How much is George Foreman worth?
| Net Worth: | $200 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Boxer |
| Date of Birth: | January 10, 1949 (age 74) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.92 m) |
“The question wasn’t at what age I wanted to retire, it was at what income.” George Foreman
About George Foreman
George Foreman, born January 10th, 1949, Marshall, Texas, was a boxer and recognized entrepreneur. He had a troubled childhood, dropping out of school at the age of 15 and became a known mugger on the street. He made a change when he was 16 however and spent time in the Jobs Corps training as a bricklayer and carpenter determined to turn his life around. He idolized Jim Brown and wanted to play football, but after he could see he wouldn’t get a shot, decided to try boxing instead.
Today he is considered one of he greatest knockout boxer of all-time with 68 of his 76 wins coming by KO.
“All of a sudden, one day, you’re this boxer that everybody like, or you’re this guy that people pass on the highway and wave at. The next day, you’re this guy that everybody want to touch – be in touch with you. Then you think that this is the answer to all things.” George Foreman
He first came into the public eye at the age of 19 when he won the Olympic gold in heavyweight boxing in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City. The next year, he turned professional. Foreman’s rise to fame came from his strength and devastating knock-out power as well as his quietness and reserved attitude.
“When I was a boxer, I wanted to be champion of the world, not the richest man in the world.” George Foreman
“The Olympic Gold medal in 1968 was definitely one of the highest moment of my career. It was a dream come true. I was a 19-year-old boy, and it was just amazing to be standing on top of the podium and hearing the National Anthem in the background,” he has said. Foreman was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, in 1990.
Foreman is mostly known for two things, a boxer, and a businessman. His boxing career is normally split into two parts. The first part is his run from 1969-1977 where he would become heavyweight champion, beating Joe Frazier by a second round knockout in 1973.
Then famously having the bout with Muhammad Ali, The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 which he would lose by knock out. It was held in the Congo and caused the whole world to focus on the two opponents, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, as the two faced off.
This was the peak of Foreman’s popularity and he was paid an estimated $5 million dollars just to compete, a record for the time. Unfortunately for Foreman he lost the bout and Muhammad Ali became the most talked about fighter in boxing history. While Foreman retired after a a loss to Jimmy Young.
Before the Muhammad Ali, Foreman won 24 straight fights by knockout. He won his first 40 fights, 37 by knockout.
“I wanted to be champ of the world, but I kept hoping something would happen to Frazier. I didn’t want to fight him. Nobody wanted to fight Joe Frazier,” George Foreman has said.
Foreman fought 5 heavyweight boxers in one night in Canada in 1975, knocking out 3. He would the go on to fight Joe Frazier again in 1976 and beat him again, knocking him out in the fifth round. “Sure the fight was fixed,” he said at the time. “I fixed it with a right hand.”
He would retire after a unanimous loss to Jimmy Young. This was foreman at his physical peak and commonly referred to as a “wrecking ball” but lacked the stamina, something that Ali exposed. Jimmy Young took advantage of this flaw as well by boxing defensively for the first 6 rounds, before taking over into the later rounds. Foreman nearly knocked down Young in the 11th, but Young managed to survive. Whilst a close contest, Young’s tactics were the defining factor. Foreman took the loss well, ultimately deciding to retire at age 28 as he felt he had achieved his goals in boxing and wanted to focus on other aspects of his life.
Foreman’s net worth at the end of his initial boxing career was only about a total of $5 million. By the end of the 1980s however George Foreman was in dire financial straits, through bad investments he was on the verge of bankruptcy. Only “fractions away from being homeless” he has said. With no other options, he decided to stage a comeback. It was pure drive and determination that caused him to return to the gym after a life of excess.
He was 38 years old and out of shape but he was committed to win another heavyweight championship. While that seemed like beyond a long shot at the time, Foreman’s personality was that of a champion and as history would record that is exactly what he would become. He soon got a title shot against Evander Holyfield.
Billed as “The Battle of the Ages”, the fight alone paid him an estimated $12.5 million dollars, solving all of his financial woes. It was a massive fight held on April 19, 1991 for the WBA, WBC, IBF and Lineal Heavyweight championship belts. It lasted a full 7 rounds of boxing with Holyfield coming out strong in the first few rounds. Then Foreman struck back with hooks and punches. Finally however, after 12 full rounds, when the fight was over, the judges scored Holyfield as winning the fight via a unanimous decision.
The fight against Holyfield showed that Foreman was still a serious contender for a belt, even though he lost after a back and forth affair. This was Foreman at his most tactically astute in the ring. He was no longer the “Wrecking Ball” but a cunning mastermind adept at counter punching and absorbing punishment. He would try to maneuver his opponent onto his right hand for a one punch knock out. He would also use short combinations and a tight defense to frustrate his opponents. There is also a rumor that Mike Tyson and Foreman were going to fight after Tyson lost to Buster Douglas but this never happened.
“I was a tiger, a good fighter, in good shape, but I was always nervous before boxing matches.” George Foreman
After losing the title shot to Evander Holyfield, he finally managed to persuade HBO to approve him as an opponent for heavyweight champion Michael Moorer in 1994. While Foreman was not seen as an opponent who could beat Moorer it was expected to draw a crowd.
And then it happened. One of the most memorable moments in boxing history, George Foreman won against Michael Moorer by knock out.
Foreman’s knockout punch against Michael Moorer was so hard that it caused Moorer to bite his mouthpiece in half. “You don’t know what it is to be heavyweight champ of the world until you become the heavyweight champ of the world,” Foreman has said.
