Mike Tyson

Anytime Mike Tyson’s name is in the news, it is typically headline-making. Whether the story is good (Tyson back in the ring versus Roy Jones Jr.) or bad (Tyson punches out a heckler on an airplane), his name still fascinates and draws attention.

Being called ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson has led to a roller coaster professional and personal life that has both contributed to and taken away from Mike Tyson’s net worth.

MUCH LOWER THAN IT ONCE WAS, MIKE TYSON’S NET WORTH SITS AT $10 MILLION

Mike Tyson is a 56-year-old former heavyweight champion. His inside-the-ring performances, at one time, built Mike Tyson’s boxing net worth to north of $300 million, but his out-of-ring issues eventually caught up with him, taking his net worth to a negative $23 million and bankruptcy.

Today, Mike Tyson’s net worth stands at $10 million but his road back to respectability has been fraught with landmine after landmine, mainly from those he laid down himself.

One of the more amazing things to look at during Mike Tyson’s boxing career is some of the purses he earned for specific fights. These gigantic sums led to building Mike Tyson’s net worth. Check out a few boxing figures for Iron Mike.

Opponent                           Purse

Larry Holmes                      $5 million

Tony Tubbs                         $10 million

Michael Spinks                  $20 million

Donovan Ruddock 1        $6 million

Donovan Ruddock II        $10 million

Peter McNeely                  $25 million

Frank Bruno II                   $30 million

Bruce Seldon                     $30 million

Evander Holyfield I          $30 million

Evander Holyfield II         $30 million

Lennox Lewis                     $103 million

MIKE TYSON’S LAVISH SPENDING AND CHOICE OF ENTOURAGE COULD BE TO BLAME FOR HIS LOW NET WORTH

At the height of Mike Tyson’s career, he was rolling in dough, and he had no issue proving that point. Tyson, along with his entourage that included the nefarious boxing promoter, Don King, would routinely be out on the town, spending money like there was no end to it.

Parties, women, drugs, and alcohol were all part of Mike Tyson’s legacy, and for the most part, none of it ended well for “The Baddest Man on the Planet.”

At one time, not only was Mike Tyson known as The Baddest Man on the Planet, he was also known as one of the richest boxers ever to lace ‘em up. But numerous bad lifestyle choices took him down and his combined boxing purses and endorsements net worth total of around $430 million (nearly $700 million if adjusted for inflation) was soon gone. So, how did Mike Tyson’s net worth take such a precipitous fall?

You could blame it on age, seeing as how Iron Mike was extremely young when the boxing money began to roll in. You could blame it on the people surrounding him who were more interested in Mike’s money than they were in the fighter.

There was also that his mentor and “father” Cus D’Amato sadly passed away very early in Iron Mike’s career, leading many to speculate that this is what fueled the personal and professional horrors that were to follow.

But back to his lavish spending. The money was rolling in and just as fast, it was rolling out. There was no limit to what Mike Tyson would spend on items (and pets) that would suit his fancy. Let’s see what contributed to the downfall of Mike Tyson’s net worth.

Pet Tigers – This purchase made the news time and time again. Mike Tyson, at one time, owned three Bengal tigers and it was reported that he paid $60,000 for each of them. On top of that, Tyson was dropping $70,000 on their diet and maintenance. He even had to bring in an animal trainer to the tune of $125,000 to help Tyson attempt to tame the wild beasts.

The “Guerilla Warfare” Shouter – Mike Tyson’s entourage was legendary and expensive. As one prime example, Tyson would dig into his net worth by keeping a gentleman on staff who would wear army fatigues and go around with Tyson at press conferences just to shout “guerilla warfare” at each conference. Tyson paid this man $300,000 a year for this service.

Mike Tyson Loves Cars – During his lifetime, Mike Tyson’s net worth took a massive hit because of the cars he would purchase, not only for himself but also for his “friends.” Over his lifetime, Tyson has owned well over 100 cars, some of which were extremely rare and valuable. One of these cars was a 1997 Bentley Continental T that Tyson reportedly spent $500,000 on. It was only one of 73 models ever made.

Another big car purchase for Mike Tyson was the Jaguar XJ220. Although it didn’t quite reach the price tag of his Bentley, it came awfully close. Tyson paid $470,000 for the Jag.

