Introduction

Jeremy Clarkson is an English journalist, broadcaster, and writer with an estimated net worth of $70 Million.

Clarkson specializes in motoring and is best known for previously hosting Top Gear and The Grand Tour with Richard Hammond and James May. He also writes weekly for the magazines ‘The Sunday Times’ and ‘The Sun’.

Quick Facts

• Peak upfront salary of £1 million ($1.8 million) per year from Top Gear
• Earned additional millions from the show on the backend through his production company, Bedder 6.
• Signed a multi-year, £160 million ($216 million) deal with Amazon Prime
• Earned roughly £10 million ($13.5 million) per year from The Grand Tour

Newspaper Journalism

Jeremy Clarkson’s long, relatively controversial career has been marked by many ups and downs. Let’s discuss Clarkson’s successful yet controversial career as a writer, journalist, and TV presenter. The very first stage of Clarkson’s career involved being a traveling salesman for his parents’ business, selling Paddington Bears.

However, his passion lay in journalism, first training at Rotherham Advertiser and then going on to work for various newspapers such as:

• Lincolnshire Life
• Rochdale Observer
• Shropshire Star
• Wolverhampton Express and Star

As Clarkson’s writing began to gain traction, he received the opportunity to work for more prominent companies with larger audiences.

Motoring Press Agency

In 1984, Clarkson co-founded the Motoring Press Agency with his friend Jonathan Gill. The duo conducted vehicle road tests, which were then published in local newspapers and automotive magazines. Jeremy left the company when he became a presenter for Top Gear; however, it still exists today and has grown quite significantly in size and revenue.

Amstrad Computer User

Most people don’t know that Jeremy Clarkson’s early career involved him reviewing video games for Amstrad Computer User. Clarkson started writing articles for the service in 1987.

In typical Clarkson fashion, a former editor of Amstrad took to a forum several years ago to comment on his work. The editor mentioned that they had commissioned three articles from Clarkson, with only two being completed, and “neither were particularly good.”

Top Gear

In 1988, he had his big breakthrough when he became a TV presenter for the British motoring program Top Gear. His signature sarcastic style in his reviews brought him wide mainstream fame.

In 2002, the BBC presented Top Gear in a new format. The host trio made the show one of the most-watched programs ever. Clarkson, Hammond, and May became one of the most popular trios on TV, and Top Gear’s audience skyrocketed. Some of the most popular episodes the show produced were their ‘specials’, which involved treks throughout several destinations, including:

• Africa
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Burma
• Middle East
• Patagonia
• United States
• Vietnam

The Special episodes, in particular, involved each of the trio picking their own car, often with a limited budget, and having to modify their vehicles based on the location they were going to explore. Some of the moments throughout these episodes made for comedy gold.

However, Many controversial things happened behind the scenes of the show. In 2015, Clarkson’s disagreements with the producers led to him physically assaulting one of them, and he had to pay £100,000 ($153,000) in compensation. This was ultimately what led to Clarkson’s firing from Top Gear the same year, with Richard Hammond and James May deciding to leave with him. The presenters were replaced by Chris Evans, Matt Le Blanc, and Rory Reid, but the show never returned to its original form.

Bedder 6 Limited (Top Gear Earnings)

During the show’s prime years, Jeremy Clarkson established a production company with Top Gear’s executive producer Andy Wilman, called Bedder 6, which handled merchandising and international distribution. In essence, this allowed Clarkson to earn money from the show in more ways than one. Not only did he receive an upfront salary along with his co-stars, but he also received dividends from the company in relation to Top Gear’s commercial profits. This included things like revenue from DVD sales, merchandise, and syndication.

Some reports suggest that Clarkson earned £1 million ($1.8 million at the time) per year in salary from Top Gear, plus an additional £9 million from Bedder 6, bringing his total to £10 million ($18 million). The company was officially dissolved in September 2017, following Clarkson’s departure from Top Gear.

The Grand Tour

Top Gear would soon have competition, as the former presenters would quickly move on to produce their own show, The Grand Tour. The show first aired on Amazon Prime Video in November 2016 and has produced close to 50 episodes thus far. Unfortunately, Clarkson got himself into trouble once again, this time over comments he made about Meghan Markle. In 2023, Amazon decided to drop Jeremy Clarkson, leading to the cancellation of both his Amazon-hosted shows, including The Grand Tour.

