Forbes currently lists Vince McMahon’s total wealth at a whopping $2.8 billion dollars. This makes McMahon the 1,119th richest person in the world as of 26th January 2024. How have Forbes reached this calculation and what does it mean?
How Is Vince McMahon’s Net Worth Calculated?
Vince McMahon owns a $32 million dollar three-storey mansion, a private plan, a yacht and a Bentley. Don’t get us wrong, that’s a collection of assets that most of us could only dream of owning, but the lion’s share of McMahon’s valuation derives from his ownership of WWE for four decades. It’s easy to take the true scale of WWE for granted, but prior to McMahon buying his father’s promotion in 1982 and taking the company national, then international, professional wrestling was very much a regional affair.
Fast forward to present day and under the guidance of McMahon, WWE has built a presence in 180 countries, set the standard for sports presentation and in 2023 turned over more than
$1.3 billion!
Vince McMahon Is Certifiably Self-Made
When reviewing the success of a Billionaire, Forbes will assign a ‘Self-Made Score’, which ranks a Billionaire’s ability to generate their wealth on their own accord, as opposed to inheritance.
This criterion of measurement seems custom made for McMahon who elevated himself from an 8-foot wide trailer in North Carolina, all the way to defining the entire genre of Sports Entertainment and writing the blueprint for pay-per-view, inspiring the likes of UFC, Boxing and more. They were also ahead of the curve for providing a streaming service for their current and historic content with the advent of the WWE Network in 2014.
McMahon only narrowly misses out on the perfect 10 score, due to the fact that he purchased the then-WWWF on credit alongside Linda McMahon via their newly formed Titan Sports company. It should be noted that had the couple failed to meet a single balloon payment, the company would have defaulted back to Vince Sr, and Titan Sports would have lost all of its investment.
It was a ballsy move, but one that has paid serious dividends, quite literally.
Vince McMahon Scandal
Although McMahon still owns a considerable amount of shares in WWE, he no longer wields any power.
In 2023, the McMahon family-controlled WWE sold the promotion in a whopping $9.3 billion deal to Endeavor. It was then merged with UFC to form a new, publicly traded company; TKO Holdings.
This was after McMahon had forced himself back onto WWE’s board of directors after his enforced retirement in July 2022, following the news that he had made undeclared “hush money” payments to a series of women, who had accused him of sexual misconduct.
That scandal escalated with the news of a civil lawsuit filed against McMahon by one of the women, who was named as Janel Grant. Her accusations made for sickening reading and led to the 78-year-old being removed from his CEO position at TKO. He will never return.
He’s Worth Less Than He Was
Even before the 2023-2024 scandal, McMahon’s gargantuan net worth, in relative terms, has been in decline. Back in 2019 his valuation, was listed at a staggering $3.2 billion. Also, with continually soaring prices and inflation, his current net worth has less purchasing power than his previous all-time high, seeing McMahon go from #296 on the Forbes 400, to dropping off the list completely in 2022. In 2023, however, he was again listed within the 400, at #366.
It should also be noted that during the time of his highest valuation, Alpha Entertainment was gearing up for the relaunch of the XFL, the extremely influential, but equally unlucky professional football league.
As revealed in the ESPN 30 for 30 Documentary, the XFL was subject to a series of unfortunate events that ultimately caused its initial demise in 2001.
Unfortunately for McMahon, in its re-birth, the XFL was once again quashed by circumstance, this time by a world-wide pandemic. At least he was able to keep it within his heel corporation stable, selling the rights to one of his proteges, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who now also sits on the board of TKO.
The Future For McMahon’s Wealth
Despite McMahon’s removal from TKO’s board, he still owns approximately 20 million shares which equates to 34% of shares from TKO Group and 37.6% of WWE’s total shares. With WWE’s business booming, with a new blockbuster $5 billion Netflix deal and significant increases in ticket sales and merchandise, McMahon remains an extremely wealthy man.
Time will tell what the impact of the Janelle Grant scandal will be on McMahon’s vast wealth and where Forbes will assess his income level in 2025.