Norwegian chess star Magnus Carlsen’s company more than doubled its income between 2009 and 2010 thanks to improved sponsorship deals, new figures have revealed.
The board of the company that manages Carlsen’s affairs, Magnuschess, is chaired by the chess player’s own father, Henrik. The company saw an increase in income from NOK 3.5 million (nearly USD 650,000) in 2009 to NOK 8.4 million (over USD 1.5 million) in 2010 due to a deal with clothing manufacturer G-star.
Henrik Carlsen told newspaper Aftenposten that this new sponsorship deal was “the whole difference” between the two years, as his son had not earned more in prize money during 2010. The company’s pretax result was NOK 4.87 million (over USD 900,000), which took into account NOK 3.72 million (over USD 690,000) expenditure on Magnus Carlsen’s wage and fees for his teacher, Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov.
Carlsen shocked the chess world in 2010 when he withdraw from qualifiers for the 2012 world championships in protest at the rules that would be used. Had he not withdrawn, he would now have a chance of earning around NOK 10 million (USD 1.85 million).
Henrik Carlsen confirmed to Aftenposten that 2011 will not be as good “economically,” but will still be “fine.” His son has apparently not decided what to do with his earnings as “he is not that interested in the money.” Carlsen is currently ranked number one in the world, and has been honoured by the Norwegian parliament among others.
Views and News staff