Back when the sport first began, there wasn’t much money to make from bodybuilding. One of the first Mr.Olympia competitions only won the first place winner a mesely $1,000.
As times went on, the price increased, and so did the sponsorships and money in it for the bodybuilders.
So, who are the top 25 richest bodybuilders? Let’s find out.
#1 – Arnold Schwarzenegger ($400 million)
Arnold Schwarzenegger is like the poster child of bodybuilding. He even sells a workout program called the Arnold Blueprint to Mass, basically the best program in bodybuilding.
Coupled with the fact he became the Governor of California, then went on to perform in many movies, and had a very successful bodybuilding career- it’s expected to know that the terminator is STACKED.
So, it’s no surprise that Arnold is one of the richest bodybuilders.
I mean, $400 million is a lot of money. Maybe Arnold wanted to spare some and buy a home gym for me?
#2 – Sylvester Stallone ($400 million)
Sylvester Stallone is also one of the richest bodybuilders that made a fortune from the movies. He sets next to Arnold with a net worth of $400 million.
Sylvester Stallone is Rocky and Rambo– if you haven’t seen either of those movies, watch them immediately.
He really is “almost” the face of bodybuilding with his famous eating raw eggs scene.
By the way, that doesn’t work. Read my article on the TRUTH about eating raw eggs for bodybuilding. (please stop getting food poisoning from this!!)
#3 – Rich Gaspari ($100 million)
Rich Gaspari had a rather moderate bodybuilding career but really made a killing in the bodybuilding nutrition industry after he got out. And that was his secret to becoming one of the richest bodybuilders.
He has many famous products with the signature name, ‘Gaspari Nutrition’.
You’ll typically see these in stores, like the Gaspari Nutrition Milk Chocolate Protein Powder.
He sits at a heavy $100 million and I would expect that to steadily increase as the fitness industry keeps growing.
#4 – Jay Cutler ($0-60 million)
Jay Cutler comes in at #4 on this list, and it’s no surprise. Jay Cutler is probably one of the most famous bodybuilders right now and one of those reasons is because he’s actually an NFL player and he’s won the Mr.Olympia title 4 times.
Imagine that, you watch the NFL, then tune in to the next Mr.Olympia bodybuilding show and see the same guy! The amount of work he has to put in for that is incredible.
His net worth is uh- well up in the air… While I was writing this, his wife suddenly announced they were going to divorce. So, I’m not sure how much money he will lose from the divorce or if he might even get more money from the NFL.
It’s kind of up in the air right now, but regardless he has tons of sponsorships that he can rebound with.
So, we will update this and see if he is still one of the richest bodybuilders in about a year…
#5 – Lou Ferrigno ($12 million)
Lou Ferrigno…if that name sounds incredibly familiar but you can’t put a name to it, you’re not alone. Not many people were rooting for Lou Ferrigno in the famous bodybuilding movie Pumping Iron– he was the main competitor running against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yep, that’s right. He was the guy trying to DETHRONE Arnold. Fun fact- he would get booed and yelled at after his spot at the movie, not a lot of people liked that he tried to dethrone Arnold!
Anyways, Lou Ferrigno soon headed towards the movie career after that and became THE INCREDIBLE HULK. That’s right, THE HULK IS LOU FERRIGNO.
His movie appearances set him at a nice and comfortable $12 million net worth.
Interestingly enough, he barely got paid from bodybuilding competitions. In fact, if he beat Arnold in that competition, he would’ve only made $1,000! So, maybe it was a good thing he lost, he became one of the richest bodybuilders by becoming the hulk.
#6 – Franco Columbu ($10 million)
Franco Columbu was Arnold’s best friend and was one of the richest bodybuilders and amassed a large $10 million net worth before he sadly passed last year.
While Franco was never making 500 movies a year like his best friend Arnold was, he was in a few movies and lived a relatively nice life.
He was well known for his bodybuilding career and is seen in countless photos next to the Austrian Oak.
Rest easy, Mr.Columbu.
#7 – Mamdouh Elssbiay (Big Ramy) ($10 million)
Mamdouh Elssbiay may be a new name for most of us reading this. But Mamdouh Elssbiay is ‘Big Ramy’- who just won the Mr.Olympia title.
Surprisingly, Big Ramy never really had much of a prevalence in the bodybuilding world until this year when he randomly took the title.
That’s proof that this sport isn’t about ‘favorites’- it’s about hard work. He was a no name in the industry, then busted his back in the gym and made it.
His estimated net worth is around $10 million, but I’d expect that to even increase as more sponsors pick him up. This will also depend on if he takes Mr.Olympia 2021 title.
Regardless, I’m interested to see if his position on this list changes.
#8 – Phil Heath ($8 million)
Phil Heath is a name EVERYBODY knows in bodybuilding. He’s kind of like the bread and butter of bodybuilding, he’s just an essential.
Because of his famous name, he’s got tons of sponsorships and his estimated net worth is $8 million.
#9 – Lee Haney ($5.5 million)
Lee Haney is also one of those bodybuilders that everybody knows. Furthermore, Bill Clinton made him the Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, so he’s pretty famous.
Because of his bodybuilding career and government position, he has gotten a lot of opportunities for sponsorships and sits at around $5.5 million in net worth.
#10 – Chris Bumstead ($5-10 million)
Chris Bumstead is a name that everybody knows. He can be super controversial, but whether you love him or not, take this advice from me:
Being controversial brings attention, and with that…money.
