The wealthiest sportsman to ever live was Gaius Appuleius Diocles, who, in his career as a charioteer, amassed a fortune equivalent to billions of dollars today. As we shall see, given the risks he faced, perhaps he deserved it.
The Romans loved chariot racing. Images of races appeared everywhere in the city. Fortunes were gambled. A vast track, the Circus Maximus, was constructed in Rome. It could seat over 150,000 spectators. Chariots pulled by two or four horses would race seven laps of the circus. The key to victory was seizing the inside track. Accidents were common, and a study of charioteer graves has suggested an average age of death of just 22.
Chariot racing is so dangerous that even filming recreations can be deadly. The 1926 film Ben Hur featured a chariot race which cost the lives of five horses and one stuntman.
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