HispanicBusiness

Forbes Magazine last week declared golf legend Tiger Woods to be the first professional athlete to become a billionaire, but Woods himself denies it.

Woods laughed off the contention during a Presidents Cup press conference Tuesday, when a reporter asked him about the article, according to Golf.com.

Forbes acknowledged in the article that its figures were only an estimate -- Woods is known for being tight-lipped on the subject of his wealth. The magazine calculated that with his 14 major titles, nine Player of the Year awards, multi-million dollar contract with Nike and golf course design business, he recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in late September, with his victory at the FedEx Cup.

In any case, Woods has been the highest-paid athlete since 2002, when he surpassed Formula One superstar Michael Schumacher. In terms of athletes with the highest net worth, Schumacher and NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan are Woods' only competitors, Forbes reports.