NATIONAL badminton legend, Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei, is ranked fifth on the all-time Badminton World Federation (BWF) prize money list, with the chart now led by South Korean women's singles champion, An Se Young.
Over his nearly 20-year career, Chong Wei has amassed a total prize money of US$1,814,407.50 (RM7,398,251.64), at a time when the tournament prize structure was still low and the US$240,000 (RM978,600) prize money offered at the current World Tour Finals had not yet been introduced.
The increased World Tour prize money structure has seen world number one An Se Young earn a total of US$2,329,466.25 (RM9,494,405.13) to date.
The South Korean also leads the 2025 season in prize money and has the chance to make history as the first player to surpass the US$1 million mark in a single season if she emerges the World Tour Finals champion by defeating world number two Wan Zhi Yi from China in the final in Hangzhou today.
Se Young, who has won a record 10 titles this season, has so far collected US$763,175 (RM3,111,562) and will surpass the US$1 million mark if she adds the US$240,000 (RM978,600) championship prize to her collection.
In the men's doubles event, world number one Kim Won Ho–Seo Seung Jae from South Korea have the chance to emerge as the most prolific pair if they defeat world number five Liang Wei Keng–Wang Chang from China in the World Tour Finals final to claim their 11th title of the season.
Currently, the South Korean pair is tied with three Chinese legends on 10 titles, namely men's doubles Li Yong Bo–Tian Bing Yi and women's doubles Ge Fei–Gu Jun and Yu Yang–Wang Xiao Li. – December 21, 2025
