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Here's another humiliating fact that puts cyclist Lance Armstrong in the history books: He's the richest cheater ever to be stripped of an Olympic medal or championship, according to Bloomberg.
Lance Armstrong's newest title: richest Olympic cheater.
Before being stripped of his titles by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the seven-time Tour de France winner earned more than $218 million, Bloomberg reports. The cyclist admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs after vehemently denying the charges for years.
In the ensuing pileup of charges and disgrace, he was also stripped of his bronze medal for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Other athletes who suffered a similar removal of titles and medals because of the use of performance drugs include runners Marion Jones and Ben Johnson and cyclists Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador.
The charity Armstrong founded to help in the fight against cancer, Livestrong, has raised more than $470 million, with Armstrong himself donating $7 million. Though the charity will continue, Armstrong -- its largest private donor -- will likely not have the funds to continue his philanthropic commitment, at least not on the same monetary scale.
The list of sponsors who dropped Armstrong is long, including Nike, Oakley, Anheuser-Busch and Trek Bicycle Corp. Endorsements and speaking engagements comprised approximately $180 million of Armstrong's income, according to IEG of Chicago, a sponsorship consultant.
Jim Andrews, senior vice president of content strategy at IEG, told Bloomberg that "with the number of companies associated with him, the amount of years and the amount of money that was involved, all told, I just don't see anything that equates to it."
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