Rory McIlroy is easily one of the most famous professional golfers in the world. In 2016, Forbes ranked him as the 60th highest paid celebrity in the world, having made $42.5 million last year. That sandwiches him right between Ben Affleck and Elton John on the prestigious index.
However because of the lower public profile of pro golfers in general, McIlroy doesn’t have to deal with the same level of public bombardment and paparazzi action as many of his celebrity-earnings peers. Unlike many other top-earning professional athletes, he maintains a fair level of anonymity when venturing out in the world; particularly when there are no golf tournaments being held in the area.