As the owner of the World Wrestling Entertainment company, which rakes in US$1 billion in revenue and was formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon is the richest star. The 72-year-old businessman – who grew up in a mobile home – inherited the company from his father in 1982 and transformed it into the major brand it is today.
McMahon was once one of the richest men in the US and at the time invited good friend Donald Trump on his television show where they engaged in a billionaire showdown. The programme featured Trump shaving off McMahon’s hair. The men are such good friends that McMahon’s wife Linda worked for Trump’s Small Business Administration and now runs his political action group, America First.
But McMahon has also faced financial hardships: in the 1970s he filed for bankruptcy after a property deal he invested in went bust. He filed again in April 2020 after his American football league named XFL, which launched in 2001, flopped. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ended up buying it in 2020 for US$15 million (McMahon bought it for US$200 million) before it was due to go up for auction.
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2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – US$800 million
Dwayne Johnson may be the highest-paid actor on the planet demanding at least US$20 million per film, but he’s only the second richest personality to come from the WWE franchise. Just like McMahon, he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather by getting into wrestling and spent 1996 to 2004 in the ring before he started making big money in films.
The nine-time world heavyweight champion has starred in The Scorpion King, the Fast and Furious franchise and recently Netflix’s most expensive film Red Notice. He maximises the money he gets for films – even ones he doesn’t have a role in – through his production company Seven Bucks that he started in 2012. His company has production credits on the Shazam! film, the latest Baywatch flick and Jumanji.
Johnson also has a 30-40 per cent stake in Teramana Tequila, estimated to be worth US$1 billion, and endorsem*nt deals with Under Armour, Apple and more. The former American football player is also preparing to relaunch the XFL American football league founded by McMahon.
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3. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon – US$150 million
Since marrying McMahon’s daughter Stephanie, Triple H – real name Paul Michael Levesque – has joined the family business and now serves as the executive vice-president of talent, live Events and creative at the WWE. The role earns him US$2.8 million annually. He is also the executive producer of WWE’s NXT brand, which brings new talent to the franchise.
In March 2021, Triple H announced that he was retiring from the ring. “I will never wrestle again,” he told ESPN. “First and foremost, I have a defibrillator in my chest, which is probably not a good idea for me to be zapped on live television.” The decision came after the father of three discovered he had viral pneumonia. Triple H does have other means of income though – he has acted in films such as The Chaperone, Blade: Trinity and Inside Out.
His wife Stephanie – WWE chief brand officer and former wrestling valet – owns about 2.5 per cent of the WWE. The former wrestler’s share of the company has been worth as little as US$40 million to as much as US$225 million.
Triple H also has shares worth several million and has compared the WWE to Disney. “We are Disney. We are entertainment, not just one-dimensional. Just think: 10 years ago, Marvel was just the comic book guys. We are and will continue to be, a growing global content provider for entertainment of all kinds,” he said in an interview.
The power couple has a combined net worth of US$150 million.
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4. John Cena – US$80 million
He started wrestling professionally in 2000, although today he might be better known for his big screen career than his days in the ring, where at one point he was the highest-paid wrestler. In 2016, he earned US$5 million from the WWE and a total of US$9.5 million from other projects.
WWE Studios gave him his start in films – his first role was in The Marine. Cena went on to star in films such as Trainwreck where he earned US$2.5 million, as well as F9 and Suicide Squad. The star also hosts television game shows, sells children’s books and has endorsem*nt deals with the likes of Honda and Gillette.
5. Steve Austin – US$30 million
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Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the franchise in 1995 and officially retired from the ring in 2003. However, he kept a presence in the WWE by becoming a referee and a co-general manager and sheriff on their show Raw until 2004. He went on to star in films such as The Longest Yard, The Expendables and The Condemned and hosted reality shows from 2012 to 2017.
In 2022, he made his highly anticipated return to the WWE during WrestleMania and released his Broken Skull Ranch brand of lager.
