Mike Tyson Net Worth: Mike Tyson is a boxer and promoter. Mike Tyson is worth $10 Million. Read on about Mike Tyson’s Net Worth, Biography, Age, Height, Family, and Career.
Net Worth: | $10 Million |
Date of Birth: | Jun 30, 1966 (56 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Bedford-Stuyvesant |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Profession: | Professional Boxer, Actor, Film Producer, Athlete |
Nationality: | United States of America |
What is Mike Tyson’s Net Worth?
Mike Tyson is an American boxer who is now retired. In the late 1980s, he was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. At the time this was written, Mike Tyson was worth $10 million. Mike was one of the most famous and well-paid athletes in the world when he was at the top of his game. At age 20, he was the youngest champion in history. At his peak, he had a fortune of more than $300 million, but he lost it or was scammed out of it. In 2003, Mike filed for bankruptcy. He was reportedly $23 million in debt at the time he filed for bankruptcy.
Mike Tyson made at least $430 million in purses and endorsements over the course of his career, which is about $700 million when you account for inflation.
ESPN called him “The Hardest Hitter in Heavyweight History,” and Sky Sports called him “the most fierce fighter to step into a professional ring.” Even though Tyson was a good boxer, he was known for getting into trouble in and out of the ring.
Early Life of Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson was born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York. Tyson grew up in a bad neighbourhood, and his stepfather was involved in crime and gambling. Tyson and his mother had to move when he was ten because of money problems. Tyson had been arrested 38 times by the time he was 13. He often fought bigger kids who made fun of his voice (Tyson speaks with a lisp). A teacher in juvenile detention and a former boxer found out about Tyson’s fighting skills when he was in school. After working with a few trainers, he joined up with Cus D’Amatto, a trainer who would have a huge impact on the future boxing champion. When Tyson was 16, his mother died. D’Amatto then became his legal guardian. Tyson worked with Kevin Rooney when they were both young.
Early in Mike Tyson’s boxing career
Tyson’s first job as a professional boxing was in the Junior Olympics in 1981 and 1982, where he won gold medals. He also boxed in the 1984 Summer Olympics, but he lost both times to Henry Tillman. Tyson’s first fight as a pro was when he was 18. He beat Hector Mercedes with a TKO in the first round. This would be the first of many fights that Tyson would end in the first round. Tyson continued to fight opponents who were tougher than those he had faced before. Many people thought he would become famous quickly. Cus D’Amatto died in 1985, and early in his career, Tyson lost an important father figure. Many people later said that this would make Tyson’s life less stable in the future.
Mike Tyson’s Big Win
A fight between Tyson and Jesse Ferguson that was shown all over the country put him on the world stage for real. After Tyson hit Ferguson with an uppercut that broke his nose, the result of the fight was clear. Ferguson was disqualified for clinching in an illegal way, which gave Tyson the win.
A fight between Tyson and Marvis Frazier, who had once tried to win the world title, was also shown on TV. Tyson won with a knockout in under 30 seconds. In 1986, in the second round, Tyson beat Trevor Berbick and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. In 1987, he fought James Smith for his title and won, making him the undisputed heavyweight world champion. He fought Pinklon Thomas in a 12-round fight that same year to win the IBF title. Tyson was the first heavyweight to ever hold all three major belts at the same time.
Larry Holmes was a former champion, but Tyson beat him in 1988 and knocked him out in the fourth round. Tony Tubbs had the same thing happen to him that year. He got a TKO in the second round. Michael Spinks was the last person Tyson beat this year. Even though many experts thought Spinks’ technical skill would make the fight hard for Tyson, Tyson knocked him out in just 90 seconds.
After that, Tyson’s career seemed to go in the wrong direction. After a number of personal problems, Tyson decided to fire Kevin Rooney, who is credited with making Tyson a top fighter after D’Amatto’s death. Even though Tyson continued to win fights in 1989, his career would take a big hit when he lost to Buster Douglas in 1990. Douglas fought with passion and dedication because he had just lost his mother to a stroke 23 days before the fight. In the tenth round, Douglas hit Tyson with a combination that put him down for the first time in his career. In one of the most shocking turns of events in sports history, the referee counted him out.
