The Stevenage-born Formula 1 winner currently earns £15m a year from his five-year contract with McLaren Mercedes and an estimated £3m a year from a five-year sponsorship deal with sportswear brand Reebok, giving him an annual total of £18m. He has also recently appeared in ads for mobile operator Vodafone.
Last year Beckham is believed to have earned somewhere between £24m and £31m from playing football, sponsorship and advertising deals.
But while the footballer is nearing retirement, Hamilton is a mere 23 and only at the start of an F1 career -- he could have more than a decade left at the top of his game.
The driver is already a highly attractive name for brands looking to cash in on his success. After finishing fifth at yesterday's Grand Prix and becoming F1's youngest-ever champion, as well as the first British man in nearly 12 years to win the trophy, his commercial appeal will have escalated and will probably mean that brands will be queuing up to associate with him.
Currently, the world's highest paid sports star is American golfer Tiger Woods, who earned about £71m in the year to June. According to Forbes magazine, he is on track to become the first star to accumulate a $1bn fortune from sport.
Hamilton won the F1 championship yesterday by the skin of his teeth. He had needed fifth position to beat rival Felipe Massa from scooping the trophy, but after stopping to change to tyres for wet conditions, he was still sixth when Massa's Ferrari sped over the finishing line. With only moments to spare, Hamilton overtook Toyota's Timo Glock and stole Massa's chance of the championship.
The event also proved a triumph for ITV1 last night, with viewing peaking at a massive 12.5m viewers.
Separately, has been revealed as being owned by Omnicom ad agency TBWA.