Magnus Carlsen has an estimated net worth of $25 million.
His primary income comes from three main areas, chess itself, endorsements and his business ventures.
While chess tournament prizes can be substantial, especially at the World Championship level, his biggest financial wins likely come from lucrative endorsement deals with major companies like Mastercard and Simonsen Vogt Wigg.
He’s also a savvy entrepreneur.
Carlsen co-founded Play Magnus Group, a company that created a popular chess learning app.
While the company’s market value has fluctuated, it was reportedly sold for a significant sum in 2022, further boosting Carlsen’s wealth.
How does Magnus Carlsen make money?
Carlsen has amassed a significant fortune through a combination of his chess prowess and business ventures.
The biggest chunk of his income comes from tournament winnings.
As the world’s best player, he consistently tops prize pools, especially in major events.
Reports suggest he raked in around $560,000 just in 2022 from major tournaments alone, making him the highest-earning chess player in history.
Beyond prize money, Carlsen leverages his fame and intelligence to generate income through other means.
He has endorsement deals with various companies, capitalizing on his image as a young, charismatic genius.
Endorsement deals
Carlsen has leveraged his fame beyond the chessboard through a string of lucrative endorsement deals.
These partnerships not only boost his income but also help him promote chess to a wider audience.
One of his prominent deals was with Unibet, a gambling giant.
Though the exact figure remains undisclosed, it was considered a record-breaking agreement for chess endorsements.
Carlsen served as a global ambassador for Unibet, with the شرط بندی (shart al-bandi) website (meaning “betting” in Arabic) appearing on his clothing during tournaments, excluding Norway due to regulations.
This deal, however, sparked some controversy due to the nature of the gambling industry.
Carlsen’s association extends beyond betting companies.
He has partnered with established financial institutions like Simonsen Vogt Wiig, a Norwegian law firm and Arctic Securities, an investment bank.
These deals project an image of sophistication and align with Carlsen’s reputation for strategic thinking.
More recently, Carlsen has broadened his reach into the world of sportswear. He inked a long-term deal with Puma, a major sports brand.
This partnership aims to elevate chess’s profile and make it more appealing to a younger demographic.
Puma creates content featuring Carlsen, aiming to draw new fans to the game.
In addition to these, Carlsen has collaborated with Mastercard, a global payments giant, becoming their brand ambassador.
He has also partnered with Skilling, a trading platform, further diversifying his portfolio.
These deals highlight Carlsen’s marketability beyond the realm of chess, showcasing his appeal to a wider audience.
Through these strategic endorsements, Carlsen not only bolsters his financial standing but also uses his celebrity status to introduce chess to a new generation.
Play Magnus
In 2013, Carlsen set his sights on bringing the world of chess to a wider audience through a company called Play Magnus.
Co-founded alongside his manager and an entrepreneur, Play Magnus started out with a clear mission: to make the world “smarter” through chess.
Play Magnus didn’t just focus on high-level competitive chess.
The company aimed to create a whole ecosystem for chess enthusiasts of all levels.
This included the development of the Play Magnus mobile app in 2014.
This innovative app allowed users to test their skills against a computer chess engine that mimicked Carlsen’s own playing style at various stages of his life, from his early prodigy days to his championship years.
The Play Magnus Group, as it evolved, expanded its offerings beyond mobile apps.
It envisioned itself as a one-stop shop for everything chess.
Users could play chess online, watch matches and tournaments, access educational resources to improve their game, and even find chess coaches.
Through its acquisitions and mergers, the company aimed to be a leader in chess learning, entertainment and competition on a global scale.
However, the Play Magnus Group’s journey as an independent company came to an end in 2022 when it was acquired by Chess.com, another major player in the online chess world.
Despite this, Carlsen remains closely associated with the brand as a shareholder and ambassador, ensuring his legacy continues to inspire chess fans worldwide.
Early life
Born in Tønsberg, Norway in 1990, Carlsen was introduced to the game by his father at the young age of five.
By eight, he was already competing in tournaments, showcasing a talent that impressed coaches with his exceptional memory and strategic thinking.
This early promise was solidified in 2002 when a teenage Carlsen achieved a second-place finish in the under-12 category of the World Youth Chess Championship.
Carlsen’s chess development wasn’t all-consuming.
He balanced his studies with other activities, enjoying football, reading comics, and even hitting the slopes on skis until he was ten.
Despite this, his dedication to chess was evident.
