Booker T Net Worth and Life Accomplishments

Booker T’s net worth is $5 million. He is an African-American professional wrestler, color commentator, and professional wrestling promoter.

He is the founder and owner of Independent Promotion Reality of Wrestling, and he is also signed to WWE. Booker T is named one of the best professional wrestlers of his era. In the 2013 viewers’ poll, the wrestler was voted WWE’s greatest World Heavyweight Champion.

Booker T put so much effort into his career as a wrestler, and he rose to fame and stardom. As a wrestler, he amassed a lot of fame, popularity, and wealth for himself. Booker T has quite an enviable career and a net worth that he can be boasted of.

Booker T was born in Louisiana, USA, in 1965

Huffman was born on March 1, 1965, in Plain Dealing, Louisiana. However, his birthplace is often mistaken for Houston, Texas. He was born the youngest of eight children to his parents at that time. His parents were both African-American, automatically making his ethnicity African-American. By the time Booker T clocked 13, his mother and father had died, and he lived with his sixteen-year-old elder sister.

After some time, he moved on from his sister’s house and went ahead to live with his older brother, Lash ‘Stevie Ray’ Huffman. This change occurred when he clocked 17. While in high school, Booker T played football and basketball out of hobbies and obligations, but not out of passion. He was also a drum major.

How Booker T Amassed a Net Worth of $5 Million

As previously mentioned in this article, Booker T is worth an estimated $5 million. It means that the legendary wrestler is quite comfortable having amassed a small fortune over a career spanning decades. The question a lot of people have been asking is how he came to become such rich. It is, therefore, essential to dive into his various sources of wealth.

His Wrestling Career was a Major Contributor to His Net Worth

Booker T worked at a storage company in Houston, Texas, to make a better life for himself and his son. His brother took him to a wrestling school that was run by Ivan Putski. Booker trained under Scott Casey at the school, while his boss at the storage house took care of his bills.

Gradually, he transformed from a gang star into “sports entertainment.” Before long, Booker debuted as “G.I Bro” on Putski Western Wrestling Alliance Live! Program. The character was a tie-in to the WWF’s Sgt. Slaughter and the raging Gulf War angle.

Booker T continued to wrestle on the Texas Independent circuit even after WWA met its demise. Due to their consistency, he and his brother were hired to work for Global Wrestling Federation by Skandor Akbar. During their stay with GWF, they won the GWF tag championship on July 31, 1992. The tag was held by both of them thrice. The brothers eventually left the GWF to work for World Championship Wrestling.

Booker T
Booker T and his brother as Harlem Heat (image source)

In August 1993, they debuted as the ‘Harlem Heat’ tag team, with Lash renamed Kane and Booker renamed Kole. By the end of 1994, they held the WCW Tag Team Championship after defeating Stars and Stripes. Subsequently, they won the championship again on June 24, 1995. Altogether, Booker T and his brother won the tag title seven whole times. By this time, his fame was rising exponentially within the wrestling world.

The Wrestler was one of the Highest Earners in WCW

Booker T made the transition into singles action and subsequently won the WCW World Television Championship. He won this on December 29, 1997. According to sports journalist Michael Landsberg, Booker T was earning “close to a million dollar” at that time in WCW.

This put him as one of the biggest earners and ensured his superstar status was even more emphasized. Booker feuded over the title with Rick Martel and Perry Saturn climaxing at a gauntlet match. He won the championship a couple of times and usually always recovered the title anytime he lost.

In mid-1999, Booker convinced his brother, Stevie Ray, to reunite Harlem Heat, which was eventually done. The tag team continued to grow and win several championships until they split due to a little fight. However, throughout this whole period, Huffman was referred to as Booker after Harlem Heat won the rights to the name “T” after a match they won.

Booker defeated Shawn Stasiak at the Great American Bash in a boot camp match. On June 19, Nitro, he returned his name to Booker T, promoting Rection to the status of General.

His Work As a WWE Commentator Adds to His Wealth

On February 1, 2011, Booker T made his debut as a color commentator for the WWE. He replaced Matt Striker and worked alongside Josh Matthews and Michael Cole. In 2014, Booker T commonly did work on the WWE Network, including the Raw pre-show, and he was also part of the “expert panel” on Kickoff shows.

On the 2015 premiere of Raw, Booker T replaced the commentator, Jerry Lawler. It was later announced that Booker was taking his place permanently, with Lawler moving to SmackDown. It is revealed that Booker T is paid a handsome annual salary of $550,000.

