Hulk Hogan Net Worth and Salary: Hulk Hogan is an American actor, wrestler, and reality TV star who has a net worth of $25 million. Included in this estimated net worth is Gawker.com’s severance package, which was originally $140 million but was eventually reduced to $31 million before taxes. That number also takes into account the tens of millions Hulk lost as part of his divorce from his ex-wife Linda. During Linda’s contentious divorce proceedings, we learned that the Bolleas were worth around $30 million in 2009. Hulk eventually had to give up 70% of the couple’s cash, $3 million in cash in asset settlements, and 40% of the shares in his various companies. For more details on the divorce settlement, see later in this article. Hulk has also admitted that he spent “hundreds of millions” on an extremely lavish lifestyle at the height of his career in the 1990s.

More than any other person, Hogan was responsible for turning professional wrestling from a regional curiosity into the big “sports-entertainment” business it is today. During his heyday in the 1980s and ’90s, first with Vince McMahon’s WWF (where he made up to $1 million for his appearances at Wrestlemanias V and VI) and later with Ted Turner’s rival WCW organization, he was one of the most well-known figures the world and was also able to establish itself on television and in films.

Early Life: Hulk Hogan was born Terry Gene Bollea on August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia. When he was a baby, the family relocated to Tampa, Florida, where Hulk has made his home ever since. As a youngster, his sport of choice was baseball and he is said to have attracted pro league scouts as a little league player, but like many other professional wrestlers, an injury ended his career in more traditional sports. At the age of 16, he discovered professional wrestling and embarked on a path that would change his life and the entire wrestling world.

Wrestling Career: Hulk Hogan is best known as a professional wrestler for the WWF (now WWE). Hulk’s popularity peaked in the late ’80s and ’90s when as many as 30 million people signed up for a WWF pay-per-view event like WrestleMania. However, his wrestling career began in much humbler circumstances: in 1977, he contested a match for the CWF promotion in Fort Myers, Fla., and eventually took on a masked character that came to be known as “The Super Destroyer.” After a local TV host Hogan with the Incredible Hulkstar Lou Ferigno, the “Hulkster” character that would make him a star was beginning to take shape, but it wasn’t until he teamed up with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1979 that he began using the name “Hogan.” He also began wrestling in Japan the following year while still with the WWF, but after landing the role of Thunderlips in Rocky III (a job that made him a cool $15,000 and introduced him to an entire audience who might never seen professional wrestling before), he resigned from the WWF for the first time without McMahon’s permission. He returned in 1983 after McMahon’s son took over the company to help the sport become more mainstream and he wanted Hogan to be the face of the company.

It worked, and Hogan became the face of the company.

It worked, and before long Hulkamania was a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, lasting in one form or another into the 21st century.

Acting: Hogan used his popularity to launch an acting career. His first film role was the aforementioned appearance as Thunderlips in the 1982 film Rocky III . Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Hogan made several attempts to establish himself as a mainstream Hollywood action star, appearing in films such as No Holds Barred , Suburban Commando , and Mr Nanny up. He also starred in the television series Thunder in Paradise from 1993 to 1995 . About a decade later, Hogan succumbed to the celebrity reality television trend with the VH1 series Hogan Knows Best , which stars him and his family.

Other Activities:Hogan has always been a very adept trader and marketer and has a variety of different businesses under his belt. In 1995 he opened Pastamania, his own pasta restaurant in Minnesota’s Mall of America. It was closed again after a year. Hogan has also claimed that he was originally chosen to advertise the so-called George Foreman grill, with Foreman being awarded the job after Hogan failed to respond in time. In 2006, he launched his own energy drink called Hogan Energy, and some time later a line of frozen cheeseburgers called “Hulkster Burgers” hit store shelves. In 2012, he opened Hogan’s Beach, a restaurant in his hometown of Tampa, and after that business relationship dissolved,

Personal Life: Hulk married Linda Claridge in December 1983. They have two children together, a daughter Brook and a son Nick Hogan. After rumors of Hulk’s infidelity surfaced, Linda filed for divorce in 2007. It was then revealed that Hogan’s personal net worth was $30. That equates to about $40 million today. It was also revealed that Hulk had invested his money in several Florida businesses and properties. Hogan still makes money from selling merchandise and from his Hulk Hogan brand.

Divorce Settlement : When Hulk and Linda Hogan’s divorce was finalized, he was required to pay her 70% of the couple’s liquid assets, $3 million in cash for real estate settlements, and a 40% interest in his various businesses. In a 2011 radio interview, Hulk admitted that the divorce practically brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. Linda received no alimony, but did receive $7.44 million out of the $10.41 million they had in bank and investment accounts. She was also allowed to keep a Mercedes-Benz, a Corvette and a Cadillac Escalade.

Since then he has managed to recover somewhat financially. In February 2014, Hulk Hulk rejoined WWE for the first time in over five years and landed a job hosting WrestleMania. In July 2015, Hulk Hogan was fired from WWE after a series of racist remarks were made public.

In 2010, Hulk married Jennifer McDaniel.

Real Estate : In 1992, Hulk paid $2 million for a waterfront property in Belleair, Florida. They quickly demolished the existing home and spent the next few years building an opulent mansion that eventually totaled more than 17,000 square feet. The construction work was completed in 1996. This is the house that viewers saw on the reality show Hogan Knows Best between 2005 and 2007.

In 2006, perhaps in anticipation of their imminent breakup, Linda and Hulk put the home up for sale for a whopping $26 million. Two years later, the financial crisis and real estate downturn hit. At this point, the two had already split and were looking to sell their fortune to separate and move forward. In August 2009, the price was reduced to $13.9 million. The price kept going down until Hulk finally accepted $6.2 million in April 2012. That’s $19 million less than the original list price.

In 2014, Hulk paid $3 million for a home in nearby Clearwater, Florida. In 2016, he paid $1.6 million for the house next door.

Gawker Lawsuit: In 2012, Hulk Hogan had sex with radio host Bubba the Love Sponge’s wife. Bubba arranged for the encounter to be secretly filmed on a security camera. Eventually, the website Gawker.com came into possession of the sex tape. An editor decided to put a two-minute cut of the video on the home page. Hulk demanded that Gawker remove the video. When the company refused, Hulk filed a lawsuit alleging that Gawker had invaded his privacy.

In 2016, a Florida grand jury agreed with Hulk and ruled that the site should pay him a $140 million judgment. Gawker appealed the verdict, unsuccessfully. Gawker was forced into a fire sale. The company’s founder, Nick Denton, filed for personal bankruptcy. In November 2016, Gawker and Hogan settled for $31 million.