Podcast Summary: More or Less – Is an Ancient Charioteer the Best Paid Sportsperson of All Time?
Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Duncan Weldon (BBC Radio 4)
Guests: Professor Mary Beard (University of Cambridge)
Overview
This episode of "More or Less" examines the widely-circulated claim that Gaius Apuleius Diocles, an ancient Roman charioteer, was the highest-paid sportsperson in history—out-earning even modern icons like Cristiano Ronaldo. Host Duncan Weldon explores how such enormous figures are calculated, what they mean in context, and whether it makes sense to compare ancient prize money with modern athlete income. The episode features insights from renowned classicist Mary Beard and takes a critical look at converting historic wealth into today’s terms.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Origin of the Claim
- Listener Jane Bellingham asks whether an ancient Roman charioteer could really out-earn today’s sports stars.
- Discussions about Diocles originate from journalist Charlotte Higgins and Professor Mary Beard’s own podcast, "Instant Classics."
2. Who Was Gaius Apuleius Diocles?
- Spanish-born Roman charioteer and celebrity.
- Reportedly earned "35,000 and something sesterces" as prize money—though the actual figure is much higher.
Memorable Quote:
“His total prize money was 35,000 and something sesterces. And people claim that this guy Diocles, throughout the history of the planet, is the sportsperson who has won the most prize money ever. So it is. Dream on, Ronaldo.”
— Professor Mary Beard [02:09]
3. Correcting the Numbers
- Professor Beard admits on air she misstated his winnings as 35,000 instead of over 35 million sesterces.
- Diocles’s actual winnings, "over 35 million sesterces," set him apart as a super-wealthy athlete in ancient Rome.
Notable Moment:
“The real answer is that it was over 35 million sesterces. What I managed to say on the pod was that it was 35,000 sesterces, which is kind of different.”
— Professor Mary Beard [04:39]
4. How Do You Compare Ancient and Modern Money?
- An American academic in 2010 calculated Diocles’s winnings as equivalent to $15 billion.
- This was done by comparing what Diocles could pay (Roman army wages for a fifth of a year) to what it would cost to pay the modern US Army for the same period.
Key Insight:
“The US army is much bigger than the Roman army. Even if you say the Roman army was touching 300,000, that's still dwarfed by the US Armed Forces, 1.5 million. The cost of paying these two armies for the same period of time are clearly not going to be analogous.”
— Duncan Weldon [06:21]
5. Problems with Long-Range Conversions
- The size, value, and proportion of economies have changed over 2,000 years.
- Direct comparisons, even using clever ratios or analogies, are misleading.
“Money buys different things, different things are differentially expensive in the ancient and modern world.”
— Professor Mary Beard [06:50]
“I would feel hesitant to use the word meaningless, but I think it's pretty close to meaningless.”
— Professor Mary Beard [07:17]
“You just can't get a sensible answer.”
— Duncan Weldon [07:35]
6. Understanding the True Scale of Diocles’s Wealth
- 1 million sesterces was the threshold wealth for a Roman senator—the super-rich elite of their day.
- Diocles amassed a fortune over 35 times the entry to the Roman Senate, a feat placing him among Rome’s financial elite.
“What you have with Diocles is someone who has won as prize money 35 million. So some senators would have had more wealth than that. But he's won over the complete fortune of more than 30 senators.”
— Professor Mary Beard [08:10]
7. Final Assessment: Can We Put Diocles in the Forbes List?
- While Diocles was among the extremely wealthy of his own age, attempts to convert or compare his wealth to modern sporting fortunes are deeply flawed.
- Modern stars like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Cristiano Ronaldo can "rest easy"—no ancient Roman sportsman is overtaking them on wealth rankings in any meaningful cross-temporal sense.
“You can't really include Gaius Apuleius Diocles on a list of the world's richest sports people and certainly not with a 15 billion dollar number attached to him.”
— Duncan Weldon [09:26]
Memorable Quotes & Timestamps
- [02:09] Mary Beard: “His total prize money was 35,000 and something sesterces... Dream on, Ronaldo.”
- [04:39] Mary Beard: “The real answer is that it was over 35 million sesterces. What I managed to say on the pod was that it was 35,000 sesterces, which is kind of different.”
- [07:17] Mary Beard: “I would feel hesitant to use the word meaningless, but I think it's pretty close to meaningless.”
- [08:10] Mary Beard: “He's won over the complete fortune of more than 30 senators.”
- [09:26] Duncan Weldon: “You can't really include Gaius Apuleius Diocles on a list of the world's richest sports people and certainly not with a 15 billion dollar number attached to him.”
Important Timestamps
- [01:17] Opening discussion about sports wealth through history
- [02:09] Introduction of Diocles and the (misstated) winnings figure
- [03:37] Roman chariot racing as a mass sport and its dangers
- [04:39] Correction of Diocles’s prize money to 35 million sesterces
- [04:59] Explanation of the $15 billion calculation and method
- [06:21] Problems with comparing Roman and modern armies
- [07:35] Problems with converting ancient wealth into modern terms
- [08:10] Contextualizing Diocles's fortune within Roman society
- [09:26] Final verdict on the comparison
Conclusion
The episode debunks the popular myth that Diocles can be meaningfully called the best-paid athlete “of all time” in dollar terms. While his fortune was extraordinary by Roman standards—many multiples of a senator’s minimum—direct conversions to modern money distort both the economic context and reality. The episode smartly argues for understanding historical figures in the context of their own time, not by misleading modern equivalences.
If you’re fascinated by history, sports, or the pitfalls of statistics, this is a wry and insightful listen.