Many people love to watch boxing games. Fighting, aggressiveness, feuds, and many other kinds of stuff make a game enjoyable. There are men behind it who make wise decisions to fulfill the essence of a game. Today, we will discuss one of those men, Don King net worth and how he earns it through arranging the boxing stage.
Table of Contents
Who is Don King?
Don King is an American boxing promoter. He is well known for his several historic boxing matchups involvement. He is a controversial figure because of his manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him. Also, he was accused of dishonest business practices by numerous boxers. He promoted many famous fighters in the history. He is also a businessman. Don runs many businesses, including his own promotional company.
Short Bio of Don King
| Full Name | Donald King |
| Birthdate | August 20, 1931 (age 92) |
| Birthplace | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6’ 2” (1.87 m) |
| Profession | Boxing promoter |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Net Worth | $150 Million |
Don King Net Worth
Don King’s net worth in 2023 is estimated to be $150 million. He made wise decisions to create stunning boxing matchups. Also, he promoted several famous wrestlers. Thus, he made well-populated matches. Most of his income comes from these matches. He also owns his own promotional business, which generates much profit.
Early life
Donald King is well known by his professional name. Don King was born in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he attended his high school at John Adams High School. Later, he attended Kent State University. He started an illegal bookmaking operation after dropping out from university. He operated from the basement of a record store.
Donald was sent to jail for 13 years because of killing a person who came to rob one of his gambling houses in 1954. After his release in 1967, he again killed one of his employees, Sam Garrett, by stomping him.
The court found that Donald had no intention of killing his employee and that this was an incident. For this reason, Donald was again sent to jail for five years. During his prison time, he started self-education by reading books from the prison library. He was released in 1972.
Facts Behind Don King Net Worth
Promoting Boxers
Donald promoted several high-profile Boxers in the history of boxing. He promoted Muhammad Ali, a great boxer in America. He announced a heavyweight championship between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974, which is well known as The Rumble in the Jungle. It is a much-anticipated event of all time. It became so popular that the tickets were sold out very quickly.
Later, he again arranged Ali’s fight against Chuck Wepner in 1975, which was also a highly demandable match for fans. Donald promoted Ali to his first The Ring heavyweight title match in 1980. He also announced a lot of successful boxers, such as Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, and many others. Donald publicized several significant events with those boxers.
All of his projects became so much more successful. This made him one of boxing’s most successful promoters. He generated a massive amount of profit from his successful boxing events and many big fights. Thus, Donald’s earnings from boxing promotion became the primary source of his net worth.
Promotional Company
Donald established his own promotional company named Don King Productions. He promoted many events and big fights through his company, such as Don King Return to Glory, Don King’s Fight for Freedom, Don King – Return to Greatness and many other events.
Also, many boxers chose Donald’s promotion company to promote them, such as John Ruiz, Ricardo Mayorga, Adrien Broner, and many other high-profile fighters. Donald earned a lot of profit from his own company. It allows him complete control over the fights he promotes and the generated revenue.
Concert Promoter
Besides boxing, Donald also arranges concert tours. He promoted The Jacksons for the 1984 Victory Tour. This tour had a total of 55 shows with 2.5 million attendances. It earned $75 million at that time, which will be $211 million in today’s currency rate. As a promoter and arranger of this tour, Donald got a large portion of their tour earning. Increased his net worth massively.
Other Business Venture
Donald purchased a weekly newspaper named Call and Post. He became a publisher of that in 2011. The newspaper serves the news and views about the African-American community in Ohio.
Media Appearances
Donald appeared on many television shows and series. In 1995, he appeared in Tyson, a TV film based on Mike Tyson’s life. He also featured in a movie named Ali in 2001. Donald was also involved in the making of an Xbox 360 video game, Don King Presents Prizefighter. He got a high payment for those projects, eventually adding to his net worth.
Awards And Honours
International Boxing Hall of Fame
Gaming Hall of Fame
Street in Newark, New Jersey, renamed Don King Way
Shaker Boulevard in Cleveland was renamed Don King Way
Personal Life
Family
Don King married Henrietta, who died on December 2, 2010, at the age of 87. They together had one daughter and one son. The couple also adopted a son named Carl. Donald has a total of five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Legal Issues
boxers have sued Donald in various litigation cases. Muhammad Ali first sued against him in 1982. For underpaying him $1.1 million. He again got charged $10 million from Larry Holmes for fight purses. Mike Tyson, Former undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, sued Donald for $100 million because of cheating. Later, the lawsuit settled with $14 million.
Donald launched a $2.5 billion defamation suit against ESPN’s Walt Disney Pictures for their documentary film on his life where they showed Donald had “killed, not once, but twice,” the misdescription of two murders from Donald’s early life.
Later, the case was dismissed in court. He was also involved in a controversy On September 21, 2016, for using the word “nigga” while introducing Donald Trump at a campaign event.
FAQs
How much money did Don King make from Mike Tyson?
Don King made around $14 million from Mike Tyson by arranging the most demanded matches.
How much is Don King worth right now?
Don King’s net worth in 2023 is estimated to be $150 million.
What is Don King doing now?
Don King is still promoting boxing and arranges events and matches.
Did Don King betray Mike Tyson?
Mike Tyson Don King for $100 million because of cheating on Tyson for a long time.
Final Thoughts
Don King net worth is a representation of his wise decisions. His incredible match arrangements, as audiences demands, make his choices more successful. This success brought that massive financial state.
