Steve Williams has $8.8 million reasons to be thankful to Tiger Woods.

Steve Williams grew up as a caddie to many professional players but his greatest fortune came when he worked for The Masters, Tiger Woods. A caddie is a person who carries a player’s bags and clubs and offers him insights and game strategies. A caddie also receives 10% cut from the player’s winnings.

He has worked for Tiger for 12 years since 1999 before he fired him in 2011. Since 1999, Tiger has earned a total of $88.3 million with Williams by his side. As a 10% commission, Williams has earned more than $8.8 million in 12 years. He was hailed the richest sportsman in New Zealand, thanks to Tiger Woods. The chart below shows the earnings of Steve Williams as Tiger Wood’s caddy.

Year       Tiger's Earnings William's Cut

1999       $4,466,398           $446,640

2000       $9,188,321           $918,832

2001       $5,687,778           $568,778

2002       $6,912,625           $691,263

2003       $6,623,463           $662,346

2004       $5,365,473           $536,547

2005       $10,628,024        $1,062,802

2006       $10,552,899        $1,055,290

2007       $10,867,052        $1,086,705

2008       $5,775,000           $577,500

2009       $10,413,163        $1,041,316

2010       $1,294,765           $129,477

2011       $571,363              $77,136

Steve then worked for Adam Scott but did not have greater earnings when he was still with Woods. He has an estimated net worth of $20 million and 15 % of those came from the winnings of the most successful golfers he works for.

This year, Tiger Woods has reclaimed his crown as the world’s highest-earning athlete by Forbes. The world’s no.1 golfer and 14-time major winner received $13.1 million in salary and winnings plus $55 million in endorsements.  He is reported to earn $78.1 million in 12 months until June 1, 2013.