In 1991, Tyson kept winning, but problems with the law put an end to his career. Tyson went to jail for six years after he was arrested with rape. Tyson became a Muslim during this time. Mike Tyson had to register as a sex offender when he got out of prison.
At first, Tyson’s comeback went well. He knocked out a number of opponents and won back two of his belts. But he lost his WBA belt when Holyfield came out of retirement and knocked Tyson out in the 11th round. In the rematch, Tyson lost again when he controversially bit Holyfield twice and was disqualified as a result. Even worse, in 1997, Tyson’s boxing licence was taken away.
In 1999, Tyson went back to professional boxing and beat Francois Botha. However, he was sent back to prison for nine months after he was accused of attacking two drivers. When he got out of prison for the second time, he went back to boxing and quickly knocked out a number of fighters in the first or second round. In 2000, it knocked him 38 seconds to knock Lou Savarese out.
In 2003, Tyson beat Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds for his last professional win. Mike Tyson gave up boxing in 2005 after a number of failed comeback fights, injuries, and losses.
Mike Tyson Boxing Style
Mike Tyson involved the “peek-a-boo” style of boxing defence from Cus D’Amatto. This style involves a high guard and quick head movements. This is another aggressive style of counterpunching that involves charging the opponent, making him swing, and then taking advantage of openings. Tyson was known for both how hard he could hit and how he could move around the ring. Tyson got a lot of his punching power from his legs, and he was known for finishing fights with a right hook and then an uppercut.
Mike Tyson Career Earnings
Mike Tyson Career Earnings | ||
Opponent | Purse | Inflation Adjusted |
Trevor Berbick | $1,500,000 | |
James Smith | $2,000,000 | |
Pinklon Thomas | $2,500,000 | |
Tony Tucker | $2,500,000 | |
Tyrell Biggs | $2,500,000 | |
Larry Holmes | $5,000,000 | |
Tony Tubbs | $10,000,000 | $21 million |
Michael Spinks | $20,000,000 | $42 million |
Frank Bruno I | $8,000,000 | |
Carl Williams | $4,000,000 | |
Buster Douglas | $6,000,000 | |
Henry Tillman | $2,000,000 | |
Alex Stewart | $3,000,000 | |
Donovan Ruddock I | $6,000,000 | |
Donovan Ruddock II | $10,000,000 | |
Peter McNeeley | $25,000,000 | $42 million |
Buster Mathis | $10,000,000 | |
Frank Bruno II | $30,000,000 | $50 million |
Bruce Seldon | $30,000,000 | |
Evander Holyfield I | $30,000,000 | |
Evander Holyfield II | $30,000,000 | $49 million |
Francois Botha | $10,000,000 | |
Orlin Norris | $9,000,000 | |
Julius Francis | $10,000,000 | |
Lou Savarese | $8,000,000 | |
Andrew Golota | $10,000,000 | |
Brian Nielsen | $5,000,000 | |
Lennox Lewis | $103,000,000 | $148 million |
Clifford Etienne | $5,000,000 | |
Danny Williams | $8,000,000 | |
Kevin McBride | $5,000,000 | |
Roy Jones Jr | $10,000,000 | |
Total: | $423,000,000 |
Mike signed a $27 million, eight-fight deal with HBO in 1987. This deal ran until his fight with Alex Stewart. Alex Stewart lost to Tyson in just two minutes and 27 seconds. He then signed a long-term, $120 million deal with Showtime that covered several fights, including Holyfield I and II.
Mike made at least $430 million from fights and endorsements during his career. In today’s money, that’s the same as about $700 million.
