The richest athlete of all time

Tautalus

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The Lusitanians were an ancient Indo-European people who inhabited the west of the Iberian Peninsula (modern day Portugal).
They were known for their fierce resistance against Roman rule and their strong sense of independence.
The best know lusitanian was Viriathus, a warrior who led a successful resistance against Roman rule in the 2nd century BC.
A lesser known lusitanian was Gaius Appuleius Diocles, he was a charioteer who lived in the 2nd century AD.
He was born in Lamecum, a small town in the Roman province of Lusitania.
Diocles was known for his remarkable skill as a charioteer, and he competed in the Circus Maximus, the largest and most famous chariot racing venue in ancient Rome.
He is widely considered to be the most successful charioteer in history, having won over 1,400 races in his career.
He raced with the four-horse chariots or quadrigae.
Diocles was a master of strategy and tactics, and he was able to win races by staying close to the walls of the track, avoiding collisions with other chariots, let himself get behind, hanging back until the last minute and then using the whip to urge his horses and pulling ahead of the competition.
He was also known for his endurance and his ability to maintain his focus and concentration during long races.
Diocles was incredibly wealthy, some say that he was the highest paid athlete in history, amassing a fortune of 35,863,120 sesterces (recorded in a Roman inscription CIL VI, no. 10048, that celebrates his retirement from racing), which is equivalent today to 15 billion dollars, according to Peter T. Struck, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
That dwarf’s today's highest paid athletes like Lebron James or Lionel Messi.
He competed for 24 years without major incidents, retired at 42 and lived the rest of his life in is villa, in the Italian contryside.


 
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