He Serves as Coach for the WWE’s Tough Enough Show

Booker went ahead to become a coach for the sixth season of WWE Tough Enough. He joined fellow wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin as a coach for the season. This announcement was made during a SmackDown! broadcast. It marked the first time Booker T had been a coach on the show. His salary for this role was, however, not revealed.

Booker T Doubles as a Wrestling Promoter and Radio Host

On August 6, 2016, Booker T replaced Tommy Dreamer in an intergender tag team match for Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion. There, he worked as a wrestling promoter and earned a lot of income. More than that, he also began hosting a radio show called Hall of Fame. 

The show revolves around the world of sports entertainment and touches on compelling conversations and topics. He hosts the show alongside Brad Gilmore on ESPN 97.5. He previously hosted another radio show in 2007 called Tea Time with King Booker on KBME 790 AM in Houston. It is unclear how much he made from these roles.

He Has Done a Bit of Acting Acting and TV

Although Booker T does not have extensive filmography and cannot be considered a bonafide movie star, he does have one or two credits to his name. In 2000, he appeared in the movie Ready to Rumble as himself. He also featured in a single episode of Charmed. The episode was titled Wrestling with Demons, alongside fellow wrestlers Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell. He has also appeared on Comedy Central and MTV alongside the popular show Family Feud.

The Wrestler Also Makes Money as an Author 

Booker T. Huffman has released two autobiographies in his career so far. The first book, Booker T: From Prison to Promise, was released in 2021 under Medallion Press. The multi-time wrestling champion went to great lengths to promote this book. This included TV appearances and interviews with wrestling magazines. The second book arrived three years after in 2015.

The book, titled Booker T: Wrestling Royalty, was also released under Medallion Press. The number of books sold was not revealed to the public, but considering his influence and status, it is fair that Booker T sold enough to earn great money and boost his net worth.

Recap of Booker T’s Sources of Income

  • Wrestling career with WWA, GWF, WCW, WWE, and TNA
  • Commentator for WWE
  • Coach for WWE’s Tough Enough
  • Wrestling promoter for Dreamer’s House of Hardcore Promotion
  • Acting and TV
  • Author

Booker T is One of the Highest Decorated Wrestler in WCW History

He won a total of twenty-one titles within the organization, making him the most decorated wrestler in its history. When he accepted a contract with World Wrestling Federation, Booker T was the reigning WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WCW United States Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 2001 after he won a match with his very first move. He later turned heel and became the leading member of The Alliance during the Invasion Storyline.

Booker defended his WCW Championship against Buff Bagwell on the July 2 episode of Raw. After losing the title a couple of times, he regained it for the eleventh time, this time with Test. His first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania x8 against Edge, which he lost. At Insurrexion, booker briefly held the WWF Hardcore Championship twice.

List of Booker T’s Awards and Recognitions

  • World Heavyweight Champion
  • TNA Legends Champion
  • Tag Team Award (2018)
  • Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2018)
  • Global Tag Team Championship (three times)
  • LVPW UWF Heavyweight Champion
  • Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1998)
  • Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2000)
  • TAP Heavyweight Champion
  • TNA Legend Champion
  • WCW World Heavyweight Champion
  • WCW World Television Champion (6 times)
  • King of the Ring (2006)
  • WWE Intercontinental Champion (3 times)

The Wrestler Engaged in Several Feuds During His Career

Booker has had quite a lot of feuds in his career as a wrestler. It is part of the gimmick they have to put on to attract audience reactions and gain popularity. Some were minor feuds, while some were major feuds that thrust him further into the limelight. Below are some of Booker T’s most famous wrestling feuds.

Booker T and The Rock

Booker and The Rock (image source)

His first major feud happened when he lost his title as WCW Championship to The Rock. He began feuding with him over their similarity in their gimmicks and their identical fishing moves.

Feud with Triple H

Booker T
Booker T and Triple H (image source)

Booker also had a major feud with Triple H, who downplayed his success and downgraded him. A week later, Booker attacked Triple H in the bathroom, and he teamed up with other wrestlers to feud Triple H. Afterward, Booker set his sights on the newly reactivated Intercontinental Championship.

Booker T and Christian

Booker T and Christian (image source)

He began feuding with the Champion, Christian, after losing a battle Royale. After a few more matches, he defeated Christian and won the title to himself. Booker T also had feuds with players like Mark Henry, The Undertaker, John Cena, and others. Most of the feuds were usually due to Booker’s thirst for a big title or championship. These feuds did well to thrust him further into the limelight, and his fame grew within and outside the wrestling world.

Was this article helpful?

Recommended

Featured Today

Related Stories

error: Content is protected !!