Steve-O Net Worth

What Is Steve-O's Net Worth and Salary?

Steve-O is a British-American stunt performer, comedian, television personality, YouTuber, podcaster, author, and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $4 million.

Steve-O became famous as one of the original stars of MTV's "Jackass," where his willingness to perform painful, disgusting, and genuinely dangerous stunts made him one of the franchise's most recognizable cast members. He appeared alongside Johnny Knoxville, Chris Pontius, Bam Margera, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Ehren McGhehey, and Ryan Dunn on a show that became one of MTV's defining hits of the early 2000s.

Remarkably, fame arrived long before money. Steve-O has revealed that he earned less than $1,500 after taxes for the entire first season of "Jackass." He was paid by individual stunt rather than by episode: $500 for dangerous bits and $200 for lower-impact pranks and sight gags. He had no backend participation or residuals and was broke and effectively homeless by the time the series made him famous.

Steve-O eventually built a much broader business around the attention "Jackass" gave him. In addition to appearing in five theatrical "Jackass" movies that collectively earned more than $438 million worldwide, he starred with Chris Pontius on "Wildboyz," toured extensively as a stand-up comedian, published two books, built a YouTube audience numbering in the millions, launched the "Wild Ride! with Steve-O" podcast, sold merchandise and branded hot sauce, and self-produced comedy/stunt specials including "Gnarly" and "Steve-O's Bucket List."

His career has also been defined by one of the most dramatic personal turnarounds in reality television. After years of severe drug and alcohol addiction, Steve-O's friends staged an intervention in 2008. He entered treatment and has remained sober since March 10, 2008.

Early Life

Steve-O was born Stephen Gilchrist Glover on June 13, 1974, in London, England. His father, Richard "Ted" Glover, was an American businessman who worked internationally for Pepsi-Cola, while his mother, Donna Gay Glover, was Canadian.

His father's career caused the family to move constantly. When Steve-O was six months old, they relocated to Brazil, where his father became president of Pepsi-Cola's South American operations. Portuguese was among Steve-O's first languages.

The family subsequently lived in Venezuela, the United States, Canada, and England. As a result, Steve-O grew up speaking English, Spanish, and Portuguese and eventually obtained American, Canadian, and British citizenship.

By his teenage years, the family had settled in England, where Steve-O attended the American School in London. He later enrolled at the University of Miami but struggled academically and dropped out.

Clown College

Traditional higher education did not work for Steve-O, but an unusual alternative did.

He enrolled at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Florida and graduated in 1997. He was not selected to join the Ringling Bros. circus after graduation, so he began finding his own performance work.

Steve-O worked as a clown on cruise ships and later at a circus located inside the Swap Shop flea market and drive-in complex in Fort Lauderdale. He has said the circus paid him $500 per week, less than some of his cruise-ship jobs but enough to keep him performing.

At the same time, he was obsessively filming himself. Steve-O carried a video camera almost everywhere and recorded increasingly dangerous stunts, tricks, falls, and comedy bits with the goal of becoming a professional stunt performer.

How Steve-O Joined "Jackass"

Steve-O began sending videotapes of his stunts to "Big Brother," an influential skateboarding magazine known for outrageous humor and dangerous material.

The tapes eventually reached editor Jeff Tremaine. Tremaine was working with Johnny Knoxville and director Spike Jonze on the concept that became "Jackass" and recognized that Steve-O's homemade footage fit perfectly with what they were creating.

When MTV ordered the series, Tremaine's crew traveled to Florida and filmed Steve-O's contributions. Steve-O shot all of his material for the first season in just five days.

The experience was brutal and financially unrewarding. He was paid $500 for bits involving serious physical risk and $200 for less dangerous comedy pieces. Steve-O later calculated that after taxes he earned less than $1,500 from the entire first season.

One of those early segments involved swallowing a live goldfish. Steve-O charged only $200 for it because he viewed it as a relatively minor stunt. Decades later, he joked that the price made no sense considering that choking on the fish could have killed him.

"Jackass"

"Jackass" premiered on MTV in 2000 and became an immediate cultural phenomenon. The premise was extremely simple: a group of friends filmed themselves performing dangerous stunts, humiliating pranks, gross-out challenges, and physical comedy.