All in all, Mike Tyson’s net worth dropped close to $5 million from all the vehicles he bought, which also included motorcycles. Of all the vehicles he bought, 19 of those were for friends. What a nice guy.

Pigeons – It is a well-known fact that Mike Tyson loves birds, which is why it shouldn’t surprise you that he has spent in excess of $400,000 on his pigeon collection. It is said that his fondness for birds came at an early age when a neighborhood bully took one of Tyson’s pigeons and ripped its head off.

“The guy ripped the head off my pigeon. This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon,” Tyson once revealed. “That was the first time I threw a punch. I have loved pigeons since I was nine. They were my escape. I was fat and ugly. Kids teased me all the time. The only joy I had was pigeons.”

The Gold Bathtub – Not only was Mike Tyson good to his entourage, but he was also good (financially) to his ex-wives. The first big gift he gave was to his first wife, Robin Givens. It was a 24-karat bathtub that hit Mike Tyson’s net worth for $2.2 million.

Misc. Net Worth Expenditures – There are so many other crazy purchases Mike Tyson made at the height of his earnings. He spent $410,000 for his own 30^th birthday party. He needed to have $240,000 a month for “walking around” money. Tyson spent $230,000 on cell phones and phone bills, and another $100,000 a month on jewelry and clothes.

MIKE TYSON WAS $23 MILLION DOLLARS IN ARREARS

When you look at Mike Tyson’s net worth, it is the ultimate in rags to riches to rags to riches story. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1966, Tyson came from a very fractured and violent home. His mother lived a very promiscuous lifestyle (i.e., prostitute) and while the name of his father on his birth certificate was “Purcell Tyson”, the only man Tyson knew as his “father” was a pimp named Jimmy Kirkpatrick.

So, Tyson came from an extremely poor background and boxing was his out. He gained his wealth simply by being the Baddest Man on the Planet. He also lost that wealth by being the Baddest Man on the Planet.

All his foolish spending put him over $23 million in arrears. Drugs, alcohol, and women led to his massive downfall, but Tyson never blamed anyone else but himself.

“I didn’t have a problem with drugs or nothing, I had a problem with thinking,” Tyson once said. “My thinking was broken. That was the solution to my broken thinking — using drugs and living crazy.”

So, after filing for bankruptcy in August 2003, Mike Tyson had to figure out ways to not only get out of debt but to build back his net worth and more importantly, his public and personal persona. Both took a long time and many failures along the way.

Mike Tyson began to appear in films, one being The Hangover where he famously punched out Ed Helms’ Stu.

Tyson also had his very well-received one-man Broadway show (which started out in Las Vegas) in which he collaborated with director Spike Lee called Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth. Tyson eventually took his show on the road for a 36-city tour.

To bring his net worth back to respectability, Tyson has also written two books. The first was the 2013 bio called Undisputed Truth. His second book came in 2017 and was called Iron Ambition. Both books were best-sellers.

Contributing to Mike Tyson’s net worth today is one of his business interests called Tyson Ranch. This is a cannabis empire that Tyson has built that generates over $900,000 a year. Tyson also charges $75,000 for two-hour appearances.

It has taken a long time for Mike Tyson to rebuild his net worth. He has done a lot of harm along the way, but he has also done some good.

In 2012, Iron Mike started the Mike Tyson Cares Foundation to “give kids a fighting chance,” and when he made his boxing comeback in 2020 with the exhibition eight-round fight against legend Roy Jones Jr., Tyson donated his entire $10 million purse to charity.

MIKE TYSON IS MARRIED TO LAKIHA SPICER

Iron Mike Tyson’s life to this point has been full. There have been ups and downs, violence against women that led to jail, rises and falls, and rises again. It has been nothing short of wild, in both a sad and impressive way.

Believe it or not, Tyson has seven kids. One tragically passed away.

Tyson’s first child, Mikey, he had with Kimberly Scarborough, a woman he had an affair with but did not marry.

Mike Tyson had his second and third children with his second wife, Monica Turner. His fourth and fifth children, Miguel and Exodus, were with another woman, Sol Xochitl, with whom he had an affair. Exodus passed away at the age of 4.

Today, Mike Tyson is on his third marriage, this time to Lakiha Spicer. From all accounts, it appears to be going well. The two have two children, Milan and Morocco. Tyson and Spicer have been married since 2009.