2. Steve Austin (Net Worth: $45m)
Who would have thought that the top star during the biggest boom period in wrestling would be one of the richest wrestlers ever, huh? Austin had to pay his dues to accumulate that wealth, however. He famously starved while working for Jerry Jarrett’s USWA promotion where he would eat cans of tuna and eat raw potatoes because that’s all his nightly salary allowed. Austin’s 1991 WCW salary was a fortune in comparison. The Texas Rattlesnake earned $75,000 that year and his salary was increased to a not too shabby $275,000 per year in 1994. Austin wasn’t exactly pulling in that sort of money as The Ringmaster in the WWF but everything changed when he caught fire as Stone Cold Steve Austin from 1996-2002. It is estimated that Austin earned around $5m per year in 1998 and 1999, when wrestling’s popularity peaked. Austin’s ex-wife Debra puts that figure as closer to $12m from 1998-2001. If accurate (she would know better than anyone) that would make Austin the highest paid wrestler on a per-year basis ever. Since retiring Austin has branched off into film and reality television. He currently hosts one of the world’s most popular podcasts and, importantly, he has been smart with his money. (credit: Forbes, Power Slam magazine)
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