Steve-O stood out even within a cast built around recklessness. His willingness to harm, embarrass, or humiliate himself became a defining part of the show's identity.

The series ran for three seasons, but its influence was much larger than its relatively short television run. "Jackass" generated enormous ratings, sparked imitators around the world, drew criticism from politicians and parent groups, and eventually became a theatrical film franchise.

Steve-O later acknowledged that critics had a legitimate point when they argued that the original series could be a dangerous influence on children. Before YouTube and widespread online stunt videos, "Jackass" gave young viewers unprecedented access to footage of people deliberately doing dangerous things for laughs.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

From $1,500 to Movie Stardom

The financial difference between early "Jackass" fame and Steve-O's later career was enormous.

After making less than $1,500 after taxes for season one, Steve-O began receiving larger checks as MTV ordered additional seasons. He has recalled receiving a $10,000 check during the next phase of the series and feeling as though he had suddenly become rich.

Steve-O has also said that during the early years he almost never negotiated. Producers told him what he would be paid, and he generally accepted the number because his primary motivation was becoming famous and establishing himself as the craziest member of the cast.

That attitude eventually changed. By the time "Jackass Forever" was being developed, Steve-O publicly pushed for better compensation and acknowledged that he had spent years accepting deals without challenging them.

"Jackass: The Movie"

MTV and Paramount moved the franchise into theaters with 2002's "Jackass: The Movie."

The movie earned $79.3 million worldwide and demonstrated that audiences were willing to pay theatrical prices to watch material that had originated as a low-budget cable television series.

Steve-O returned for 2006's "Jackass Number Two," which earned $85.3 million worldwide. By this point, the production values had increased, but the basic formula remained unchanged: elaborate setups designed to produce genuine fear, pain, disgust, and laughter.

The cast's friendship was central to the movies. Even when one performer was the victim of a prank, everyone understood that another cast member would eventually become the target.

"Jackass 3D"

The franchise reached its commercial peak with 2010's "Jackass 3D."

Released at the height of Hollywood's 3D boom, the film earned $171.5 million worldwide against a $20 million production budget. It remains the highest-grossing movie in the core "Jackass" series.

The film also captured a dramatically different Steve-O. Unlike during "Jackass Number Two," when his addiction was near its worst, Steve-O was sober throughout "Jackass 3D."

That created an unusual challenge. For years, drugs and alcohol had been intertwined with his identity as the reckless member of the group. Steve-O had to prove to himself that he could still perform terrifying stunts while completely sober.

(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for UTOPIA)

"Jackass Forever"

More than a decade after "Jackass 3D," much of the original cast reunited for 2022's "Jackass Forever."

The movie paired Steve-O, Knoxville, Pontius, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Danger Ehren, and Dave England with a younger group of performers. Despite arriving while movie theaters were still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, "Jackass Forever" earned nearly $75 million worldwide from a $10 million production budget.

The film also highlighted how dramatically the original cast had changed. They were now middle-aged performers attempting variations of the same dangerous physical comedy they had started in their 20s and 30s.

Steve-O entered the production with more than a decade of sobriety and an increasingly sophisticated business operation outside "Jackass." By then, the franchise was one part of his career rather than his only source of relevance or income.

"Jackass: Best and Last"

In 2026, Steve-O reunited with the surviving original cast for "Jackass: Best and Last," promoted as the final theatrical installment of the franchise.

The movie combined new material with footage celebrating 25 years of "Jackass." Knoxville, Steve-O, Pontius, Wee Man, Dave England, Danger Ehren, Preston Lacy, and several newer cast members returned for the farewell.

Released in June 2026, "Jackass: Best and Last" earned $27.8 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. While it became the lowest-grossing theatrical entry in the main series, it completed an extraordinary run for a franchise that began with friends filming low-budget stunt footage for cable television.

The five theatrical "Jackass" films featuring Steve-O generated more than $438 million worldwide.

"Wildboyz"

Steve-O's biggest "Jackass" spinoff was "Wildboyz," which he co-hosted with Chris Pontius.

