Hidden history

Arnold Palmer net worth: The £500million businessman and seven other things you didn’t know about him

Adored golfer who passed away last night also had his own drink, flew his own plane and had 13 streets named after him

ARNOLD PALMER was not just the incredible golfer with the movie-star looks and heart-warming wink.

He was an astute businessman with a £500million empire, a pilot licence and even his own drink.

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Arnold Palmer was an avid pilot and plew his own personal jetCredit: Airport Journals

Here are eight things you didn't know about the late superstar.

The £500million businessman

Palmer stopped playing for good ten years ago but by then already had an enormous business portfolio.

The son of a greenkeeper - praised by President Barack Obama - was worth an astonishing £500m when he passed away from heart complications yesterday aged 87.

He owned a golf course design firm and a golf resort in Orlando and was considered one of the pioneers of sports marketing.

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Even by the late 1990s he was raking in more than £15.5m a year and helped pave the way for the stars of today such as Rory McIlroy to win huge amounts.

Arnold Palmer's logos adorned golf equipment and apparel the world overCredit: Reuters

His Bay Hill umbrella logo is synonymous with golf clubs and clothes around the world and he even helped flog watches as well as...

The Arnold Palmer drink

Golfers and non-golfers alike are said to have guzzled down the mixture of iced tea and lemonade that Arnie lent his name to.

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The concoction was a favourite of Palmer's as far back as the 1960s.

And the story goes that a woman happened to overhear Palmer asking for a waitress to mix him one during an encounter in California.

She requested the same, referring to it as “that Palmer drink”, and history was made.

The record-setting pilot

Palmer was obsessed with flying and frequently flew himself in his own private jet.

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But not many people know that he was also a record-setting aviator.

In 1976 he took 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds to complete a round-the-world flight, setting a new speed record.

Palmer had 13 streets named after him

The American was the King of the fairways and Arnie's Army crowded the course just to catch a glimpse of their hero.

He was so loved that they even named streets after him.

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Thirteen in America, to be exact.

Arnold Palmer was generous with his cash and loved to help other peopleCredit: Reuters

He was a wise-cracking joker

A fierce competitor, a true champion, a man of the people... Palmer also had a wicked sense of humour and was renowned for his quotes.

He once said: "I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone's game. It's called an eraser."

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Considering he was one of the greatest golfers of them all, Palmer could also be pretty self-deprecating.

He once mused: ""One thing I've learned over time is, if you hit a golf ball into water, it won't float."

Palmer was a coast guard for three years and then a paint salesman

Arnie joined Wake Forest University to play golf but quit after the 1950 death of close friend and team-mate Bud Worsham in a car crash.

That led to the future seven-time Major champ quitting the game and joining the US Coast Guard during a three-year break from the sport.

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He was discharged and then fell into a job as a paint salesman before taking up golf again.

Arnold Palmer was the original golfing superstar long before Tiger Woods appearedCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

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He paid for his own hospital

Palmer simply loved people and enjoyed giving back to those less fortunate than him.

One of his many kind gestures was to raise funds for the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.

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