Donald King, better known as simply Don King is an American Boxing promoter who creates sensational boxing matchups. He has also been in the center of attention when he was convicted of manslaughter and then later pardoned. Keep reading if you want to know his current net worth.
King’s early life
Don King was born on August 20th, 1930 in Cleveland. He attended John Adams High School, from which he graduated in 1951 and then went to Kent State University. After some time he dropped out of University and chose to run an illegal bookkeeping operation. He was charged with the crime of killing two men, within 13 years. The first case was proven to be self-defense, so he wasn’t convicted. However, for the second case, he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in 1967. He was pardoned when a few influential people spoke on his behalf.
Don and his wife Henrietta got married in 1959 and stayed together for 59 years. She died in 2010. They have three children together, Debbie, Carl, and Eric.
Don King’s career
Don entered the boxing world when he convinced Muhammed Ali to take part in an exhibition match dedicated to the children’s hospital in Cleveland. Singer Lloyd Price was also included. Early in his career, Don King formed a partnership with a local promoter Don Elbaum.
In 1974, he arranged the match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman. Even though many promoters wanted the part of this highly anticipated match, King was the one who had a deal with the government of Zaire, and for that, he pulled off the 10 million dollar contract.
King additionally organized a match between Ali and Frazier, and named it “Thrilla in Manilla.”
Besides organizing these matches, he also built his own roster of heavyweight champions, such as Alexis Arguello, Salvador Sanchez, Roberto Duran, Wilfredo Gomez, and Larry Holmes.
Many other boxers chose him to promote his fights, and some of them are Bernard Hopkins, Carlos Zarate, Mike Tyson, and Mike McCallum.
Don King’s awards and achievements
In 2008, he became a part of Gaming Hall of Fame.
Before that, in 1975, he became Man of the Year in the National Black Hal of Fame.
Then in 1976, he was declared Man of the year by the NAACP.
In 1981, he was awarded the George Herbert Walker Bush Award, and additionally, in 1983 he was declared the Promoter of the Year. Besides all of this, he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Don King’s Net Worth
His net worth is $160 million, and the name Don King is associated with the legendary fights he organized. At one point he was the promotor all of the boxing heavyweights in North America desired.