Premiering in 2003, the series sent the pair around the world to interact with animals, experience local cultures, and perform stunts that combined nature documentary parody with the physical comedy of "Jackass."

"Wildboyz" ran for four seasons across MTV and MTV2. The series took Steve-O and Pontius to countries including South Africa, India, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia and frequently put them near dangerous animals.

The format gave Steve-O his first sustained television career outside the main "Jackass" series and further established his partnership with Pontius.

"Dr. Steve-O" and Other Television

Steve-O received his own television series in 2007 with USA Network's "Dr. Steve-O."

The show followed Steve-O as he attempted to help socially awkward or fearful men become more confident through outrageous challenges. The series lasted one season.

He also appeared on reality programs including "Dancing with the Stars" and became a frequent guest on "The Howard Stern Show," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," "The Tonight Show," and other talk programs.

MTV later chronicled his addiction and recovery in the 2009 documentary special "Steve-O: Demise and Rise."

Addiction and Downward Spiral

Steve-O's public success coincided with increasingly severe drug and alcohol addiction.

He has described using cocaine, ketamine, nitrous oxide, PCP, marijuana, alcohol, and numerous other substances. His addiction eventually became inseparable from his public behavior, resulting in arrests, canceled appearances, damaged relationships, and increasingly erratic conduct.

One infamous episode occurred in Sweden in 2003, when Steve-O was jailed after telling reporters that he had swallowed a condom containing marijuana to avoid being caught with it. He was convicted of drug possession and fined.

His addiction worsened during the mid-2000s. Steve-O began sending friends disturbing messages and behaving in ways that convinced those around him that he was in serious danger.

The people who had spent years encouraging him to do outrageous things finally concluded that the situation was no longer funny.

Intervention and Sobriety

In March 2008, Johnny Knoxville and other friends staged an intervention and pushed Steve-O into psychiatric and addiction treatment.

Steve-O was hospitalized for 14 days and subsequently entered rehabilitation. Dr. Drew Pinsky was among the addiction professionals involved in discussing his recovery publicly.

Steve-O has identified March 10, 2008, as his sobriety date. He remained sober through his 18th anniversary in March 2026.

Recovery required far more than simply stopping drugs and alcohol. Steve-O has repeatedly described having to rebuild his identity, finances, relationships, health, and career while learning how to perform without intoxication.

Knoxville has publicly described Steve-O's recovery as one of the bravest accomplishments of anyone in the "Jackass" family.

Stand-Up Comedy

Steve-O began pursuing stand-up comedy seriously after getting sober.

At first, his act leaned heavily on stories from "Jackass," but he gradually developed a hybrid format combining traditional stand-up, video footage, storytelling, and stunts. That format allowed him to create a touring business that did not depend on MTV or Paramount.

His first major stand-up special was "Guilty as Charged," followed by the 2020 multimedia special "Gnarly." Steve-O then developed "The Bucket List Tour," built around stories and filmed stunts that he considered too extreme or impractical for conventional comedy television.

"Steve-O's Bucket List" was released as a special in 2023. The project included appearances from figures including Post Malone, Chuck Liddell, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, and other athletes and entertainers.

Touring became one of the most reliable components of Steve-O's post-"Jackass" income. Rather than splitting revenue across a television ensemble, he could sell tickets directly around his own name and control the material and production.

YouTube, Podcasting, and Business

Steve-O was unusually successful at converting his old MTV fame into a direct-to-fan internet business.

His YouTube channel attracted more than seven million subscribers, allowing him to distribute new stunt videos, autobiographical stories, behind-the-scenes footage, house tours, and promotional material without relying on a television network.

In 2020, he launched "Wild Ride! with Steve-O," a long-form interview podcast. Guests have included actors, athletes, comedians, musicians, fighters, and other members of the "Jackass" universe.

The podcast also became an advertising platform for Steve-O's growing direct-to-consumer businesses. His website sells merchandise, autographed collectibles, skate decks, and branded products, including his Steve-O's Hot Sauce for Your Butthole line.

