The golfer Tiger Woods is expected to become the first person to make a billion dollars through sporting ability alone. The claim was made in this week's Forbes magazine which ranks the world's richest people in its annual celebrity 100 list. Here's our Sports News Reporter Alex Capstick:

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The magazine is careful to point out that the clarification does not include wealthy individuals who happen to enjoy sport, such as the owner of the winning yacht at the America's Cup Ernesto Bertarelli. He was already Switzerland's richest man when he entered the glitzy world of top level sailing. Tiger Woods has made his fortune because he's a very good golfer.

He has won 50 tournaments faster than any other player, and is closing in on Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championship victories. The magazine says nine-tenths of his earnings so far in his career have come from endorsements worth 750 million dollars. His good looks and courteous manner makes him very attractive to sponsors like Buick, Gillette and Nike.

The television ratings are another gauge of his popularity, when Tiger Woods is playing the viewing figures increase by at least a third. TV executives will no doubt be looking forward to his return as Tiger Woods is expected to miss the rest of the season while he recovers from knee surgery.

Alex Capstick, BBC Sports News Reporter

Listen to the words

make history as
become the first person to achieve something

glitzy
glamorous and exciting

closing in on
getting near to

endorsements
advertising certain products

courteous manner
polite way of behaving

television ratings
a measure of how many people watch particular programmes

gauge of his popularity
measure of how well liked he is

viewing figures
the number of people who watch a programme on television

recovers from knee surgery
gets better after having a medical operation on his leg

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