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For Paris 2024, Hong Kong topped Forbes’ comparison of reported cash awards for individual-sport gold medals at US$768,000, followed by Israel at US$275,000 and Serbia at US$218,000. These are Forbes’ rounded U.S.-dollar conversions—not a current global pay schedule or a guarantee of an athlete’s take-home amount. The ranking covers individual events, and payments may come from an Olympic committee or a government ministry.
Which countries pay Olympians the most money for winning a gold medal?
Forbes reported that 15 participating delegations offered more than US$100,000 for an individual-sport gold at Paris 2024. Its reporters contacted Olympic committees or government sports ministries across all 206 participating countries and territories and confirmed cash-prize programs in at least 33. The amounts below are the survey’s nominal U.S.-dollar equivalents, rounded to the nearest thousand.
| Rank | Country or territory | Reported individual gold award |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | US$768,000 |
| 2 | Israel | US$275,000 |
| 3 | Serbia | US$218,000 |
| 4 | Malaysia | US$214,000 |
| 5 | Italy | US$196,000 |
| 6 | Lithuania | US$182,000 |
| 7 | Moldova | US$171,000 |
| 8 | Latvia | US$155,000 |
| 9 | Hungary | US$154,000 |
| 10 | Bulgaria | US$139,000 |
| 11 | Ukraine | US$125,000 |
| 12 | Kosovo | US$120,000 |
| 13 | Estonia | US$109,000 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | US$103,000 |
| 15 | Spain | US$102,000 |
Source: Forbes’ Paris 2024 prize-money survey. Hong Kong is listed as a participating territory, not as a sovereign country. The list is Forbes’ comparison of reported programs; it is not an official, standardized schedule shared by Olympic delegations.
What the amounts do—and do not—tell you
They are exchange-rate conversions, not identical local payouts
Forbes converted reported local-currency awards into U.S. dollars and rounded the results. The ranking therefore reflects the survey’s conversion, not a promise that an athlete receives that exact dollar amount. A change in exchange rates can change the U.S.-dollar comparison even if a program’s local-currency award stays the same.
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The ranking is for individual events
The listed figures concern gold medals in individual sports. A team or multi-athlete event may have a smaller award per person, a shared pool, or a different total. As a result, the headline number should not be treated as the amount each member of a winning team personally receives.
The payer and tax treatment can differ
Forbes gathered information from Olympic committees as well as government sports ministries, so “country pays” is shorthand: a national committee may fund or administer the bonus rather than a central government. The comparison also does not establish a common tax treatment or a net take-home figure across programs. Forbes describes other benefits in some cases, including pensions or monthly allowances; Poland also offered non-cash benefits alongside its cash award.
Examples show why Olympic bonus rules are not directly comparable
France’s Paris 2024 schedule
The French Government set Paris 2024 awards at €80,000 for gold, €40,000 for silver and €20,000 for bronze. Those are the official French schedule amounts, not part of the Forbes top 15, which lists only awards above US$100,000 for individual gold in its converted comparison. The French Government’s Paris 2024 information sets out the award schedule.
Brazil’s event-size tiers
Brazil’s Olympic Committee announced for Paris 2024 an individual gold award of R$350,000, a group award of R$700,000 and a collective-event award of R$1.05 million. The group and collective totals are shared equally among athletes, so the event’s total is not necessarily each athlete’s personal payment. The committee said the announced values also applied to Milan-Cortina 2026. Brazil’s Olympic Committee announcement describes the tiers and split.
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A separate athletics award from World Athletics
World Athletics announced a separate US$50,000 prize for each Paris 2024 athletics gold medalist, funded from the federation’s share of International Olympic Committee revenue. It is a federation award, not a national bonus, and should not be added silently to the Forbes country or territory figures. World Athletics’ announcement explains the payment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why this is a Paris 2024 ranking, not a current pay guide
The figures describe programs reported for the Paris 2024 Games. They should not be read as proof that the same amounts remain in force for a later Olympics. Forbes’ survey provides a broad comparison, but it does not establish one independently audited set of rules for all listed programs, including eligibility, tax treatment, team allocations or subsequent changes. Its post-Games report also notes that the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee pays US$37,500 for gold and that awards may be received for multiple medals; that figure is below the survey’s six-figure cutoff, so the United States does not appear in this top 15. Forbes’ post-Games report discusses medal rewards and its conversion methodology.
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