Throughout his early teens, he participated in numerous tournaments, honing his skills and steadily climbing the chess ladder.
By his thirteenth birthday, he had secured his first major win at the Corus chess tournament, a prestigious event in the Netherlands.
This accomplishment, coupled with continued strong performances, earned him the coveted title of Grandmaster just a few months later – an achievement rarely attained at such a young age.
Career breakthrough
Carlsen’s chess talent blossomed at a remarkably young age. chess talent blossomed at a remarkably young age.
By the year 2000, at just nine years old, he was already dominating his age group in the Norwegian championships.
His rating, a numerical measure of chess skill, skyrocketed that same year, jumping over 1000 points in a single twelve-month period.
This early surge was a sign of things to come.
Carlsen wasn’t just winning junior events; he was quickly surpassing players much older than him.
In 2000, he competed in the Norwegian junior teams championship and held his own against the country’s top young talent, even achieving a tournament performance rating that rivaled experienced adult players.
It became clear that Carlsen wasn’t just a promising junior, but a true prodigy with the potential to reach the highest echelons of chess.
By his early teens, Carlsen was already turning heads on the international stage.
Shortly after turning 13, he triumphed in the C group of a prestigious chess tournament called Corus.
This victory, combined with other strong performances, earned him the coveted title of Grandmaster, the highest rank a chess player can achieve.
This accomplishment cemented his status as a rising star and the chess world eagerly awaited his next move.
Carlsen didn’t disappoint.
At 15, he became the youngest ever Norwegian Chess Champion, a remarkable feat considering the country’s strong chess tradition.
This wasn’t just a national triumph; it secured him a spot in the Candidates Tournament, a grueling competition where players vie for the chance to challenge the reigning World Champion.
While he didn’t win the Candidates Tournament at that young age, his mere qualification was a historic achievement and a testament to his exceptional talent.
Carlsen’s junior chess career was a whirlwind of rapid improvement, impressive victories and groundbreaking achievements.
It was a clear indication of the dominance he would establish in the years to come.
Records
Carlsen has cemented his place as a chess legend by shattering numerous records.
One of the most incredible feats is his unbeaten streak in classical chess.
Between July 2018 and October 2020, Carlsen went a mind-boggling 125 games without a loss, a record that dwarfs previous attempts.
This unmatched run included 42 wins and 83 draws, showcasing his incredible consistency and dominance over his opponents.
Carlsen doesn’t stop there.
He has also achieved the highest Elo rating ever recorded, reaching a peak of 2882 on two separate occasions.
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating relative skill levels in chess, and Carlsen’s score signifies his unparalleled mastery of the game.
Furthermore, he held the record for the longest consecutive reign as the world’s number one ranked player.
While Garry Kasparov holds the all-time record for total months at the top, Carlsen’s unmatched consistency is truly remarkable.
His trophy cabinet is overflowing as well.
He is a five-time World Chess Champion, the current reigning champion in rapid and blitz chess (both rapid and blitz are faster forms of chess compared to the classical format) and has even won the prestigious Chess World Cup.
These multiple championship titles solidify his position as the most dominant chess player of the modern era.
Controversies
During the Sinquefield Cup in 2022, Carlsen suffered a surprising loss to a young player named Hans Niemann.
This defeat was particularly unexpected because Carlsen is widely considered one of the greatest chess players ever.
Following this loss, Carlsen abruptly withdrew from the tournament.
Many observers interpreted this as a silent accusation of cheating against Niemann.
Carlsen never explicitly stated this, but the chess world took notice.
The situation escalated further when Carlsen faced Niemann again in an online competition shortly after.
This time, Carlsen resigned after just one move, essentially forfeiting the game. This highly unusual act fueled the fire of the cheating suspicions.
The chess community became divided.
Niemann, while admitting to cheating online in the past as a teenager, vehemently denied any wrongdoing in over-the-board competitions.
Carlsen, meanwhile, remained silent on his specific reasons for the withdrawal and resignation.
The lack of concrete evidence made it difficult to determine the truth.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) launched an investigation into the controversy.
The burden of proof for cheating in chess is incredibly high, requiring a near certainty of wrongdoing.
In December 2023, FIDE’s verdict came down.
Carlsen was found not guilty of defamation towards Niemann, but he was fined for his abrupt withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup.
The case remains a complex one, with no definitive answer on whether Niemann cheated.
However, it has undoubtedly tarnished the reputation of chess and raised serious questions about how to handle future cheating allegations.