Mike Tyson net worth
What is Mike Tyson’s net worth?
Mike Tyson is a retired American boxer and the undisputed world heavyweight champion in the late 1980s. At the time of writing, Mike Tyson has a net worth of $10 million. In his heyday, Mike was one of the most famous and highest paid athletes in the world. He became the youngest champion in history at the age of 20. Unfortunately, he squandered and/or was defrauded of his peak personal wealth of up to $300 million. Mike declared bankruptcy in 2003. According to the bankruptcy filing, it was reported that he was in debt of 23 million U.S. dollars at the time.
In his career, Mike Tyson’s wallet and endorsement income is at least 430 million U.S. dollars, which is about 700 million U.S. dollars after deducting inflation.
ESPN called him “the hardest hitter in heavyweight history” and Sky Sports called him “the fiercest boxer to enter the professional boxing ring.” Although Tyson is a talented boxer, his reputation has been damaged by controversy inside and outside the arena.
early life
Mike Tyson was born Michael Gerald Tyson on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. Tyson grew up in a humble community, and his stepfather was involved in crime and gambling. When Tyson was ten years old, he and his mother moved because of financial problems. By the age of 13, Tyson was arrested for 38 crimes, often fighting big young men who made fun of his voice (Tyson was slurred when he spoke). While in school, Tyson’s fighting ability was discovered by the juvenile detention instructor and former boxer. After working with several coaches, he established contact with Cus D’Amatto-a coach who will have a huge impact on future boxing champions. When Tyson’s mother died at the age of 16, Damato became his legal guardian. Tyson has worked with Kevin Rooney since he was a child.
Early boxing career
Tyson’s first contact with professional boxing was at the Junior Olympics. He won gold medals in 1981 and 1982. He also participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics, but lost to Henry Tillman in two games. Tyson’s first professional game took place at the age of 18. He defeated Hector Mercedes in the first round of TKO. For Tyson, who often ends the battle in the first round, this will start a growing trend. Tyson continues to fight opponents that are more challenging than those he has faced before, and many people predict that he will become a star sooner. Cus D’Amatto died in 1985, Tyson lost an important father figure early in his career. Many people later said that this would prove to have an unstable impact on Tyson’s life in his later years.
breakthrough
Tyson truly stepped onto the world stage and had a national television broadcast with Jesse Ferguson. After Tyson caught Ferguson with an uppercut that broke Ferguson’s nose, the outcome of this battle was obviously inevitable. After Ferguson was disqualified for illegal steals, Tyson won.
Another televised event occurred during Tyson’s match with former world champion challenger Marvis Fraser. Tyson won the knockout in just 30 seconds. In 1986, Tyson defeated Trevor Burbick in the second round and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. In 1987, he defended his title with James Smith and became the undisputed heavyweight world champion. In the same year, he competed with Pinklon Thomas for the IBF championship in 12 rounds. This makes Tyson the first heavyweight with all three belts at the same time.
In 1988, Tyson defeated former champion Larry Holmes and eliminated him in the fourth round. Tony Tubbs suffered a similar fate that year because he suffered a TKO in the second round. Tyson ended the year with a victory against Michael Spinks. Although many experts predicted that Tyson would fight hard because of Spinks’ technical ability, Tyson knocked him down in just 90 seconds.
Since then, Tyson’s career seems to have gone downhill. After a series of personal problems appeared, Tyson decided to fire Kevin Rooney-after Damato’s death, he trained Tyson to become a top boxer. Although Tyson continued to win games in 1989, his career suffered a major blow when he lost to Buster Douglas in 1990. Douglas lost his mother to a stroke 23 days before the game. Douglas fought with passion and commitment. In the tenth round, Douglas released a combination that put Tyson on the canvas for the first time in his career. He was excluded by the referee in one of the most shocking upsets in sports history.
Tyson continued to win in 1991 until legal issues stopped his career. Tyson spent six years in prison after being arrested for rape. During this period, Tyson converted to Islam. After his release, Mike Tyson was legally required to register as a sex offender.
Tyson’s comeback was successful at the beginning. He eliminated some opponents and regained two belts. However, when Holyfield returned to give Tyson a TKO after retiring in the 11th round, he lost his WBA belt. Tyson lost again in the rematch when he controversially bit Holyfield twice and was therefore disqualified. To make matters worse, Tyson was revoked his boxing license in 1997.
In 1999, Tyson returned to professional boxing again, defeating Francois Botha-but after allegedly assaulting two motorists, he went back to jail for nine months. When he resumed boxing from prison again, he knocked out many boxers in rapid succession in the first or second round. In 2000, he defeated Lou Savarese in 38 seconds.
Tyson’s last professional victory was in 2003, when he defeated Clifford Etienne in 49 seconds. After many comebacks, injuries and failures, Mike Tyson retired in 2005.
Boxing style
Cus D’Amatto taught Mike Tyson a “peek-and-see” defensive boxing style, which included high guards and fast head movements. This is also an aggressive counterattack, which relies on charging the opponent, making him swing, and then taking advantage of the open position. Tyson is known for his super punching ability and his ability to swing and weave. A large part of Tyson’s punching power comes from his legs, and he is known for ending the fight with right uppercuts and uppercuts.
Occupational income
In 1987, Mike signed an eight-game contract with HBO worth $27 million, which runs through his game with Alex Stewart. Tyson defeated Alex Stewart in 2:27 minutes. He then signed a long-term contract with Showtime worth 120 million US dollars, which covered multiple games, including Holyfield I and II.
In his career, Mike has earned at least $430 million from fights and endorsements. This is equivalent to about 700 million US dollars today.
