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What is Michael Buffer’s net worth and salary?

Michael Buffer is a renowned boxing announcer and entrepreneur with a net worth of $400 million. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest ring announcers in the history of boxing and wrestling. Buffer gained worldwide fame for his signature catchphrase, “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble,” which he uses to start most major boxing events.

Buffer has trademarked his famous phrase, a wise move that has earned him hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties over the years. His distinctive voice and charismatic stage presence have also led to roles in various other arenas, including professional wrestling, World Series baseball, NBA Finals games, and popular TV shows and movies.

Thanks to his style and catchphrase, Michael Buffer is one of the most recognizable figures in sports entertainment.

Michael Buffer’s Earnings for Announcing Matches

Michael Buffer earns between $25,000 and $100,000 for announcing matches, depending on the match. In some extremely rare cases, he has been paid $1 million.

Early Life and Military Service

Michael Buffer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1944. He was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His parents divorced when he was 11 months old, and he was raised by a set of foster parents. Buffer enlisted in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and served from ages 20-23.

Post-Military Career

After his time in the service, Buffer had various jobs such as a car salesman and a model and actor.

Michael Buffer’s Career and Net Worth

Michael Buffer started his career as a ring announcer in 1982 and quickly rose to fame, announcing all the boxing matches on ESPN by 1983. He acquired a federal trademark for his signature catchphrase, “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” in 1992, which has brought him incredible fortune. Buffer has earned $400 million from trademark licensing alone during his career.

Buffer’s announcing work has been admired by many boxing greats, including Sugar Ray Leonard, who once told him, “When you introduce a fighter, it makes him want to fight.” He has served as the exclusive ring announcer for boxing events held at casinos owned by Donald Trump in the late 1980s and signed with DAZN to be the only ring announcer for all of its boxing broadcasts.

Buffer famously announced on Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXV in 2007 at Madison Square Garden in a boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Matt Hardy. On August 25, 2018, he was the announcer for a YouTube boxing match between Logan Paul and KSI.

Michael Buffer as a Ring Announcer

Michael Buffer served as the exclusive ring announcer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) main events until 2001. He announced matches featuring Hulk Hogan and other megastars. Despite the folding of WCW, Buffer still serves as the lead announcer through their former parent company Time Warner’s pay-per-view matches.

Buffer has also announced several matches from promoter Top Rank, which were broadcast on HBO. Previously, he was forbidden to announce for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) due to his exclusive contract. However, when WCW folded, he was able to announce in other wrestling promotions.

Michael Buffer’s Announcements and Appearances

Michael Buffer is known for his iconic catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” which he has used to announce wrestling and boxing events. However, he has also announced for other sports events such as the MLB World Series, the Stanley Cup Finals, NBA finals, the Volunteer 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway, and NFL playoff games.

In addition to sports events, Buffer has also announced for the Affliction: Banned mixed martial arts show and the 2008 World Series of Poker finale, modifying his catchphrase to “Let’s get ready to shuffle up and deal.”

Buffer has also appeared as a guest announcer on the 2017 United States Grand Prix and modified his catchphrase to fit campaigns for Mega Millions, Kraft Cheese, and Progressive Insurance.

Buffer has guest-starred on many talk shows and TV series including David Letterman, Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, Mad TV, and the Howard Stern Show. He has also appeared in many films such as Creed, Grudge Match, America’s Next Top Model, The Bold and the Beautiful, 2012, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Rocky Balboa, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Ready to Rumble, The Simpsons, and Rocky V. Buffer even made an appearance on Deal or No Deal in 2007 and delivered a line in the 2019 remake of Dumbo.

Michael Buffer’s “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” Catchphrase

Michael Buffer’s famous catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” was suggested to him by his half-brother, Bruce Buffer, who heard about NBA coach Pat Riley earning a fortune by trademarking the term “threepeat.” Michael applied for a trademark and has since licensed the phrase for use in songs, video games, movies, TV shows, and merchandise.

One of the most notable licensing deals was for the video game “Ready to Rumble,” for which game maker Midway reportedly paid Michael $100 million to license his catchphrase in perpetuity. This was a significant achievement for a former actor turned boxing announcer.

Michael Buffer’s Personal Life

Michael Buffer was treated for throat cancer in 2008. His fame has helped him reconnect with estranged family members, including his birth father who contacted him in 1989 after seeing him on television. This led to Michael meeting his half-brothers, one of whom is Bruce Buffer, now an announcer for UFC. Bruce started out as Michael’s agent/manager.

Michael Buffer got married at 21 but divorced after seven years. He has two sons from that marriage, Michael and Matthew. He remarried in 1999, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2003. While appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he proposed to his third wife, Christine, and they are still married. Michael and Christine Buffer reside in Southern California.

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