Nonetheless, TGT’s contract with Amazon was reportedly worth £160 million ($216 million) and spanned multiple seasons. Clarkson personally earned at least £10 million ($13.5 million) per year. The partnership with Amazon and The Grand Tour lasted roughly six years, leading us to believe that Jeremy earned within the neighborhood of £60 million ($81 million).

Other Notable Moments

In 1997, Clarkson appeared on the comedy show Room 101, which made him a celebrity. After that, he appeared on shows such as Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Parkinson.

Clarkson reached a high point in his career with his talk show, Clarkson, which consisted of 27 30-minute episodes and aired from 1998 to 2000. He also kept himself busy with multiple non-motoring ventures, such as producing documentaries on history and engineering. In 2018, Clarkson announced he would host a revamped version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Jeremy Clarkson’s career:

• Robot Wars (TV Show, 1998)
• Top Gear (TV Show, 2002-2015)
• The Grand Tour (TV Show, 2016-2023)
• The Sunday Times (Newspaper, 1993-present)
• The Sun (Newspaper)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2018)

Summary

Jeremy Clarkson is mainly known as the former host of the internationally acclaimed sports car show Top Gear, which is considered one of the most-well-viewed television shows in the world. He has also been a journalist for The Sun and The Sunday Times for over 30 years. While his career has seen him share his controversial political opinions with the public, Clarkson has achieved incredible success throughout, with several missteps in between.

Introduction

Ronda Rousey is an American former professional MMA fighter, judoka, and actress with an estimated net worth of $16 Million.

In a six-year professional mixed martial arts career, Ronda Rousey fought 14 times and retired with a record of 12-2-0. She fought eight times in the UFC, winning six fights by first-round armbar submission. She earned approximately $17.8 million, which translates to an average of $2.225 million per fight.

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $17.8 million during her UFC career
• Received a salary of $1.5 million per year in the WWE
• Currently selling her home in Venice, California, for $1.83 million

Net Worth History

When we first began tracking Ronda Rousey’s net worth in 2019, she was worth an estimated $12 million. However, this was already after her time with the UFC had concluded. By this point, she’d already earned almost $18 million during her MMA career, excluding additional income from sponsorships and ventures outside of the sport.

In recent years, the increase in Ronda’s net worth is primarily due to her WWE contract, reportedly paying her a base salary of $1.5 million per year. As a result, her net worth has continued to increase, reaching an estimated $13 million by 2021 and $14 million in 2023. At the time of writing, we believe Ronda’s net worth is somewhere in the realm of $16 Million. This will likely change significantly once she receives her share of the UFC antitrust settlement.

Early Career

Rousey first began training in Judo at the age of 11, and her mother taught her. At the age of 17, Ronda qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games, where she became the youngest judoka to compete. The same year, she won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships. Rousey went on to win many more medals in judo, but at 21, she quit the sport to pursue MMA as her new career. While primarily training in mixed martial arts, she held various jobs, including waitressing and bartending.

MMA Career

When Ronda Rousey first began competing as an MMA fighter, the female divisions of such competitions were in their very early stages. As such, the competition was of a much lower standard than it is today. This was very similar to the men’s divisions in the early 2000s, when people were still experimenting with various fighting styles.

Rousey possessed a skill set that few other women did at the time, being a former judo Olympian. As it turned out, this would translate perfectly into mixed martial arts. Ronda began competing in the Strikeforce organization and won all four of her fights by armbar submission in the first round.

In 2012, the UFC acquired Strikeforce, bringing many of its top talents with it, and established the UFC female bantamweight division. Since Rousey was the Strikeforce champion at the time, her first fight in the UFC was for the bantamweight belt against Liz Carmouche. Naturally, she got the job done with her gold standard first-round armbar submission and became the UFC’s first female bantamweight champion.

Between 2013 and 2015, Rousey defended her title successfully on five separate occasions, three of which were over in under 30 seconds. However, Rousey had become an icon in female mixed martial arts, and in the mid-2010s, talented female competitors were beginning to make their way into the UFC’s ranks. 

