Tony Hawk Net Worth

What Is Tony Hawk's Net Worth?

Tony Hawk is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $140 million.

Tony Hawk is by far the most decorated and highest-earning professional skateboarder in history. Outside of earning tens of millions of dollars during his career from endorsements, tournament prizes, appearance fees, and more, Tony has earned an enormous fortune thanks to his eponymous video game, which has generated billions in revenue worldwide. Hawk has been earning massive paychecks for decades. Even as a teenage skate star, he was earning over $100,000 per year between prizes and sponsorships. In high school, Tony made significantly more than his teachers. He bought his family a house when he was a senior in high school.

Rising to prominence in the 1980s as a teenage prodigy, Hawk became the face of vertical skateboarding during a period when the sport was still considered fringe. Over the next two decades, he dominated competitions, revolutionized trick innovation, and helped bring skateboarding into the mainstream. His career reached a defining moment in 1999 when he landed the first documented 900-degree aerial trick at the X Games, a feat that became one of the most iconic moments in sports history.

Early Life

Tony Hawk was born Anthony Frank Hawk on May 12, 1968, in Carlsbad, California. He was the youngest of four children in a supportive, middle-class family. From an early age, Hawk displayed a combination of intelligence, intensity, and restlessness that made it difficult for him to fit into traditional environments. His parents recognized that he needed an outlet for his energy and, at age nine, gave him his first skateboard.

Hawk quickly became obsessed. What began as a hobby soon turned into a singular focus, as he spent hours practicing and pushing himself to improve. His natural talent and relentless work ethic allowed him to progress rapidly. Within a few years, he was competing against much older skaters and earning recognition within the growing skateboarding community.

Rise to Professional Stardom

Tony Hawk turned professional at the age of 14, an extraordinary achievement that signaled his arrival as one of the most promising young skaters in the world. He joined the Powell Peralta team, one of the most prominent skateboarding companies at the time, and appeared in the influential "Bones Brigade" videos, which helped define skate culture in the 1980s.

Throughout his teenage years and early twenties, Hawk dominated vertical skateboarding competitions. He won numerous titles, including multiple National Skateboard Association championships, and became known for his technical precision and innovative tricks. At a time when skateboarding's popularity fluctuated, Hawk remained a consistent and driving force in keeping the sport alive.

Despite his success, the late 1980s and early 1990s were a challenging period for professional skateboarders. The sport's mainstream appeal declined, sponsorship opportunities diminished, and many athletes struggled financially. Hawk himself experienced financial setbacks during this period, even as he continued to compete at a high level.

(Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Reinvention and the X Games Era

Skateboarding experienced a resurgence in the mid-1990s, fueled in part by the launch of ESPN's X Games. Tony Hawk emerged as one of the central figures of this revival. His experience, reputation, and continued innovation made him a standout competitor even as a new generation of skaters entered the scene.

The defining moment of Hawk's competitive career came in 1999 at the X Games when he successfully landed the 900, a trick involving two and a half mid-air rotations. After multiple failed attempts, Hawk completed the trick on his final run, instantly cementing his legacy. The moment was widely broadcast and became one of the most memorable highlights in action sports history.

Shortly after landing the 900, Hawk retired from professional competition, having already secured his place as one of the greatest skateboarders of all time.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Business Empire

While Hawk's competitive career was winding down, his business career was just beginning to accelerate. In 1999, he partnered with Activision to release "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater," a skateboarding video game that became a massive commercial and cultural success. The game's intuitive gameplay, iconic soundtrack, and authentic representation of skate culture helped it appeal to both gamers and non-skaters alike.

The success of the first game led to a series of sequels that sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. The franchise became one of the most successful sports video game series in history and played a major role in introducing skateboarding to a global audience.

Investments

Tony is an investor in over a dozen ventures, including Birdhouse Skateboards, Hawk Clothing, and a production company called 900 Films. Birdhouse is one of the most popular skateboard companies in the world today.

He was one of a handful of early investors in Blue Bottle Coffee, which was acquired by Nestle in 2017 for $500 million.

(Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images For Laureus)

Philanthropy

Hawk has always been eager to give back and give more people the opportunity to skate. In 2002, he created the Tony Hawk Foundation in an effort to combat the lack of safe and legal skateparks in the United States. The foundation has awarded over $5.8 million and has contributed to more than 596 skatepark projects across the country. The Tony Hawk Foundation changed its name to The Skatepark Project in 2020.

The foundation even received the Robert Wood Johnson Sports Award in 2015. This award honors its recipients for innovative and influential approaches in using sports to aid local communities.

Hawk was also a co-founder of Athletes for Hope, which hopes to inspire athletes to volunteer in their communities and support their programs that can really make a change.

In 2023, Tony auctioned off a signed photograph of himself and Rick Thorne, with 50% of the proceeds going to the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund. He plans to build a skatepark in Nichols' honor.

Personal Life

Hawk and Cindy Dunbar began dating in high school and were married in April 1990. They had a son together, Riley Hawk, in 1992. Riley followed in his father's footsteps and is also a skateboarder. In 2023, Riley married Frances Bean Cobain. That means, technically, Tony and the late Kurt Cobain are brothers-in-law.

Hawk and Dunbar divorced in 1994. Tony and Erin Lee were married from 1996 to 2004. The couple had two sons, Spencer (b. 1999) and Keegan (b. 2001). Hawk and Lhotse Merriam were married from 2006 to 2011. They share one daughter, Kadence Clover Hawk, born in 2008. Tony married Cathy Goodman on June 27, 2015, in Ireland.

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