#1 — The real-estate fund that made Messi a billionaire
Here's the piece that changed the math. Messi's family office took his real estate and packaged it into a real-estate investment trust (REIT) called Edificio Rostower Socimi. In December 2024, they took that fund public on a Spanish digital exchange.
When the bell rang, the market value was about €223 million (around $232 million) — now a public, auditable number. In 2026, the rising value of his Inter Miami stake was added on top. It was that combination — publicly listed real-estate holdings plus appreciating club equity — that led Bloomberg to declare, on May 22, 2026, that Messi had passed $1 billion.
The modern shift in the game: both Messi and Ronaldo reached the billion mainly through salary and assets from the sport itself — unlike icons such as Michael Jordan or Roger Federer, who built their fortunes largely through sponsorships and off-field stakes.
But here's the honest twist — and almost nobody told this part: not everyone agrees that Messi is a billionaire. Celebrity Net Worth, which previously estimated his net worth at $850 million, published a challenge to Bloomberg's math. Their argument: gross earnings aren't net worth. Strip out taxes and cost of living, they say, and the real figure would land closer to $600–700 million.
Who's right? It depends on how you value private assets, equity, and real estate. Celebrity Net Worth itself ultimately shrugged: Bloomberg's math may not be perfect, but "okay, why not?" For most lists, as of June 2026, Messi is officially a billionaire. And even on the most conservative count, he's one of the richest living athletes. The difference now is just how many zeros — and who you choose to believe.
