Gordon Ramsay is a British millionaire businessman and a globally renowned celebrity chef, writer, and television personality. He owns the Gordon Ramsay group of restaurants which are spread across many different countries.
If you are a food lover there is a high probability that you have been to one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants most of which happen to be quite popular.
Gordon Ramsay’s net worth is estimated at around $220 million and he is among the richest chefs in the world.
Gordon Ramsay became a household name in the US when Fox came up with the US version of Hell’s Kitchen in 2005.
Ramsay is one of the most successful chefs the world has ever seen and he was able to utilize his success and fame in the cooking world to build an incredibly profitable business.
How Much is Gordon Ramsay Worth in 2024
- Gordon Ramsay’s net worth in 2024 is approximately $220 million.
- He owns restaurants globally and earns from TV shows, books, and endorsements.
- Ramsay’s culinary journey started under chef Marco Pierre White at Harvey’s.
- He has seven Michelin stars, three for his London restaurants.
- Ramsay co-founded the Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation, focusing on children’s health.
5 Fun Facts About Gordon Ramsay
- Ramsay initially pursued a career in football before switching to cooking.
- He has a collection of Ferraris among his extensive car collection.
- Ramsay’s first restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, won three Michelin stars.
- He survived falling off an 85-meter cliff and landing in icy water.
- Ramsay’s TV career started with “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” in 2004.
Gordon Ramsay’s Net Worth Breakdown
Since Ramsay’s business empire is held privately and not through a publicly traded company, we cannot put an exact number to his net worth.
However, we were able to collect enough public information about his various sources of income, investments, assets, and business ventures to build a strong estimate of his net worth at well over $220 million as of 2024.
Here’s how Gordon Ramsay’s net worth breaks down.
Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
Income from Media and Restaurant Empire | ~$45 million per year |
Income from TV shows | ~$225,000 per show |
Real estate value | $21+ million |
Car collection value | ~$13 million |
Gordon Ramsay Holdings | Unknown |
Gordon Ramsay North America | ~$50 million |
Income from Book Royalties` | Unknown |
Total Net Worth | ~$220 million |
Gordon Ramsay’s Early Life
Gordon James Ramsay was born on November 8, 1966, in Johnstone, Scotland.
His father Gordon James Sr. worked as a swimming pool manager, welder, and shopkeeper while his mother Helen was a nurse. He has three siblings, a younger brother, a younger sister, and an elder sister.
The family moved to England when Gordon Ramsay was nine and he grew up in the Bishopton area of Stratford-upon-Avon.
The family moved multiple places due to his father’s failures – whom Ramsay described as a “hard-drinking womaniser.” In his childhood, Ramsay served as a pot washer in a local Indian restaurant where her sister worked as a waitress.
Today we know Gordon Ramsay for his restaurant empire, his first love was football and at the age of 12 he was selected for the under-14 team. However, Ramsay had to give up football due to a knee injury. He told the Observer Sports Monthly that he did well as a footballer.
“I was a naturally aggressive left-back, a cut-throat tackler. You may have got past once but there was never, ever, ever a second occasion. And I was fast, I was a great 100m sprinter. If you were to compare me to anyone, I guess it could be Stuart Pearce,” said Ramsay.
While he did not make it to be a professional footballer, he was listed as a trialist in the Rangers squad during a testimonial game in September 1985. After his football career was cut short due to the injury, he returned to the North Oxfordshire Technical College to complete a course in hotel management.
If you’re interested in Ramsay’s early life and how he transitioned to cooking, check out this breakdown from the popular YouTube channel “DidYouKnowFood”.
Gordon Ramsay Net Worth: How Did he Became Among the Richest Celebrity Chefs in the world
Gordon Ramsay is now among the richest chefs in the world.
However, he had humble beginnings and after completing his diploma in hotel management he started trading under renowned chef Marco Pierre White at the restaurant Harvey’s chef Albert Roux at La Gavroche in London.
Subsequently, in the early 90s, he moved to France where he prepared classic French cuisine under the guidance of Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon and also worked as a private chef.
