Nominal vs present value
Local display: $0.7m · Rebased to 2024 USD via US CPI-U
How the total breaks down
Tournament prize money. World Open and British Open purses during his historic unbeaten run.
Exhibitions & national support. Pakistani national stature and international exhibitions multiplying the living.
Impact 92
- Became squash's definitive global icon while still underpaid by tennis standards
- Proved unbeaten dominance could not alone force purse inflation
- Made Pakistani squash a national commercial identity
Jahangir's paradox still haunts the sport: the most dominant champion alive could not extract tennis money from squash purses.
In 1985 Jahangir was unbeatable and still not rich by global sports standards. Roughly $250,000 in peak-year income — about $700,000 today — captured squash's cruel ceiling: historic greatness, modest pay.