As one of the most talked-about figures, Ken Norton has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What was Ken Norton's Net Worth?
Ken earned $300,000 for his first bout against Muhammad Ali in 1973. That's the same as around $2 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation. He would go on to earn millions more from guarantees and Pay Per View bonuses primarily from his two rematches against Ali.
Ken Norton was born on August 9, 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois. As an adolescent, he went to Jacksonville High School, where he was a star football and track athlete. He was an All-State selection in football, and competed in eight different track and field events his senior year, taking 1st in seven of them. After winning seven of the eight events, the "Ken Norton Rule", was subsequently implemented for all Illinois track and field teams. It limited the number of track and field events in which a student athlete could participate to four.
Professional Boxing, 1967-1978
After dropping out of college, Norton enlisted in the US Marine Corps, where he served from 1963 to 1967. He took up boxing during this time, compiling a 24-2 record and winning three all-Marine heavyweight titles. Norton ended his amateur career as the best boxer ever in the Corps, and was awarded the North Carolina AAU Golden Gloves, International AAU, and Pan American titles.
Ken Norton was an American professional boxer who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 2013. Ken Norton turned professional after completing his military service in 1967. He went on to fight 50 bouts over the course of his professional career, winning 42, 33 via knockout. He is most widely remembered for being one of only two boxers to defeatMuhammad Aliduring his prime. He broke Ali's jaw in the 12th round of their fight in March 1973. They fought twice more. He lost both fights, though the third bout is still widely debated. Norton was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. He died on September 18, 2013. Ken's son,Ken Norton Jr., went on to become a professional football player and coach.
Ken Norton In Caracas, 1974 (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Norton went on to attend Northeast Missouri State University on a football scholarship. There, he studied elementary education.
Norton racked up an unbroken string of wins after turning professional in 1967. Over his first three years as a professional boxer, he defeated such fighters as Grady Brazell, Harold Dutra, Jimmy Gilmore, Wayne Kindred, Gary Bates, Stamford Harris, and Ray Junior Ellis. Norton's first loss, a surprise to most, was to the unproven JoseLuis Garciain July of 1970. Not long after that, he was given the motivational book "Think and Grow Rich"; upon reading it, he went on a 14-fight winning streak, ending with his shocking split-decision upset over Muhammad Ali in March of 1973. As a result, Norton won the North American Boxing Federation heavyweight title. Later in the year, he narrowly lost the heavyweight title in a rematch with Ali. Next, in 1974, Norton went up againstGeorge Foremanfor the world heavyweight championship, but lost in the second round.
Ultimately, Ken Norton's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