Ramsay then moved back to London in 1993 to become the head chef of Aubergine and over the next three years, the restaurant won three Michelin stars, which significantly helped build his acclaim in the cooking world.
In 1998, Ramsay opened his restaurant named Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. It quickly rose to fame earning three Michelin stars in as many years and was rated as among the best restaurants in the world.
In 1999, Ramsay opened Pétrus in London which won a Michelin star within only seven months of its launch.
2001 was another milestone year for Ramsay and he opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and also began international expansion of his restaurant empire by opening Verre, in Dubai.
While he dissociated from Verre in 2011, over the years, Gordon Ramsay has owned several restaurants outside of the UK These include:
- Five restaurants in Las Vegas, US: Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips at The Linq, Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace, Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill at Caesars Palace, Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris, and Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood.
- Two restaurants in Atlantic City, US: These are Gordon Ramsay Steak at Harrah’s and Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill at Caesars.
- Two restaurants in Versailles: These are Gordon Ramsay au Trianon & La Veranda
- Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen & Bread Street Kitchen in Dubai
- Le Pressoir d’Argent in Bordeaux
- Bread Street Kitchen in Singapore
- Bread Street Kitchen in Sanya, China
Overall, Ramsay holds seven Michelin stars of which three are for his restaurants in London while the remaining four are for international locations.
How Gordon Ramsay Became a Celebrity Chef
While Ramsay earned his initial millions from the restaurant business, he became a household name through the multiple television programs that he has appeared in.
His first and most popular was the award-winning British series Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares which he launched in 2004 where he helped struggling restaurants to turn their businesses around.
He also launched Hell’s Kitchen, which had a similar premise where he would help budding entrepreneurs become high-quality chefs.
Kitchen Nightmares was a massive hit and aired 5 main seasons through 2007.
It aired a few special episodes in 2009 and 2014 as well and was recently renewed for an entirely new season of the show, airing in 2023. while Hell’s Kitchen lasted for five years.
Amid Ramsay’s popularity in the UK, he launched similar programs in the US as well. Some of the TV shows on which Ramsay has appeared include
- MasterChef
- MasterChef Junior
- The F-Word
- Gordon on Cocaine
- Gordon Behind Bars
Amid the success of his TV shows, Ramsay launched his own studio company named Studio Ramsay which produces shows for the US and UK as well as different digital platforms.
Gordon Ramsay Net Worth: Other Sources of Income
It is estimated that the British chef charges around $225,000 per episode and these shows have been a key driver of his net worth – apart from bringing him fame that he uses to make his restaurants more successful.
Ramsay has a cooking academy called the Gordon Ramsay Academy in London as well where he teaches cooking and cultivates the next generation of brilliant chefs. One can also book a private online class for either oneself or a group.
Ramsay is quite passionate about the academy.
Ramsay has said, “The Academy is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time. Not only will we offer guests of all ages and abilities the chance to learn in what I hope will be fun, relaxed and also really informative classes, but there’s also so much potential for more – exciting events, Michelin-starred dining and development opportunities for chefs, home-cooks and anyone who loves food.”
Gordon Ramsay’s Career as an Author
Like other celebrity chefs, Gordon Ramsay has also published multiple books, some of which have been bestsellers. Here is a brief list of his books
- Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: A Story of Excellence (2023)
- Ramsay in 10 (2021)
- Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious (2020)
- Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Fit Food (2020)
- Gordon Ramsay’s Good Food Fast (2019)
- Gordon Ramsay’s Home Cooking (2018)
- Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food (2012)
- Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite (2012)
- Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch (2012)
- Cooking for Friends (2011)
Most of Ramsay’s books were cookbooks but he has also written three autobiographies including:
- Humble Pie (2006)
- Playing with Fire (2007)
- Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen (2008)
Gordon Ramsay Investments
We don’t have any publicly available information about many of Gordon Ramsay’s investments including whether he invests in stocks or bonds. However, he does own a private jet and a yacht.
