.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does Haile Gebrselassie smoke?
No, he doesn’t. Instead, Haile prefers to live a healthy life and suggests everyone avoid bad habits.
However, he came into controversy for promoting a whiskey company.
Where is Haile now?
Haile lives near the Somali border with his family in Addis Ababa, in the Arsi region.
What does Haile Gebrselassie does now?
The press once called Gebrselassie “A man from another planet.” He holds the world record at 20,000, the one-hour race, and the 10-mile run. He is the president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation. Haile envisions entering politics to advance the nation further.
Haile’s networth is estimated to be more than 200m$+. He owns lots of hotels and resorts in ethiopia. In one of ethiopias’ recent conflicts one if his huge resort which is located in adama, Ethiopia was destroyed which was worth about 900m ETB and nextday he got invited on Ethiopian television for an interview and was asked about the situition but his response was “I don’t care” lol thats how rich he is.
He is also in real estate business.