For many years, it was generally believed that most of his income, at least his pay-per-view income, was taken away by the promoter Tang Jin. The court case later revealed that Mike’s contract with King gave the promoter 30% of his income. This is technically illegal in Nevada. Allegedly, after a mysterious additional fee, Tang will deduct 50% from the highest price before writing a check to Mike. Example fees include a consultant fee of US$100,000 to Tang Jin’s wife per session. Don King’s sons also received $50,000 in consulting fees per game. At his peak, Mike paid $1,000 to the chairman of the Mike Tyson Fan Club every week. The president turned out to be Don Jin’s daughter.
At other times, his income was seized by creditors such as the US Internal Revenue Service. For example, Tyson received $8 million in a fight with Danny Williams in 2004. Unfortunately, $6 million of these income was directly seized by the US Internal Revenue Service, leaving $2 million in personal income for Mike’s efforts.
The following is a breakdown of the payday of Mike’s last professional game from November 1986 to 2005. As you can see, his biggest payday so far is the $103 million he earned in the 2002 game against Lennox Lewis. Of this 103 million USD, approximately 75 million USD came from pay-per-view bonuses.
| Mike Tyson career income | ||
| opponent | wallet | Inflation adjustment |
| Trevor Burbick | 1,500,000 USD | |
| James Smith | 2,000,000 USD | |
| Pinchon Thomas | USD 2,500,000 | |
| Tony Tucker | USD 2,500,000 | |
| Tyrell Biggs | USD 2,500,000 | |
| Larry Holmes | 5,000,000 USD | |
| Tony Tubbs | 10,000,000 USD | 21 million USD |
| Michael Spinks | 20,000,000 USD | US$42 million |
| Frank Bruno I | 8,000,000 USD | |
| Carl Williams | 4,000,000 USD | |
| Buster Douglas | 6,000,000 USD | |
| Henry Tillman | 2,000,000 USD | |
| Alex Stewart | 3,000,000 USD | |
| Donovan Ruddock I | 6,000,000 USD | |
| Donovan Ruddock II | 10,000,000 USD | |
| Peter McNealy | 25,000,000 USD | US$42 million |
| Buster Mathis | 10,000,000 USD | |
| Frank Bruno II | 30,000,000 USD | 50 million USD |
| Bruce Shetton | 30,000,000 USD | |
| Ivand Holyfield I | 30,000,000 USD | |
| Ivand Holyfield II | 30,000,000 USD | 49 million USD |
| Francois Botta | 10,000,000 USD | |
| Olin Norris | 9,000,000 USD | |
| Julius Francis | 10,000,000 USD | |
| Lou Savares | 8,000,000 USD | |
| Andrew Golota | 10,000,000 USD | |
| Brian Nelson | 5,000,000 USD | |
| Lennox Lewis | 103,000,000 USD | $148 million |
| Clifford Etienne | 5,000,000 USD | |
| Danny Williams | 8,000,000 USD | |
| Kevin McBride | 5,000,000 USD | |
| Roy Jones Jr | 10,000,000 USD | |
| All: | 423 million US dollars |
Roy Jones Jr. fighting
In July 2020, Mike and Roy Jones Jr. announced that they will make a comeback in a very unusual exhibition game. According to reports, the two reached an agreement with the sponsor, and the sponsor invested US$50 million in the competition. Of the 50 million dollars, if all pay-per-view milestones are met, each fighter can earn up to 10 million dollars. Soon after the announcement, Mike claimed that he would donate all his income to charity. His representative quickly clarified the following statement:
“Mike is committed to charity at this stage of his life. Mike is making large donations to charities to help those who are economically, medically and socially affected by the pandemic. The exact amount will be determined after the game.“
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Spend big money
Mike lived a famously luxurious lifestyle in his prime. He wasted millions of dollars on mansions, cars, jewelry, extravagant gifts for strangers, and even Bengal tiger collections. His tigers cost $70,000 each and are placed in custom habitats in his backyard. Mike hired an animal trainer at a cost of $125,000 per year.
Mike also gave generously to his entourage. For example, he kept one person. His sole purpose was to wear military uniforms at the press conference and shout “guerrilla warfare.” Because of his services, this person is paid $300,000 per year.
Mike was imprisoned from 1991 to 1995. In the three years after his release, Mike spent the following amounts:
- US$4.5 million for cars and motorcycles (19 cars he bought for his friends)
- $400,000 for pigeons and various big cats, such as the Siberian tiger
- $300,000 for lawn care and garden maintenance only
- $240,000 per month for the money he spends in daily life
- USD 230,000 for cell phones, pagers and phone bills
- $125,000 per year for the animal trainer to take care of big cats
- Buy jewellery and clothes for $100,000 per month
He also bought a few houses. His 21-room Connecticut mansion was later owned by 50 Cent. This mansion houses a nightclub and casino. Mike also bought houses in Las Vegas, Ohio, and Maryland. His mansion in Ohio is furnished with gilded furniture, swimming pool and basketball court. His $4 million Las Vegas property has a 11,000 square foot mansion, which he renovated from scratch.
Mike owned more than 100 cars in his lifetime. Some are extremely precious and rare. He owns a Bentley, which is one of 73 produced and sold for $500,000. After completing a Range Rover in 1995, he told the repair shop to “keep it.” He often lent cars to friends and acquaintances and then forgot about them. He bought 20 cars at just one dealership in Las Vegas. That dealer, Jim Chaisson Motors, is where Mike bought five Bentley Azures for $1.5 million in minutes. The dealer only had two stocks and had to quickly order the remaining three from Rolls-Royce.
One of Tyson’s most peculiar purchases ever was for his first wife, actress Robin Givens (Robin Givens), for a $2 million golden bathtub. According to legend, he would regularly buy extravagant gifts for strangers, such as a $100,000 watch.
Individual appearance fee
Mike has called Las Vegas home for most of the past…
