Current sports figures such as Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafa Nadal and Fernando Alonso are respected for their skills in their respective sporting disciplines, and sponsors and clubs are responsible for financially rewarding them accordingly.

But even if they were to pool their fortunes, none of them could ever match the fortune amassed by ancient Rome’s most popular athlete: Gaius Apuleius Diocles.

If you’re wondering about your daily thoughts about the Roman Empire, chariot races were the star event of every major celebration. It’s the equivalent of a Formula One Grand Prix, but instead of single-seater cars with over 1,000 HP, chariots pulled by four horses, trigas (three horses) or bigas (two horses) competed and were grouped into teams or groups of four. faction: White, Red, Blue and Green.

These groups became the current F1 teams and the war chariots the pilots of those carswho are respected as real superstars. But even though these athletes did not sign exclusive contracts with sponsors, they made real fortunes by winning every race.

Gaius Apuleius Diocles was one of the most successful charioteers in the Empire, winning 1,462 laurels. Each of these victories was accompanied by a significant cash prize, in addition to the corresponding champion laurels. His long career made him one of the highest-paid athletes of all time, with a fortune greater than that of the great athletes of our time (if inflation is taken into account, of course).

Portuguese champion

Despite being one of the most famous athletes of the ancient world, the story of Gaius Apuleius Diocles has survived only through two carvings that tell his story. The first and most important of these is a tombstone that experts suspect was placed in the walls of the Circus of Nero in modern-day Vatican City as a tribute to his achievements.

This plate details the champion’s entire track record, as well as the financial sum of all the races he won. Gaius Apuleius Diocles Born in the Roman province of LusitaniaIt is thought that he may have been born in Augusta Emerita, the capital of the province known today as Mérida, in what is today Extremadura and southern Castilla y León, Portugal.

However, there is no written record regarding this.

Roman chariot driver

What is known is that he was born in the year 104 and made his debut in the arena at the age of 18. Just two years later, he began to taste the honey of success, lifting the laurels of the championship.

The Portuguese charioteer continued to excite the fans over the next 24 years, competing in the most prestigious arenas, such as the Circus Maximus in Rome, which had a capacity of 150,000 spectators. Sometimes, for show, the charioteer would try to start from last position in order to win.

Diocles retired, as recorded on a stele found in the Circus of Nero. 42 years 7 months 23 daysHe established himself as one of the longest-serving charioteers in Ancient Rome, in a sport notable for its danger.

Transcription of the stele of Gaius Apuleius Diocles found in the Circus of Nero

Chariots often crashed during the race, and charioteers were dragged by their own horses, crushed by their opponents’ horses or run over by their cars – a risk that brings us back to today’s Formula 1 or MotoGP circuits.

The inscriptions leave testimony an impressive track record He won 1,462 of 4,257 races and finished second in 1,438 events, most of which were achieved while driving chariots, but he also won in other disciplines involving chariots drawn by seven horses.

The inscription honoring him testifies to the audacity of the Lusitanian charioteer; in one of the events he participated in two races with chariots drawn by three and six horses, and won both races on the same day.

Gaius Apuleius Diocles collected about 36 million sesterces, adding up the amount of all the prizes won. Professor Peter Struck of the University of Pennsylvania has tried to adjust this wealth for inflation and determine what they would now be. Equivalent to $15 billionThat is, according to the Forbes list, he would be among the 100 richest people in the world.

The champion had the chance to enjoy his fortune in a golden sanctuary in Praeneste, a town near Rome, corresponding to modern-day Palestine. In the Temple of the Primordial Fortune in that town was found the base of a statue mentioned as the inscription of the Lusitanian champion Gaius Apuleius Nimfidiano y Nimfidia, who left a son and a daughter upon his death.

On Xataka | The self-made millionaire bias: individually speaking, inequality is not a problem for us

At Xataka | The Romans had a mega-industry that helped them conquer Britain: beer and salt

Image | Flickr (Luis Antonio Fernández Corral)

*A previous version of this article was published in September 2023.