Yeah, so Chris Bumstead is estimated to have somewhere from $5-10 million in net worth. And the amount of posts on his Instagram and the some of the wealth he has excellently displays that.
#11 – Dorian Yates ($4.2 million)
Dorian Yates is another popular bodybuilder that became very famous in the sport.
He has an estimated net worth of $4.2 million.
#12 – Rich Piana ($4 million)
Rich Piana is as you all know, my favorite bodybuilder ever.
However, I think his net worth is much higher than people are estimating. Even before his death, he had a massive meal plan system launching and sold tons of clothes and other workout supplements.
Plus, he had a MASSIVE YouTube following (Read: Top 25 Rich Piana Quotes) and for what it’s worth- was super controversial. Remember, the more controversial you are, the more popular you are.
He got TONS of views, so I personally think his net worth was way more than $4 million, but regardless, $4 million is still a TON of money.
#13 – Zyzz ($1-5 million)
Zyzz was one of the most famous bodybuilding YouTubers to EVER come around.
Now, I know what you’re saying, “well, shouldn’t his net worth be WAY higher than $1.5 million?”. Well, Zyzz hit the scene in the early 2010s and died in 2011.
Simply put, money wasn’t as inflated as it is today. Furthermore, the USA was in a big recession which caused a global economic impact, and he lived in the UK.
At this point, websites like YouTube didn’t even pay a lot for their creators and most of the platforms he was on didn’t pay much.
If Zyzz was still around, his net worth would probably exceed 10 million. But, unfortunately, we lost him too soon. Rest easy.
#14 – Mike O’Hearn ($2.5 million)
Mike O’Hearn has had a big social media impact on the bodybuilding scene the past few years, and has developed an impressive net worth because of it.
He sits at $2.5 million net worth and I expect it to keep increasing.
#15 – Ronnie Coleman ($2 million)
Ronnie Coleman is one of the most famous bodybuilders out there. He has had a massive bodybuilding career, which makes me think that his net worth is probably much higher than $2 million.
#16 – Flex Wheeler ($2 million)
Flex Wheeler is also one of the most famous bodybuilders in history. I’d also estimate that his net worth is much higher than $2 million.
#17 – Dexter Jackson ($2 million)
Dexter Jackson has been in the bodybuilding industry forever. He just announced his retirement, so I’d expect him to maybe move towards more sponsorships to make some more money.
I’d expect his net worth to increase too above $2 million, especially since he will have much more time on his hands. Regardless, he is still one of the richest bodybuilders.
#18 – Calum Von Moger ($2 million)
Calum Von Moger has EXPLODED in the bodybuilding community.
After he injured himself and literally almost died falling off a cliff, he started publishing intense videos like his famous arm workout.
During quarantine, he’s made serious moves on his YouTube channel and his net worth has been estimated to increase over $1.5 million in the past year.
Since he’s been blowing up so much, I’d expect that net worth to skyrocket soon and possibly even place him even higher on this richest bodybuilders list.
#19 -Serge Nubret ($1.5 million)
Serge Nubret was one of the first bodybuilders to ever win a competition. With this, he got a lot of sponsorships and endorsements gaining him a lot of money.
He sat comfortably at a $1.5 million net worth at the time of his death, making him one of the richest bodybuilders.
Rest in peace, Serge Nubret.
#20 – Kai Greene ($1 million)
Kai Greene is one of the richest bodybuilders at a $1 million net worth.
#21 – Sergio Oliva ($1-5 million)
Sergo Oliva had an estimated $1-5 million net worth at the time of his death, making him one of the richest bodybuilders.
#22 – Dallas McCarver ($1 million)
Dallas McCarver had an estimated net worth of around $1 million at the time of his death making him one of the richest bodybuilders.
But many of us can agree that Dallas McCarver had a huge bodybuilding career in front of him. He put in an immense amount of work in the year leading up to his death- but unfortunately collapsed on stage at a bodybuilding contest and would later die.
If it wasn’t for this undeserved death, I personally think Dallas McCarver would’ve went on to possibly even win the Mr.Olympia title. His dedication to the sport was almost unseen in recent bodybuilding, and because of that I would project his net worth would’ve been much higher.
Rest easy, Dallas McCarver.
#23 – Dom Mazetti (BroScienceLife) ($1 million)
Dom Mazetti for sure isn’t the Mr.Olympia competitor you were expecting to see on this list, but how could we forget him? His comedy channel, BroScienceLife has provided countless hours of entertainment to bodybuilders around the world.
Furthermore, basically every bodybuilder has seen a video by Dom Mazetti, it’s impossible not to.
He has an estimated net worth of anywhere from $1-5 million. But recently he’s started uploading a lot more videos, so it’s possible this may skyrocket. Regardless, he is one of the richest bodybuilders.
#24 – Charles Glass ($1 million)
Charles Glass is considered the Godfather of Bodybuilding, and for good reason.
All of the ‘golden era’ Mr.Olympia bodybuilders you’ve seen were all trained by him.
Today, he uploads tons of YouTube videos detailing how to put on serious muscle and look good on stage. Plus, he is still a personal trainer at the ‘home’ of bodybuilding in Venice Beach, CA.
He has an estimated net worth of $1 million, making him one of the richest bodybuilders.
#25 – Frank Zane ($1 million)
Frank Zane is also one of the most famous and richest bodybuilder sitting at a comfortable $1 million in net worth.
Conclusion of the 25 Richest Bodybuilders
This was the Top 25 Richest Bodybuilders, if there’s anybody I missed, let me know immediately in the comments below and they will be added!
