Last updated: August 2026
| Net Worth | Several million dollars (estimated, at time of death) |
| Born | February 27, 1902 (died May 13, 1999) |
| Profession | Professional Golfer |
| Nationality | 🇺🇸 American |
Gene Sarazen was an American professional golfer and one of the sport’s earliest superstars, best known for completing the career Grand Slam and inventing the modern sand wedge. At the time of his death in 1999, his net worth was estimated at several million dollars, though an exact figure was never publicly disclosed.
Early Life & Family
Gene Sarazen was born Eugenio Saraceni on February 27, 1902, in Harrison, New York, and later changed his name early in his career. He turned professional as a teenager, working as a caddie and club professional before establishing himself on tour in the early 1920s.
Rise to Fame
Sarazen’s rise to fame came quickly: he won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, 1922, at just 20 years old. He went on to become one of the dominant golfers of the 1920s and 1930s, and he remains best remembered for the ‘shot heard round the world,’ a 232-yard double eagle on the 15th hole at the 1935 Masters that carried him to victory in a playoff.
Career History
Sarazen won seven major championships over his career: the U.S. Open (1922, 1932), the PGA Championship (1922, 1923, 1933), the Open Championship (1932), and the Masters (1935). In doing so, he became the first of only six golfers in history to complete the career Grand Slam. He also played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams between 1927 and 1937 and won 48 professional tournaments in total, including 38 PGA Tour events.
How They Built Their Wealth
Sarazen earned his living through tournament winnings, prize money, and exhibition tours, which were the primary sources of income for golfers of his era. He also signed an endorsement deal with Wilson Sporting Goods in 1923 that lasted 75 years, until his death in 1999, reported to be the longest-running endorsement contract in professional sports history. He is also credited with inventing the modern sand wedge, which he debuted at the 1932 Open Championship, a design that shaped short-game equipment for generations of golfers.
Personal Life
Sarazen married Mary Sarazen in 1924; she died in 1986. The couple had two children. Sarazen died on May 13, 1999, in Naples, Florida, at the age of 97, and both he and his wife were interred at Marco Island Cemetery in Florida.
Gene Sarazen’s net worth at the time of his death in 1999 was estimated at several million dollars, built over a career spanning more than seven decades as a champion golfer, equipment innovator, and one of the longest-tenured endorsers in sports history.