This article contains information regarding the brand endorsements, sponsors and charity work of former German racer Michael Schumacher.
Sponsors
Following are the list of sponsors who sponsor the former German racer.
Deutsche Vermögensberatung – German financial advisor company Vermögensberatung has been Schumacher’s sponsor since the start of his spell with Ferrari in 1996.
The Frankfurt-based company was initially featured on the German’s helmet but later on featured more prominently on caps and replaced team branding.
Even after his retirement in 2012, Vermögensberatung signed a new seven-year deal with Schumacher in 2013, which was reported to be worth €21 million per year. Vermögensberatung currently also sponsors Schumacher’s son, Mick Schumacher, who is in his rookie F1 season.
Mercedes-Benz – After his first retirement in 2006, Schumacher always felt he still wasn’t done racing. Although he came extremely close to getting back in the car once in 2009, Schumacher made a full time return to the paddock in 2010 with Mercedes GP Petronas.
Schumacher not only joined the German team as a driver but also became Mercedes-Benz’s brand ambassador, a contract that the company still honours even after his retirement.
CS Ranch – One of the largest Reining facilities in Switzerland, CS Ranch is located in Givrins and run by Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna Schumacher and his daughter Gina Schumacher.
Ferrari – Schumacher and Ferrari have a special relationship in motorsport history. After signing on for the Scuderia in 1996, Schumacher went on to win five titles with the Italian team and became their most successful driver ever.
With Schumacher as a brand ambassador, Ferrari also manufactured Schumacher-branded Ferrari merchandise from the year 1999. Till date you can get Schumacher-branded Ferrari merchandise. It is reported that Schumacher was given sole rights to the merchandise branded by him for a US$45m-a-year deal.
Schuberth – Founded in 1922 in Braunschweig, Germany, Schuberth is one of the leading helmet manufacturers today.
Schuberth tied up with Schumacher in 2000 during his Ferrari stint and the German has been a brand ambassador since. The company even has special Schumacher edition helmet collections, as a tribute to the seven-time world champion.
Schuberth currently also sponsors Schumacher’s son Mick.
Mick Schumacher – Michael Schumacher’s son Mick Schumacher made his F1 debut in 2021 with the Haas team.
The young Schumacher enjoys many of his dad’s old sponsors as his current sponsor but along with them, Mick has built his own brand. With his own branded merchandise being marketed, Mick also has a special Michael Schumacher collection, with his father being his partner and his brand’s first ambassador.
OTHERS
Apart from his current sponsors, the seven-time world champion has seen many sponsorship deals in his twenty-year career, most of which are inactive post his retirement. Some of the sponsors during his racing days were
- RTL Television
- Omega
- L’Oreal
- AMD
- OMP
- Shell
- Vodafone
- Piaggio Aero
- Puma
- Rosbacher
- Navyboot
- Jet Set
- Audemars Piguet
- Hormann
- Bacardi
Charity Work
- After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Schumacher donated US$10 million as aid.
- Schumacher has been a special ambassador to UNESCO since 2003 and has donated over US$1.5 million to the several UNESCO projects, including construction of a school and improvements of the slum areas in Dakar, supporting clinics for Sarajevo’s child victims of war amongst many others.
- Schumacher has also been a generous donor to the Clinton Foundation, founded by former US President, Bill Clinton. It was reported that Schumacher had donated between US$5m – US$10m to the foundation.
- The Keep Fighting Foundation is a non-profit initiative that is directly influenced by Schumacher. After the German’s skiing accident in 2013, Keep Fighting was founded to continue his charitable work around the world with the spirit of never giving up, a message the German’s fans sent him after his accident.
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