The first was Holly Holm, who fought Ronda in November 2015, winning by a head kick knockout. Next, in December 2016, came Amanda Nunes, known for her impressive striking and raw power. Nunes knocked out Rousey in just 48 seconds of the first round, showcasing just how much the level of competition had increased in a few years.

Fight Earnings

As part of a class-action lawsuit against the UFC, several paychecks of the organization’s star talent were made public, including those of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Ronda Rousey. In fact, in Rousey’s case, every single one of her UFC fight earnings was revealed. Unfortunately, no specifics were revealed regarding the pay structure, but it would likely have been a combination of pay-to-show, pay-to-win, and PPV shares.

For her first fight in the UFC, she earned approximately $574,720 for defeating Liz Carmouche. This was followed by $1.82 million for defeating Miesha Tate for a second time. In 2014, she fought twice, earning $870,969 for beating Sara McMann and $1.06 million for defeating Alexis Davis.

With three fights in 2015, Rousey earned $1.46 million against Cat Zingano and $2.64 million for her final UFC victory against Bethe Correia. For her loss to Holly Holm, she earned an estimated $4.5 million. For her final UFC bout, against Nunes, she earned $4.88 million. This brings her total UFC earnings to approximately $17.78 million. 

WWE Salary

After hanging up her gloves in the mid-2010s, Ronda transitioned into professional wrestling, signing a full-time contract with the WWE in February 2018. Reports suggest that the agreement had a lifespan of between three and five years. She earned an estimated annual base salary of $1.5 million. However, this doesn’t include additional income from event appearances, speaking gigs, and merchandising revenues.

It appears that Ronda was under this contract for at least four years, between 2018 and 2022, potentially earning a total base salary of $6 million. 

UFC Antitrust Settlement

Rousey is among more than 1,000 professional MMA fighters who will receive compensation from the UFC’s Antitrust lawsuit, which was resolved in early 2025.​

In late 2014, UFC fighters, including Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and Jon Fitch, accused the UFC’s then-parent company, Zuffa LLC, of anticompetitive practices. The fighters alleged that between 2010 and 2017, Zuffa LLC had stopped them from making their own deals or using competition between fight promoters to negotiate higher pay.

After more than ten years of court hearings and gathering evidence, a Nevada judge finally approved the $375 million settlement in February 2025. The outcome was the first major legal victory for MMA athletes. After deducting attorney fees, administrative costs, and taxes, roughly $251 million remained for the fighters. Although Rousey was not one of the original plaintiffs, the settlement ultimately covered all UFC fighters who fought during the period. The payouts were calculated based on the amount each fighter earned and how many times they fought between December 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. Each fighter received roughly one-third of their total earnings from those years, along with an additional payment of about $14,000 for each fight.

As a result of the hearing, several fighters’ earnings were made public, including all the compensation Rousey received during the qualifying period. While some of the smallest payments could be around $16,000, the biggest names will receive far more. For example, it is reported that Anderson Silva might receive up to $10.3 million, Conor McGregor around $9 million, and Rousey approximately $6 million from the settlement; however, these figures have not been confirmed.

Real Estate

In June 2014, Rousey paid $1.42 million for an 868-square-foot, single-story home in Venice, California. She recently listed the property for sale in August 2024, with an asking price of $1.9 million. In September, the price was reduced to $1.825 million, and the property is still for sale.

Introduction

Mick Mars is an American professional musician with an estimated net worth of $70 Million.

Mars is the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Mötley Crüe, known for his aggressive, melodic solos and bluesy riffs. He dropped out of high school in the early 1970s and began playing the guitar in a series of unsuccessful blues and rock bands.

Quick Facts

• The Mötley Crüe have grossed a combined $367.3 million from touring
• Sold their master recordings music catalog for $150 million (2021)
• Mars filed a lawsuit against the band members over contract disputes (2023)
• Awarded $131,665 in legal fees, but the primary case is still ongoing.

