Peter Morton Net Worth

What is Peter Morton's net worth?

Peter Morton is an American businessman who has a net worth of $800 million. Peter Morton is best known as the co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe, one of the most recognizable restaurant brands in the world. By blending casual American dining with a rock and roll sensibility, Morton helped pioneer a new form of experiential hospitality that fused food, music, memorabilia, and celebrity culture.

In 1971, Peter and Isaac Tigrett launched the Hard Rock Cafe with its first location in London. By 1982, the company was expanding around the globe, eventually opening hotels, casinos, and branded entertainment ventures. Morton went on to build the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, develop independent restaurants, and invest in projects across the culinary, nightlife, and film worlds. Morton ran Hard Rock Cafe America, controlling all properties in the US, including locations in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles, and also in Australia. In 1996, he sold all of the properties, except the most lucrative location, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, for $410 million. Eleven years later, he sold the Las Vegas Hard Rock for $770 million.

In April 2018, Peter sold his home in Malibu for $110 million. That set the record for the most expensive home sale in LA history up to that point. It held the record for about a year. Peter's late son, Harry Morton, founded the Pink Taco chain of restaurants.

Early Life

His father, Arnie Morton, later founded Morton's Steakhouse, which grew into a major national chain. The family environment exposed Peter to the fundamentals of hospitality from a young age, instilling both business discipline and an instinctive feel for customer experience.

Morton attended the University of Denver, where he studied business administration. His education blended with his family background to shape a vision for a new kind of restaurant: casual, energetic, culturally relevant, and built around the global appeal of American pop culture.

Co-Founding Hard Rock Cafe

In 1971 Morton and fellow entrepreneur Isaac Tigrett opened the first Hard Rock Cafe in London. Their concept was simple but effective. At a time when London had few American-style restaurants, they offered burgers, fries, and diner-style comfort food in a relaxed setting that reflected the spirit of American youth culture.

Hard Rock's signature identity emerged almost by accident. When Eric Clapton asked Morton to hang a guitar above his favorite barstool to reserve his seat, Morton agreed. Soon after, Pete Townshend sent his own guitar with a note reading, "Mine's as good as his." What began as a simple gesture evolved into one of the most famous memorabilia collections in the world. The guitars, costumes, photos, and artifacts became the defining visual language of the Hard Rock brand.

The London cafe became a landmark, attracting tourists, musicians, and celebrities. Over the next two decades the Hard Rock Cafe expanded internationally, ultimately becoming a global franchise recognizable for its memorabilia-covered walls, branded merchandise, and Americana dining experience.

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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

After establishing Hard Rock as a cultural brand, Morton pursued an ambitious expansion into hospitality. In 1995 he opened the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The property reimagined the traditional Vegas resort model by infusing it with music culture, edgy design, and a youthful, upscale energy.

The Las Vegas Hard Rock quickly became one of the city's trendiest destinations, known for its concerts, nightlife venues, celebrity clientele, and distinctive design work. The success of the hotel solidified Morton's reputation as a visionary capable of extending a restaurant concept into a fully realized lifestyle brand.

In 2006 he sold the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for $770 million, following the 1996 sale of his stake in the Hard Rock Cafe chain for $410 million. The combined deals represented one of the most lucrative restaurant-to-hospitality buildouts in the industry.

Other Ventures

Morton continued to invest in independent dining and entertainment ventures. His family remained heavily involved in hospitality, and his son Harry Morton went on to found Pink Taco, the Los Angeles–based Mexican restaurant chain known for its high-energy atmosphere and celebrity draw.

Morton also made selective forays into the film industry. He helped finance Guy Ritchie's breakthrough crime caper "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and later supported Ritchie's film "Snatch." He served as a co-executive producer on Matthew Vaughn's fantasy adventure "Stardust." Vaughn is Morton's godson, underscoring the close ties between Morton and several Hollywood creatives.

Personal Life

Morton has been married twice. His first marriage was to British model Paulene Stone, with whom he welcomed a son, Harry, in 1981. Harry became a successful restaurateur before his tragic death at age 38 in 2019. Morton later married Tarlton Pauley Morton, and they had two children, Matthew and Grace. The couple divorced in 1997, and Tarlton passed away in 2017.

Morton's profile in Hollywood circles has remained prominent throughout his career, owing both to his business achievements and to his longstanding friendships within the entertainment industry.

Morton was first linked to actress Rebecca Gayheart in 2023 when they were spotted together at a Los Angeles restaurant. Gayheart, who at the time remained legally married to actor Eric Dane, though separated since 2018, has made occasional public appearances with Morton, including a high-profile pre-Oscars dinner in 2025. The pair were photographed together again in December 2025 after dining at E-Baldi in Beverly Hills.

Real Estate

In 2015, Peter paid $25.5 million for two separate condos in New York City's West Village's celebrity enclave, 150 Charles Street.

In April 2018, Peter Morton sold a beachfront home in Malibu for $110 million. At the time, it was the most expensive home sale in LA County history by square footage.

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