improvements in
Dakar, Senegal. He
supports a hospital
for child victims
of war in Sarajevo,
which specialises
in caring for amputees. In Lima, Peru
he funded the “Palace for the Poor”,
a centre for helping homeless street
children obtain an
education, clothing, Rubens Barrichello makes way for Schumfood, medical atten- acher at the end of the 2002 Austrian Grand
tion, and shelter. He
Prix.
stated his interest in
these various efforts
was piqued both by his love for rations and even some countries.
children and the fact that these Schumacher’s bodyguard Burcauses had received little atten- khard Cramer and Cramer’s two
tion. While an exact figure for the sons were killed in the tsunami.
amount of money he has donated
In 2010, his personal fortune
throughout his life is unknown, it
was estimated at £515 million.
is known that in his last four years
as a driver, he donated at least $50 He reportedly received a salary
million. In 2008, it was revealed of £21 million each year from the
that he had donated between Mercedes team, plus a further £9
$5M and $10M to the William J. million in endorsements.
Clinton Presidential Center and
2013 skiing accident
Park of Bill Clinton.
Finance and sponsorship
In 2004, Forbes magazine
listed him as the 2nd highest
paid athlete in the world. In 2005,
Eurobusiness magazine identified
Schumacher as the world’s first
billionaire athlete. His 2004 salary
was reported to be around US$80
million. Forbes magazine ranked
him 17th in its “The World’s Most
Powerful Celebrities” list. A significant share of his income came
from advertising. For example,
Deutsche
Vermögensberatung
paid him $8 million over three
years from 1999 for wearing a 10
by 8 centimetre advertisement on
his post-race cap. The deal was
extended until 2010. He donated
$10 million for aid after the 2004
Indian Ocean earthquake.His
donation surpassed that of any
other sports person, most sports
leagues, many worldwide corpo-
On 29 December 2013,
Schumacher was skiing with his
14-year-old son Mick descending
the Combe de Saulire below the
Dent de Burgin above Méribel in
the French Alps. While crossing
an unsecured off-piste area between Piste Chamoix and Piste
Maudit he fell and hit his head on
a rock, sustaining a head injury
despite wearing a ski helmet. According to his physicians, Schumacher would most likely have died
had he not been wearing a helmet.Schumacher was put into a
medically induced coma because
of having suffered a traumatic
brain injury; his doctors reported
on 7 March 2014, that his condition was stable. On 4 April 2014,
Schumacher’s agent reported that
he was showing “moments of
consciousness” as he was gradually withdrawn from the medically
induced coma, adding to reports
by relatives of “small encouraging
signs” over the preceding month.
In mid-June he was moved from
intensive care into a rehabilitation
ward. By 16 June 2014, Schumacher had regained consciousness
and left Grenoble Hospital for
further rehabilitation at the University Hospital (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland. On 9 September 2014, Schumacher left CHUV
and was brought back to his home
for further rehabilitation.
In November 2014, it was
reported that Schumacher was
‘paralysed and in a wheelchair’;
he ‘cannot speak and has memory
problems’.
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