Music Catalog Sale

In December 2021, the Mötley Crüe sold their entire music catalog to BMG for a reported figure of $150 million. The sale included the master recordings for their music portfolio, comprising nine studio albums such as Too Fast for Love, Shout at the Devil, Dr. Feelgood, and Saints of Los Angeles.

This is a stark difference from the $10 million figure that Elektra Records offered them in the ’90s, after the band parted ways with the company. Band member Nikki Sixx has previously commented on the situation in past interviews:

“Elektra wanted to buy our masters for $10 million, but we said no. Everyone thought we were crazy. Today those masters have made us far more than that.”

The $150 million was split four ways, but the band’s manager, Allen Kovac, likely took a small cut off the top. Assuming a typical 10% commission, Kovac potentially profited $15 million, with the remaining $135 million being split equally between the four band members. Thus, Mars potentially received a total payout of between $33 million and $35 million. 

Tour History & Revenue

According to data from Pollstar, the Mötley Crüe grossed a combined $367.3 million on tour up until the end of The Stadium Tour in 2022, which was conveniently Mick’s last tour with the band. While it’s challenging to obtain exact data from their smaller tours, we do have information regarding Mick’s two final tours with the group. 

Between 2014 and 2015, they embarked on The Final Tour, which reportedly sold over 1.35 million tickets across 158 shows. The gross revenue amounted to approximately $86.1 million, averaging $545,000 per show.

The Stadium Tour was the band’s best performing tour in history, spanning just three months between the 16th June and 19th September in 2022. Its success was primarily due to being a combined tour with Def Leppard, with additional appearances from Poison. They performed at 36 shows accross Canada and the United States, grossing approximately $173.5 million. This meant that the average revenue per show was an incredible $4.82 million.

With regards to how much profit the band earned from these tours, that’s an entirely different equation. Net profits can vary wildly from tour to tour. Industry experts often estimate a band’s net earnings at roughly 25% of the total gross revenue. This is the figure after all costs and commissions have been accounted for. Just for arguments sake, if we plug in 25% of $367.3 million, we reach a potential profit of $91.8 million. Since Mick Mars owns a 25% share of the band, this could place his net earnings from touring at roughly $22 million. This figure is a very rough estimate, and unlikely to be 100% accurate.

Mötley Crüe Lawsuit

Since 2023, Mars has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with his former Mötley Crüe bandmates. The issue revolved around his health problems, as Mars has struggled with a spinal condition since the age of 27. Despite being in pain, he continued playing with the band until 2022, when he stopped touring, though he made it clear that he wanted to remain a co-owner of the band.

In April 2023, Mars filed a lawsuit against the remaining band members, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Lee, although he sought to maintain his share of the business rather than seeking damages. The four members have an equal 25% share of tour revenue, merchandise, media, and real estate investments. Mars’ lawyers say that in October 2022, he was offered an unfair deal which would cut his share of touring profits from 25% to just 5% and then to zero for future tours. He’d also lose the same share for sales of band merchandise using the Mötley Crüe name or logo, though the deal would still let the band use Mars’ name and image. His lawyers said that the band warned Mars that if he didn’t sign the agreement, he would lose his position as an officer and director of the band’s companies.

To make matters worse, he would also have to sell his shares back at book value, a price that ignores the band’s fame and would leave him with only a fraction of what his stake is worth. Mars’ attorneys argued that original contracts, shareholder rights, and his four decades with the band should be enough to protect his stake. In response, Mötley Crüe’s lawyers said that stopping touring was the same as retiring from the band, and he should therefore not be entitled to any further compensation.

Latest Updates

At the start of the dispute, Mars and his lawyers asked the band for routine financial documents, but the band didn’t provide them. As a result, Mars was compelled to file a second lawsuit to obtain access to the records, which he won in early 2024. A judge ordered Mötley Crüe to pay $131,665 in legal fees, as they had failed to provide the documents. However, the larger dispute remains undecided, and the final decision could have significant consequences for both sides.

Real Estate

In 2007, Mick Mars reportedly pursed a 3,603-square-foot home in Malibu, California, for $1.46 million. Additional reports suggest he sold the property for just $1.35 million in 2013. However, we’ve been unable to confirm either of these figures with property transaction records.