His publisher has described him as owning a "veritable empire of small businesses." Those ventures, combined with touring, online advertising, sponsorships, merchandise, podcast revenue, books, and occasional "Jackass" projects, gave Steve-O a much more diversified financial base than he had during his early MTV years.

Books

Steve-O published his first memoir, "Professional Idiot: A Memoir," in 2011 with writer David Peisner.

The book chronicled his childhood, obsessive pursuit of fame, rise through "Jackass," relationships, drug addiction, arrests, and recovery. Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee, both of whom had their own highly publicized experiences with addiction, were among the celebrities who endorsed the memoir.

In 2022, Steve-O and Peisner published a second book, "A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I've Learned from a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions." Rather than simply retelling old stunts, the book focused more heavily on sobriety, aging, relationships, discipline, financial mistakes, and the lessons Steve-O believed he had learned from decades of bad decisions.

Music

Steve-O also spent part of his career attempting to become a rapper.

He recorded material for years and eventually released "The Dumbest Asshole in Hip Hop" in 2011. Music never became a significant commercial component of his career, and Steve-O has frequently made fun of his own rap ambitions.

The project nevertheless fits the larger pattern of his career. Steve-O has repeatedly used whatever attention he had at a given moment to experiment with new forms of entertainment, whether DVDs, music, comedy, books, podcasts, merchandise, or live touring.

Animal Rights

Steve-O became increasingly involved with animal welfare after getting sober.

He adopted a vegan lifestyle for a period and worked with PETA on multiple campaigns, including protests against animal mistreatment and publicity efforts focused on circus animals.

His relationship with veganism later became less absolute, but his interest in animal rescue remained. He has adopted numerous animals over the years and planned to use his Tennessee property as an animal sanctuary.

The animal work represents a dramatic contrast with some of his earliest "Jackass" and "Wildboyz" material, in which encounters with animals were often designed primarily for shock value or comedy.

Personal Life

Steve-O became engaged to stylist and production designer Lux Wright in January 2018 after the pair began dating in 2017. Wright became heavily involved in Steve-O's career and helped produce and design several of his later projects.

They moved together to Tennessee and planned to build an animal sanctuary on their ranch. In January 2025, Steve-O announced on his "Wild Ride!" podcast that the engagement had ended, although he said they remained on good terms.

Steve-O later began another relationship and publicly introduced his new girlfriend through his YouTube channel in 2025.

He does not have children and has spoken openly about choosing not to become a parent. Animals, touring, recovery, work, and his extended group of longtime friends have instead become central to his personal life.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Real Estate

In April 2014, Steve-O paid $1.162 million for a home in the Hollywood Hills. The roughly 2,400-square-foot residence had three bedrooms and three bathrooms and sat on a hillside with expansive views across Los Angeles.

Steve-O spent years customizing the property to suit his lifestyle. At various points, it included a skate ramp, space for goats, a game room, and other unconventional features. Before selling, he completed a major renovation that dramatically modernized the interiors.

In May 2024, Steve-O listed the Hollywood Hills home for $1.799 million. Demand was strong enough that an offer arrived within four days.

The sale closed in June 2024 for $2.135 million, $336,000 above the asking price and $973,000 more than Steve-O had paid a decade earlier before accounting for renovations, commissions, taxes, and other ownership expenses.

Here is a video tour of his former LA home, produced by and starring Steve-O himself:

Tennessee Ranch

Before selling the Hollywood Hills property, Steve-O bought a ranch in Tennessee for just over $2 million. Located outside Nashville near Portland, Tennessee, he named the property the Radical Ranch.

Steve-O began transitioning away from Los Angeles and made the Tennessee property his primary home in 2024. He cited both his love of rural life and Tennessee's lower tax burden as reasons for leaving California.

The ranch has enough land for rescued animals and became home to goats, pigs, cats, and other animals. Steve-O has documented ranch life extensively online, including building animal enclosures, operating farm equipment, and developing plans for a larger sanctuary.

The move also represented a notable financial shift. Rather than maintaining both a $2 million Tennessee property and his Hollywood Hills home, Steve-O sold the California residence and consolidated much of his personal life around the ranch.

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