Gordon Ramsay has built a food empire over the years so it’s not too surprising to see him at the top of Forbes “Highest Earning Chefs” list.
Ramsay owns 23 restaurants around the world, he stars in several television shows like Hell’s Kitchen , Master Chef , and Kitchen Nightmares, and also brings in money from cookbooks and cookware. According to Yahoo, Ramsay has an estimated global income of $38 million.
Forbes writes:
“The highest-earning chef on our list, Ramsay is better known for being a TV personality than a chef in the U.S. That could soon change. The Hell’s Kitchen host, who owns 23 restaurants around the globe, just opened a steak house at the Paris casino hotel in Las Vegas. His casual dining restaurant, The Fat Cow, is slated to open in Los Angeles this fall. He’s also expanding his television empire. Hotel Hell , where Ramsay helps struggling hotel owners, will premier on Fox in August.”
The list also includes TV chefs like Rachel Ray, Wolfgang Puck, and Paula Dean.
Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes.com said:
“They are very diversified.There is nobody who just has restaurants. TV is a huge factor in making this list because they make so much more money from television than they can from their restaurants.”
Here are the top five highest earning chefs in America.
- Gordon Ramsay – $38 million
- Rachel Ray – $25 million
- Wolfgang Puck – $20 million
- Paula Dean – $17 million
- Mario Batali – $13 million
Forbes also took a look at the highest earning restaurants. Pomerantz said that the restaurant list has a few surprises on it and that Forbes only looked at food sales, and not alcohol.
Pomerantz said:
“It is an unusual list…. We are looking at just food sales, not alcohol. It is stand alone restaurants, so that cut some places out.”
Bob Chinn’s Crab House restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois, topped the list with about $24 million. The Grill on Main in Edgartown, Massachusetts, made $23.5 million, and Sparks Steak House in New York City, made $23 million.