Ramsay invests in real estate across the UK and the US too, including
- The Cornwall House: At one point, Ramsay owned three houses in Cornwall but he sold off two and retains only one
- London House: Ramsay has a house in Wandsworth, South London
- California House: Ramsay also has a house in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Ramsay splits time between London and Los Angeles while the Cornwall house is more of a holiday home for the family which includes him, his wife Tana Ramsay, and their six children.
Sale of Gordon Ramsay North America Shares
In 2019, Ramsay sold 50% of his stake in his North American business to private equity firm Lion Capital in a deal estimated to be around $25 million.
As part of the deal, Lion Capital was supposed to invest $100 million in Gordon Ramsay North America over five years to set up 100 restaurants. However, currently, there are only 20 Gordon Ramsay restaurants in North America.
Gordon Ramsay on Cryptos and Bitcoin
While a lot of reports claimed that Gordon Ramsay has endorsed cryptos as well as some of the crypto platforms, we don’t have any credible information on whether the celebrity chef has invested any of his money into Bitcoin or any other digital assets.
Gordon Ramsay Is a Car Lover
Gordon Ramsay is a car lover and has a large fleet of cars that makes up a significant portion of his net worth which includes
- Ferrari Monza SP2
- Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
- Ferrari 550 Maranello
- Ferrari F430
- Ferrari 308
- Ferrari 488 GTB
- McLaren Senna
- Porsche 918 Spyder
- McLaren 675LT
The list is not exhaustive but goes to suggest Ramsay’s taste for cool cars.
How Gordon Ramsay Stays on Top
One vital part of Gordon Ramsay’s success isn’t often discussed; his health.
He is quite particular about it and said in 2016 that he exercises for general well-being. He also eats quite little per meal and instead prefers to graze throughout the day. He has participated in several marathons and said that cycling helped him improve his mental health.
In fact, after an injury while running in Richmond Park, doctors advised him to “slow down.” Ramsay said, “He [the doctor] told me I needed to start slowing down. It was a case of, ‘Imagine you’ve got 1.5million steps to run over the next 30 years… pace yourself.’”
Ramsay is so healthy and strong that he was able to survive falling off of an 85-meter cliff, and landing in icy water.
According to Gordon, he was underwater for 45 seconds before he came out safely. He realized that his heavy boots and waterproof clothing were dragging him down and eventually removed them to come out safely.
Gordon Ramsay Charity
Gordon Ramsay is also into social work and charity and is the co-founder of the Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation. His childhood has inspired his social work and in a piece on CNN he said:
“Growing up, my father was less than a perfect role model. I watched how he battled alcoholism and how he became terribly violent with my mum, to the point where she feared for her life… There were instances when the police were called to take him away; mum was taken to the hospital while we kids were taken to a children’s home.”
The Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation is currently working with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for the treatment of sick children. In the past, the foundation has worked with several other organizations including Women’s Aid, Cancer Research UK, UNICEF, Action Against Hunger, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Scottish Spina Bifida Association, and Meningitis Now. Gordon Ramsay and Tana Ramsay were the first brand ambassadors for Women’s Aid.
Gordon Ramsay also worked with an Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey to help VSO, a global charity group. Ramsay frequently participates in triathlons and marathons to raise money for social causes and has in the past taken part in Soccer Aid to raise funds for UNICEF too.
What Can We Learn from Ramsay’s Life?
The biggest lessons that we should all learn from Ramsay’s life and professional career are the value of perseverance and persistence.
After his football career ended with the injury, Ramsay bounced back and chose an alternate career which he later excelled at and is now among the most successful and wealthiest chefs in the world.
The other key takeaway from his life is the relentless focus on excellence and striving for perfection in all his pursuits.
While at times it has led him to yell at some participants at his shows, his pursuit of excellence is something worth imbibing.
Ramsay’s life and career are also an example of innovation and continued learning as he has continuously experimented with ingredients to come up with new dishes. He is also known to speak his mind even as he tends to use expletives at times.