Don King Net Worth, Money and More
NET WORTH: $290 Million
PROFESSION: Boxing Promoter
Donald “Don” King is a very famous boxing promoter, one of the best in his field. The highlights of his career include the matches “The Rumble in the Jungle” and the “Thrilla in Manila”. King has promoted boxing matches for some of the shining stars of the boxing industry like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Roy Jones, Jr., Evander Holyfield, Ricardo Mayorga and Marco Antonio Barrera. Ironically, almost all of them have sued king for defrauding them at one point or the other and King has been lucky enough to avoid a conviction of felony, fraud or time in jail.
King was born in Ohio in 1931. He dropped out of Kent University, ran an illegal bookmaking operation, and was even charged for killing two men in separate incidents 13 years apart. King was convicted of second degree murder for the second killing in 1966. King was later pardoned for the crime in 1983 by the Ohio Governor, Jim Rhodes.
CAREER
King entered the boxing industry after convincing Muhammad Ali to box in a charity exhibition for a local hospital in Cleveland. His career is famous for two particular matches. One of them happened in 1974, known as “The Rumble in the Jungle”. The fight between Ali and Foreman was a very much anticipated event. This match helped King secure $10 Million.
King’s roots in the boxing industry were strengthened by the fight between Ali and Joe Frazier in Manila. This match is famously known as “Thrilla in Manila”.
Apart from promoting matches, King spent an ample amount of time in expanding his boxing empire. King was a smart man. In the 1970s, Larry Holmes, Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran are some of the boxers who were in favor of King for promoting many of their biggest fights.
King was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2008.
FAMILY LIFE
King shared a long life with his wife, Henrietta, who died in 2010, at the age of 87. He has three children and five children. King is a politically active man as well and was seen promoting George W. Bush during the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election.
King has conducted an annual turkey giveaway each Christmas for several years now. He distributes two thousand free turkeys to needy South Floridians.
TELEVISION AND MOVIES
King appeared on talk show The Howard Stem Show to promote fights quite often. Several movies have had Don King portrayed by one actor or another. His character has been used in a quite of lot of skits as well. Movies include Tyson and Don King: Only in America. Series include In Living color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Boy Meets World.
On The Suite Life on Deck, Mr. Moseby presents a sumo wrestling match in a tuxedo and a wig with King’s hairstyle.
Don King has made appearances in the 2008 documentary Beyond the Ropes and in the 2011 documentary Klitschko.
CONTROVERSIES
Even though King has had a pretty strong career making him stinking rich, he has more than after been surrounded by law suits and controversies. He has been investigated for possible connections with organized crime.
Mike Tyson says, “(King is) a wretched, slimy, reptilian motherfucker. This is supposed to be my ‘black brother’, right? He’s just a bad man, a real bad man. He would kill his own mother for a dollar. He’s ruthless, he’s deplorable, he’s greedy… and he doesn’t know how to love anybody.”
VIDEO GAMES
In the Xbox video game Jade Empire, a character named Qui The Promoter is based on Don King. There are several video games like ABC Wide World of Sports Boxing, Don King Presents: Prizefighter, Don King Boxing and so on.
FACTS
– First to receive $1 Million to deliver a prime-time network television match for Muhammad Ali Vs. Ron Lyle in 1975.
– First promoter to guarantee a boxer $10 Million when he paid that amount to Sugar Ray Leonard to face Roberto Duran at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada in 1980.
– Promoted an unprecedented 13 world champions, exclusively, and was the first promoter to stage 23 world championship fights in the year 1982.
– First promoter to establish his own television network, the Don King Sports and Entertainment Network in 1982.
– Named Promoter of the Year by the World Boxing Association for 1987.
– Only Boxing Promoter named to Sports Illustrated’s 40 Most Influential Sports Figures of the last 40 years in 1994.
– Named Promoter of the year by the World Boxing Association for 1995.
– Named Promoter of the Year by the World Boxing Association for 1996.
– Named Promoter of the Decade by the International Boxing Federation in 1996.
– Named Promoter of the Year for the year 1999 by www.SecondsOut.com
ASSETS
– Las Vegas Mansion
– Bentley Continental GT
He has made a name for himself in the boxing industry, fighters still contact him and have him promote their fights. It is said that with every fight promoted by Don King, his net worth increases. People say that his image has been tarnished a lot and he has been a part of a lot of organized crime activities. He brushes those statements off and says that people are “racist”. He moves on. King has proved his worth as a boxing promoter over the years and is a gem of the boxing fraternity.