Years have known for a long time that his promoter, Don King, took a big chunk of his earnings, at least his pay-per-view earnings. In the end, a court case showed that Mike’s deal with King gave the promoter the right to 30% of his earnings. In Nevada, this was technically against the law. It’s been said that Don would take 50% of the total amount before writing a check to Mike. This would be after some unknown fees. As an example, Don King’s wife might get $100,000 per fight as a consultant fee. Don King’s sons were also given consulting fees of $50,000 per fight. At the height of his popularity, Mike paid the President of the Mike Tyson Fan Club $1,000 every week. It turned out that the President was Don King’s daughter.
At other times, creditors like the IRS took money out of his earnings. For instance, Tyson was paid $8 million to fight Danny Williams in 2004. Unfortunately, the IRS took $6 million of those earnings directly, leaving Mike with only $2 million for his hard work.
Below is a list of how much Mike made in each fight from November 1986 until his last professional fight in 2005. As you can see, he made BY FAR the most money when he fought Lennox Lewis in 2002 and won $103 million. About $75 million of the $103 million came from a bonus for pay-per-view events.
Fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.
Mike and Roy Jones, Jr. both announced in July 2020 that they would come out of retirement to fight each other in a very unusual exhibition match. A sponsor reportedly put up $50 million to pay for the fight between the two. If all Pay-Per-View goals are met, each fighter could get up to $10 million from the $50 million. Soon after the announcement, Mike said he would give all of his earnings to charity. Soon after, his representatives made the following statement to explain:
“At this point in his life, Mike wants to help good causes. Mike is making a substantial donation to charity to help those affected economically, medically, and socially by the pandemic. The exact amount will be determined after the bout.”
Mike Tyson Spending A Fortune
At his best, Mike was known for living a very luxurious life. He threw away a lot of money on mansions, cars, jewellery, expensive gifts for strangers, and even Bengal tigers. His tigers each cost $70,000 and lived in a habitat that was built just for them in his back yard. Mike paid $125,000 each year to keep an animal trainer on staff.
Mike also spent a lot of money on his group of friends. As just one example, he kept a person on staff whose sole purpose was to wear army fatigues and shout “guerrilla warfare” at press conferences. This person was paid $300,000 a year for his work.
Mike was imprisoned between 1991 and 1995. Mike spent the following amounts in the three years after he got out of prison:
- $million on cars and motorcycles (19 vehicles he bought for friends)
- $400,000 on pigeons and big cats like Siberian tigers.
- $300,000 just to take care of the lawn and garden.
- $240,000 per month for walking around money that he spent in daily life flexing
- $230,000 on phone bills, cell phones, and pagers
- An animal trainer who takes care of the big cats costs $125,000 per year.
- $100,000 a month on clothes and jewellery
He also bought more than one house. 50 Cent would later own his Connecticut mansion with 21 rooms. This mansion had a casino and a nightclub. Mike also bought homes in Ohio, Maryland, and Las Vegas. His house in Ohio had pools, a basketball court, and gold-plated furniture. The 11,000-square-foot mansion on his $4 million Las Vegas property was the first thing he changed.
Mike has owned well over 100 cars in his lifetime. Some were very valuable and hard to find. He owned one of only 73 Bentleys ever made, which cost $500,000. In 1995, he crashed his Range Rover and told the repair shop to “keep it.” He would often give his friends and acquaintances his cars, but then forget about them. He bought 20 cars at just one dealership in Las Vegas. Mike bought five Bentley Azures in a few minutes at Jim Chaisson Motors, where he spent $1.5 million in a single day. The dealership only had two of them in stock, so the other three had to be ordered quickly from Rolls-Royce.
One of the craziest things Tyson ever bought was an actress named Robin Givens a $2 million gold bathtub. The story goes that he would sometimes give strangers expensive gifts like $100,000 watches.
Per-Appearance Fees for Mike Tyson
Mike has spent most of the last 20 years living in Las Vegas. In Vegas, he makes a good living by making to parties and corporate events as a guest speaker. For a two-hour appearance, Mike charges $75,000.
Personal Life
Mike’s been married three times. He’s got six kids. He is a Muslim and doesn’t drink much.