In 1995, Forbes magazine listed Foreman as number 6 of the highest paid athletes that year. He was behind Shaquille O’Neal who placed number 5 with $21.9 million in total earnings and Mike Tyson who posted earnings of some $40 million with no endorsements occupying the number 2 position. Foreman had earnings of $18 million that year according to Forbes. $10 million from his fight against German Axel Schulz and another $8 million from his endorsements.
Foreman continued until 1997 when, at the age of 48, he finally retired a wealthy man. During his boxing career he knocked out heavyweight champions Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Michael Moorer. Despite his monumental boxing career with oh so many knockouts, Foreman continued to practice politeness and never let it go to his head.
He would officially retire with a boxing record of 81 total fights, 76 wins, 5 defeats and 68 wins by way of knock out. He ranked as the eighth best heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research organization and ranked the ninth best puncher by The Ring. He is considered as one of the most decorated boxers ever with a fearsome reputation.
After retiring, he would become an Ordained Christian Minister. 10 years later however, he would return to boxing and would win the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal titles in 1994. He was also a HBO Boxing Analyst until 2004. In his work as a priest he was called “World’s coolest priest” by the Norwegian magazine Vi Menn.
Aside from sports, Foreman is commonly known for the George Foreman Gill. He has had great success with the business venture, even though he was merely advertising the product.
Foreman as a businessman was remarkably successful. “If you learn to sell, it’s worth more than a degree. It’s worth more than the heavyweight championship of the world. It’s even more important than having a million dollars in the bank. Learn to sell, and you’ll never starve,” he has said.
He is most known for the George Foreman Grill. The Grill was first produced in 1994, however Foreman did not invent it. That was a man called Michael Boehm. However, Foreman did advertise it and lent his name to the Grill. The Grill is successful, selling over 100 million units worldwide and in 1999, Foreman sold his naming rights for a cool $138 million.
Before selling the rights he was earning 40% of the profits making up to an estimated $4.5 million dollars per month at its peak. In total, Foreman made an estimated $200 million dollars from the George Foreman Grill business. It is a portable electrically heated grill manufactured by Spectrum Brands and since 1994 over 100 million of these grills have been sold.
Salton Inc., a maker of housewares, eventually paid Foreman $137.5 million in cash and stock for worldwide rights to use of his name and image to sell food-preparation products, including the grills. Foreman and two business partners were awarded shares of Salton worth $23.5 million and five annual cash payments of $22.75 million.
In 2006, Foreman purchased 20% ownership interest of racing horse “Future Destiny” with New York Jet great Wayne Chrebet.
Books
- In 1995, he released By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman by George with Joel Engel.
- In 1996, he released Knock-Out-the-Fat Barbecue and Grilling Cookbook by George with Cherie Calbom.
- In 2000, he released George Foreman’s Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue and Rotisserie: More than 75 Recipes for Family and Friends by George with Barbara Witt.
- In 2002, he released George Foreman’s Guide to Life: How to Get Up Off the Canvas When Life Knocks You Down by George with Linda Kulman.
- In 2004, he released George Foreman’s Indoor Grilling Made Easy: More Than 100 Simple, Healthy Ways to Feed Family and Friends by George with Kathryn Kellinger.
- In 2005, he released Let George Do It! by George with Fran Manushkin.
- In 2007, he released Going the Extra Smile.
- In 2007, he released God in My Corner: A Spiritual Memoir by George with Ken Abraham.
- In 2009, he released The Knockout Entrepreneur by George with Ken Abraham.
George Foreman is a very astute and intelligent person. When he boxed, he was physically imposing and would simply over match his opponents. When he returned, he was able to adapt his style to become more defense orientated and changing to a counter puncher. His awareness and ability to adapt is what made him different and difficult to deal with. He is also a willing learner, as shown by him recognizing the advantages to using the “Cross Guard” when he fought from 1987 -1997, which was not used by the boxers of the time.
“You’ve got to have a focus. You just fight for money, you get hurt. You focus on the title, you’ll just naturally make money doing it.” George Foreman
Not to mention, he was and still is a very likeable and humble person, a gentle giant. No matter what, he was gracious weather he won or lost, this endeared him to the public as a respectable and likeable man. When he retired for the first time, he became a Christian Minister. When he invested into the George Foreman Grill, the public backed the item and he did not disappoint as it is regarded as a quality home grill. He is considered by many a role-modal and someone who has turned his life around on to separate occasion and finally met with long term success.
“Money is a good thing, but every morning you have to get up with something no one else in the world gets up with – that’s that image. That face you see in the mirror, you got to love it, and you better do some things that you feel good about inside of you. Of course, money is going to come, but make certain that you do some good with it.” George Foreman
Summing-Up
George Foreman has become a respected a likable person, while when he started out he was a mugger on the streets. He has shown with perseverance and effort you can move mountains and become the best in your sport, or profession. More than anything you can see that it was determination that really saw Foreman through.
You can just see how determined he was in making his come back to understand how George Foreman has performed so well in his career. Many people just won’t put in the time or dedication to perfect their craft and become the best. Yet even if you were a lawyer, banker or anyone trying to excel in your career, there is a lot you can learn from Foreman, and especially his comeback in the 1990s.
“We all think we’ve got one more boxing match in us, and that, probably, will be the downfall of Floyd Mayweather, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao. We’ll overstay our welcome.” George Foreman. In 2002, he was inducted into World Boxing Hall of Fame and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame a year later.
