We're used to athletes and movie stars making a lot of money, but it's still interesting when chefs are highly paid celebrities. And one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world is Gordon Ramsay. In fact, he ranks 33rd on the 2018 Forbes' Celebrity 100 list, making an estimated $62 million that year alone. What's Gordon Ramsay's total net worth and how does he earn that money?
Videos by Wide Open Country
One interesting fact about Gordon Ramsay is that before he became a restaurateur and television personality, even before he became a chef, he was an aspiring footballer (or soccer player, for those of us here in the U.S.). He played with the Rangers Football Club in Scotland (one of their professional soccer teams), but after he damaged his knee and wasn't able to play anymore, he studied hotel management at North Oxfordshire Technical College and turned his professional interest to cooking.
Ramsay trained as a chef in Paris during the 80s and 90s; after he returned to the United Kingdom, he worked as head chef for several high-end restaurants including serving as Commis Chef at the Roxburghe House Hotel, at the Wykeham Arms, and at Harveys in London. He trained with world-class chefs Albert Roux, Marco Pierre White and Guy Savoy.
In 1998, he opened his first restaurant in Chelsea, called Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. It didn't take long for the restaurant to be awarded one Michelin star (Michelin Guides uses a one to three-star system to showcase restaurant quality; a one-star restaurant is considered high quality and worth a stop), and three years after opening, the restaurant gained its third Michelin star (considered exceptional cuisine worth a special journey).
In 1999 chef Gordon Ramsay opened Pétrus, followed in 2001, by Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's hotel, both in London, England. In 2005, he expanded his restaurant empire to Tokyo, and in 2006, he opened Gordon Ramsay at The London, in New York City. He has opened numerous restaurants in hotels and resorts around the world, including Planet Hollywood and Caesar's Palace.
While his michelin-starred restaurants make up a large portion of Gordon Ramsay net worth, much of the British chef's fame comes from his distinctive presence on reality TV shows. In 2004, he began starring in the television series "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" and "Hell's Kitchen," which both ran in the U.K. for several seasons. The U.S. version of Hell's Kitchen premiered in 2005 to over 7 million viewers an episode. The show allowed us to know Ramsay's fiery temper and boiling point well, and is now in its 19th season, set at Hell's Kitchen restaurant at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The TV personality is also a judge on "Masterchef," another British television show whose American version has been on the air since 2010. He also hosts "Masterchef Junior" on the FOX network; the cooking show is entering its eight season. From 2012-2016 he hosted "Hotel Hell," a hotel-based version of "Kitchen Nightmares."
The celebrity chef has published more than 15 cookbooks and has also written three autobiographies. He's also had five kids with his wife Tana Ramsay; Megan, Holly, Jack, Matilda and Oscar.
Gordon Ramsay's Net Worth
Gordon James Ramsay's celebrity net worth is estimated to be as much as $220 million, all of which is consolidated in his company Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited. Until 2010, Ramsay's father-in-law Chris Hutcheson was a partner in the company. In 2019, Ramsay sold part of his company to Lion Capital, who plans to open 100 Gordon Ramsay restaurants in the United States between 2020 and 2025.
This article was originally published Feb. 21, 2020.
