It is rumoured that Tiger Woods, the recently embattled golf superstar, sailed in to the Bahamas to escape the media coverage and public scrutiny over his sex scandal. He reportedly spent Christmas in George Town, Exuma, aboard his yacht “Privacy”, with witnesses claiming that he was seen there up to Sunday.
An article in The Tribune reported that “Meanwhile the sex scandal that has engulfed him may have cost shareholders of companies endorsed by the world’s No. 1 golfer up to $12 billion in losses, according to a study by two economics professors from the University of California.
The study, released on Monday by researchers Victor Stango and Christopher Knittel, gave an estimate of damage to the market value of Woods’ main sponsors caused by revelations of alleged extramarital affairs that surfaced after he was involved in a minor car accident outside his Florida home on November 27.
“We estimate that shareholders of Tiger Woods’ sponsors lost $5-12 billion after his car accident,” the researchers wrote, adding that millions of shareholders were affected.
“Our analysis makes clear that while having a celebrity of Tiger Woods’ stature as an endorser has undeniable upside, the downside risk is substantial, too,” Stango, a professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, said in a statement released with the study.
