Billy Blanks Net Worth

What Is Billy Blanks' Net Worth?

Billy Blanks is an American fitness guru, martial artist, and actor who has a net worth of $20 million. Billy Blanks overcame early struggles with dyslexia and hip joint issues to become a seven-time world karate champion and captain of the U.S. karate team.

In the 1990s, he developed Tae Bo in his California gym, and through a series of wildly successful infomercials, it exploded into a global fitness phenomenon. Tae Bo sold more than 1.5 million VHS tapes in its first year of release alone, generating $80 million in sales. To date, Tae Bo has generated well over $150 million in total revenue.

Beyond fitness, Blanks appeared in a number of action films, including "The Last Boy Scout," "King of the Kickboxers," and "Showdown." While his celebrity faded somewhat after the peak of Tae Bo's popularity, he continued to teach and release new workout content. Blanks also became known for his positive, motivational style and his focus on discipline and self-improvement. His fitness empire made him one of the most recognizable figures in 1990s pop culture, and his influence can still be seen in the evolution of group fitness and martial arts-inspired workouts.

Early Life

Billy Blanks was born William Wayne Blanks on September 1, 1955, in Erie, Pennsylvania, the fourth of fifteen children in a working-class household. As a child, he struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia and a congenital anomaly in his hip joints that limited his mobility and coordination. His physical challenges made him clumsy and a target for ridicule, and he did not initially excel in sports or academics. Everything changed when he saw a Bruce Lee film on television—an experience that inspired him to pursue martial arts despite his physical limitations. He began training in karate at the age of 11, and through perseverance and discipline, Blanks not only overcame his early obstacles but eventually earned black belts in multiple martial arts disciplines, including tae kwon do and kung fu.

Martial Arts and Film Career

Blanks rose through the competitive martial arts circuit in the 1970s and 1980s, becoming a seven-time world karate champion and a member of the U.S. karate team. His skills and charisma caught the attention of Hollywood producers. He was originally hired as a bodyguard for actress Catherine Bach on the set of the 1989 action film "Driving Force," which was shot in politically unstable Manila. So impressed were the producers by Blanks' presence that they offered him a supporting role in the film, launching his acting career.

Throughout the late '80s and '90s, Blanks appeared in a string of martial arts action films, including "King of the Kickboxers" and "Bloodfist." He also landed roles in more mainstream projects, such as Tony Scott's "The Last Boy Scout," in which he played a troubled pro football player, and the 1997 thriller "Kiss the Girls," where he portrayed Ashley Judd's kickboxing instructor. Though he never became a major Hollywood star, Blanks carved out a steady niche as a dependable action presence and trainer to the stars.

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Tae Bo and Fitness Fame

While operating his tae kwon do studio in Quincy, Massachusetts, Blanks began experimenting with a new workout that blended elements of martial arts and boxing with aerobic choreography. He named it "Tae Bo"—a portmanteau of "tae" for taekwondo and "bo" for boxing. After relocating to Los Angeles, Blanks opened the Billy Blanks World Training Center, where he began teaching Tae Bo to a growing list of celebrity clients, including Paula Abdul.

By the late 1990s, Tae Bo had become a cultural phenomenon. Thanks to a series of wildly successful infomercials, Blanks became one of the most recognized fitness personalities in the world. Tae Bo workout tapes sold millions of copies and helped usher in a new era of home fitness. His unique combination of physical intensity, motivational coaching, and martial arts flair resonated with viewers across all demographics. At its peak, Tae Bo generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and helped solidify Blanks' reputation as one of the leading figures in the fitness industry.

(Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage)

Personal Life

Blanks married Gayle H. Godfrey in 1974 after the two met in a karate class. He adopted her daughter, Shellie, who would go on to appear in many of his Tae Bo workout videos and later host her own fitness programs, including the "Tae Bo Postnatal Power" series. Blanks and Godfrey also had a son, Billy Blanks Jr., who became a fitness instructor and dancer in his own right.

After 33 years of marriage, Blanks and Godfrey divorced in 2008. That same year, Blanks and his former Japanese interpreter, Tomoko Sato, welcomed a daughter named Angelika. The couple married in 2009, and Blanks later adopted Sato's two daughters from a previous relationship, Marriett and Erika Peterson.

A devout Christian, Blanks has often integrated his faith into his fitness work. He released a special series of Tae Bo workouts called the "Believer's" series, which combined physical training with spiritual encouragement and motivational prayer.

Real Estate

In January 2000, Billy paid $1.4 million for a two-acre property in Hidden Hills, California. A year later, he completed construction on a 17,000 square foot custom mansion. He sold this home for $7.3 million in January 2012 after originally listing it for $11.5 million in late 2008.

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