Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius was born on 22 November 1986, in Sandton, Johannesburg South Africa, of Italian descent through his mother. Oscar is a South African Olympic track and field star, known worldwide as The Blade Runner, as he uses prosthetics as a consequence of having a congenital disease called fibular hemimelia, which necessitated the amputation of both legs below the knee before he was a year old..
So just how rich is Oscar Pistorius? Currently, Oscar Pistorius’ net worth is estimated to be $500,000, earned largely through his success as a sprinter, achieving worldwide success and recognition as a Paralympic sprinter, ans remarkably in open competition too.
Oscar Pistorius Net Worth $500,000
Pistorius attended Constantia Kloof Primary School and Pretoria Boys High School, where he played various sports, including rugby, water polo, tennis, and wrestling. After suffering a serious knee injury, Pistorius was introduced to running, which later became a primary source for his salary and net worth. Apart from being referred to as “The Blade Runner”, he is also called “the fastest man on no legs”. Pistorius participated in the Paralympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. During his career as a sprint runner for South Africa, Oscar Pistorius has earned many rewards and completed many achievements: at the Paralympics he has won six golden medals, plus a silver and a bronze medal. He has also won a silver medal at World Championships, and two silver medals at African Championships. Such successful participation at the Paralympics has added substantial amounts of money to Oscar Pistorius’ net worth.
In 2005, Pistorius set a world record for his disability class at South African Championships for over 400 meters, which he ran in 47.34 seconds, and in 2007 lowered the record for the 400 meters (46.56 seconds). The same year Pistorius also became the record holder for the 100 and 200 meter events.
In 2008, Pistorius was included in the Time magazine’s annual list of influential people, and in 2012 won the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, plus in the same year he was honored with the unveiling of a mural in the town of Gemona, in Italy that portrays his achievements. Pistorius has been sponsored by many famous companies, such as BT, Nike, Oakley, and people, for example, Thierry Mugler. Oscar Pistorius has also collaborated on a music CD entitled “Olympic Dream” that features remixes of songs that are inspiring to Pistorius. Part of the proceeds from sales of the album went to support various charitable causes.
In 2012, Pistorius qualified to compete at the Olympic Games, and became the first amputee to participate in such an event, which at first generated a lot of controversy. In addition, Pistorius was honored to carry the South African flag during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Despite his worldwide success, Oscar Pistorius’ life took an unfortunate turn in 2013. On the 14th of February, Pistorius shot and killed his South African model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius then underwent a psychiatric evaluation and was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. However, after a lengthy trial, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and sentences to five years jail, a verdict which is still being appealed as too lenient, as of mid-2015.
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