How much is Evel Knievel worth?
| Net Worth: | $3 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Stunt Performer |
| Date of Birth: | October 17, 1938 (aged 69) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
About Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel is the stage name of Robert Craig Knievel. He was an American entertainer and stunt performer that has attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Over the course of his career, he has been consistently performed in venues such as the Caesars Palace and gained national popularity with his Shark, Kings Island, Snake River Canyon, and Wembley jumps and records.
Evel Knievel is famous for jumping over buses at the Wembley Stadium and for flying over the Caesars Palace. He was born in Butte, Montana on October 17, 1938. He’s the first of two children to Robert E and Anne Marie Knievel. He comes from a German and Irish ancestry; his grandparents emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. His parents divorced in 1940, shortly after the birth of his brother Nicholas, when Robert was just two years old.
Both Robert and his brother Nicholas were raised in Butte by Ignatius and Emma Knievel, their paternal grandparents. When he was eight, he attended the auto daredevil show of Joie Chitwood, which sparked his interest and that’s how he decided to become a motorcycle daredevil. Robert is the cousin of Pat Williams, the former Democratic Congressman from Montana. He attended the Butte High School but dropped out of it during his sophomore year. He decided to get a job in the copper mines with the Anaconda Mining Company where he worked as a diamond drill operator.
Being a hard-living and death-defying adventurer, whose career has spanned well over five decades, is what made this daredevil so rich. After his short-lived career, in the late 1950s, he became interested in new challenges and thrills. He participated in local professional ski jumping events and rodeos and was able to win various championships in the process. He associated himself with the Czechoslovakian Olympic ice hockey team thanks to which he was able to earn some money and promote his team.
In 1965, he officially decided to become a stunt performer. His very first jump was at the Moses Lake, Washington. He was able to cover the distance of 40 feet and jump over the obstacle of rattlesnakes and two mountain lions. By that time, he developed the stage name of Evel Knievel and quickly began obtaining the attention of local radio and television shows. His very first appearance on television was in 1968 when he appeared on an episode of American Bandstand. That year, he also became a regular guest on The Joey Bishop Show, earning himself an estimated $1,000 per appearance. That’s around an inflation-adjusted $8,500.
From the beginning until the end of his career as an entertainer, Evel Knievel’s shocking and very dangerous stunts have been the highlight of radio and television shows as well as documentaries and television specials. Besides Joey Bishop, he regularly appeared on the shows of other television superstars – Dick Cavett, Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, Cher, and Mike Douglas. He’s also one of the most influential figures in the television shows ABC ’s Wide World of Sports, Death Defiers, and Collision Course.
Outside of his stunts and television appearances, the daredevil also worked as a stunt performer in a wide variety of films such as The Bionic Woman and Pepper Ann where he also appeared as himself.
By the end of his life, Evel Knievel had built a net worth of an estimated $3 million.
The main reason why Evel Knievel is so successful is his ability to catch the attention of the media and television with his stunning jumps and stunt performances. During his nearly two-decades-long career as a stunt performer, Knievel managed to successfully jump over multiple obstacles such as pick-up trucks, speeding motorcycles, multiple cars, and triumph banner. But perhaps his most notable jumps were over the Caesar’s Palace, Seattle International Raceway, Lions Drag Strip, Astrodome, Madison Square Garden, and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Summing-Up
Evel Knievel is one of the most famous daredevils of all time. The entertainer and stunt performer quickly gained popularity with his dangerous jumps and records across the United States. He eventually became a worldwide phenomenon that also took time to appear in nearly 50 television programs as both himself and as a stunt performer to well-known actors. At the time of his death in 2007, Evel Knievel’s net worth was estimated to be $3 million.
