Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and raised largely by his father, Anthony Hamilton, who worked several jobs to fund his son’s early karting career. He began karting at age eight and was talent-spotted by McLaren boss Ron Dennis at a racing awards ceremony in 1995, aged just 10, after which McLaren signed him to its young driver program at 13 — believed to be the youngest driver ever contracted by a top F1 team. That early sponsorship removed much of the financial burden that keeps many talented young drivers out of the sport, and it proved decisive in his rise to Formula One.

Hamilton made his Formula One debut with McLaren in 2007, finishing runner-up in the championship by a single point in a sensational rookie season. He went one better in 2008, winning his first World Championship in dramatic fashion on the final corner of the final race. That title, combined with his status as the first Black driver in Formula One history, made him an instant global star and set up more than a decade of championship contention that followed.

Hamilton moved from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, a switch that proved to be one of the most successful driver transfers in F1 history. He won six further World Championships with Mercedes — in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 — taking his total to seven, tied with Michael Schumacher for the most in the sport’s history. Along the way he set records for career wins and pole positions. After a title drought through the early 2020s, Hamilton announced a shock move to Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season, joining one of the sport’s most storied teams in search of an eighth championship.

Photo: nhayashida via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Hamilton’s total annual earnings — salary, bonuses, and endorsements combined — crossed $100 million for the first time in 2025, making him the first Formula One driver in history to reach that figure in a single year. That places him among the very highest-earning athletes across all sports, not just motorsport, reflecting both his on-track achievements and his commercial reach.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari for 2025 was reported to be worth up to roughly $107 million per year including performance incentives, making him the highest-paid driver in Ferrari’s history and one of the best-compensated athletes in the world. By 2026, his base Ferrari salary alone has been reported in the region of $60 million per year, with bonuses and commercial payments layered on top. This followed more than a decade of high-value contracts at Mercedes, where his salary had also regularly ranked among the highest in the sport.

Hamilton has built one of the most extensive endorsement portfolios in motorsport, with long-running partnerships including Puma, IWC Schaffhausen (watches), Monster Energy, and Bose, alongside his fashion collaboration “X by Lewis Hamilton” with Tommy Hilfiger. His crossover appeal beyond racing — including work in fashion, music, and film circles — has made him attractive to brands well outside traditional motorsport sponsorship.

Hamilton holds a minority ownership stake in the NFL’s Denver Broncos, acquired in 2022 as part of a high-profile ownership group, making him one of relatively few active professional athletes with a stake in a major American sports franchise outside his own sport. He is an investor in the vegan fast-food chain Neat Burger, runs the production company Dawn Apollo Films (an executive producer on the 2025 racing film “F1,” starring Brad Pitt), and founded Mission 44, a charitable foundation focused on improving diversity and opportunity in motorsport and STEM fields. He has also been associated with various sustainability-focused investments tied to his stated environmental interests.

Hamilton has been based in Monaco for tax residency purposes for much of his career, a common arrangement among F1 drivers, and has also maintained property in Colorado and elsewhere. He is known for an extensive car collection reflecting his profession, alongside a private jet used for extensive travel between races, media commitments, and his business interests. Detailed public records of his full property portfolio remain limited, consistent with his general preference for privacy around personal asset details.