While Mike Holmes is a familiar face to TV viewers, there's still a lot that the average
fan may not know about the Canadian powerhouse. From his unexpected start in the entertainment
industry to a now staggering net worth, here's what nobody ever told you about Mike Holmes.
Mike Holmes' ambitions lay only in the world of building and construction until the fateful
day he was hired to build the set for a Canadian TV series focusing on DIY home renovation.
As Canada's The Globe and Mail recalled, Holmes couldn't help himself from telling the show's
producer what a rotten idea it was to encourage homeowners to do their own repairs, explaining
that a considerable chunk of his own contracting work came from fixing the damage done by clueless
amateur renovators.
"He's gonna find all the problems I created!"
"Ahhh that's not how you wire lights."
"So the switch upstairs turns this light on?"
"Ah yes."
Holmes didn't realize this would give the producer the genius idea of casting the opinionated,
rough-around-the edges contractor in his own HGTV show. The producer pitched the idea:
Holmes would help homeowners fix their own botched DIY efforts and the crappy workmanship
of inept contractors, educating viewers along the way.
A pilot was shot, and producers evidently liked what they saw. In 2001, Holmes on Homes
made its debut on HGTV Canada. The show was an instant hit; as The Globe and Mail reported,
by 2004, Holmes on Homes had become the most-watched show on HGTV Canada.
When Holmes first launched his career in television, he was as inexperienced as it gets in the
world of entertainment. However, he demonstrated an innate talent for the medium — and not
just in front of the camera. In fact, Holmes was savvy enough to realize he wasn't just
making a TV show, he was building a brand — one built on trust.
That bore out in 2010, when a Reader's Digest Canada poll seeking the year's most-trusted
Canadians revealed Holmes landed in the runner-up spot, second only to scientist and broadcaster
Dr. David Suzuki. As Holmes' television reach grew, so too did the trust he engendered.
In 2012, he took the Number 3 spot on Forbes' list of the most-trustworthy celebrities.
Discussing making it onto Forbes' list in an interview with Reader's Digest Canada,
Holmes was characteristically humble, saying -
"I'm just some contractor from Canada. I guess it means that people believe in what I believe
in."
After the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wreaked on New Orleans in 2005, Brad Pitt
launched the Make It Right Foundation in 2007, with a mission of rebuilding the neighborhoods
destroyed by flooding.
Had Pitt done a little more due diligence, he would have discovered that "Make it Right"
had already been trademarked by HGTV star Mike Holmes - he even has it tattooed on his
bicep.
"I'm Mike I like your overalls. You know I own that trademark eh?"
Rather than take the movie star to court, Holmes had another idea: He contacted Pitt's
reps, explained the situation and offered to join the organization's efforts.
As a result, Holmes and his team travelled to the Big Easy, where they rebuilt a flood-damaged
home in the Lower Ninth Ward. Ever the entrepreneur, Holmes also brought along a camera crew, resulting
in the HGTV special Holmes in New Orleans.
As Holmes' television success continued to grow, he decided to make a foray into the
publishing business with Holmes: The Magazine to Make It Right.
Unfortunately, the magazine didn't last long, and it wound up dragging Holmes into the mud
when the company that published it went belly up a couple of years later. As Holmes' rep
told the Toronto Star, Holmes' company had no involvement in the day-to-day operations
of the magazine, which was published by the now-defunct Dauphin Media Group. When Dauphin
ceased operations, all the magazine's subscribers were left with no magazine, and they demanded
refunds.
As the rep told the Star, the subscription money went directly to the publisher, not
Holmes, saying -
"Mike feels terrible about it. But it's not his fault [...] he didn't get any of that
money."
One aspect of Mike Holmes' personality that viewers may not have realized has to do with
his musical tastes. As his son, Mike Holmes Jr., told HGTV Canada -
"He loves reggae music. Everyone pictures him to be this rock and roll type of guy,
but my dad actually loves to dance and vibe to reggae music."
Holmes himself revealed this fact in a 2012 interview with The New York Times focusing
on his favorite books and music, saying -
"I probably listen to more reggae music than the average person — Beres Hammond and Freddie
McGregor, artists like that."
A profile in The Globe and Mail noted that his truck was, quote, "filled with reggae
dance CDs."
In 2006, Nestlé Canada was about to unveil a new instant coffee. In search of a celebrity
to become the face of this new brand, the company commissioned a Canada-wide survey
to determine which celebrities were most trusted by the public.
When Holmes landed in the survey's top spot, Nestlé approached Mike Quast, who headed
up business development at Holmes' company, The Mike Holmes Group. Quast wasn't sure if
Holmes would be interested in shilling instant coffee, but decided to ask him what kind of
coffee he drank. When Holmes revealed he was a fan of Nescafé's instant coffee, the wheels
were set in motion for a nationwide Canadian advertising campaign that ran for several
years and apparently sold a lot of coffee.
Since the debut of Holmes on Homes all those years ago, Mike Holmes has gone on to appear
in numerous other series. According to IMDb, after Holmes on Homes ended its run in 2009,
he debuted a new series, Holmes Inspection, which followed a similar format to his earlier
show, with the twist being that the homeowners' problems were the result of a shoddy home
inspection.
From there, the shows came fast and furious, starting with 2013's Holmes Makes It Right.
In 2015, he launched the primetime competition series Home Free on Fox, followed by Holmes
Buy It Right the following year. He then teamed up with his children for the 2016 series Holmes
and Holmes, and returned in 2019 with a revamped version of one of his earlier shows, Holmes
Makes It Right: Retooled.
In 2019, Holmes left his longtime home at HGTV Canada and entered into an agreement
with rival Canadian media conglomerate Bell Media. Under that deal, he unleashed several
more shows: Holmes 911, Holmes Next Generation, and Holmes Family Effect, all of which featured
Holmes alongside son Mike Jr. and daughter Sherry.
Mike Holmes is savvy enough to realize that his entire media career was built upon a foundation
of trust. As a result, he proved to be incredibly picky when he decided to expand his business
interests by launching his own branded line of workwear.
However, that's not to say there weren't a few bumps along the way. As The Globe and
Mail reported, Holmes' company, The Holmes Group, initially partnered with Canadian manufacturer
Richlu that produced Tough Duck products for his own Holmes Workwear products, but the
goods were reportedly marketed as quote, "a premium version of the existing line." That
did not fly as far as Holmes was concerned, as he insisted on having his merchandise stand
alone, which is eventually what came to be.
Holmes' instincts were on the money. More than a decade after the product launch, Holmes
Workwear continues to be sold in such retail hotspots as Home Depot, Costco and even Amazon.
From the get-go, Holmes has made it his mission to educate his viewers about the importance
of hiring trained, experienced contractors. That message is one that he's never stopped
trumpeting. In fact, Holmes admitted that television has been a means to an end as part
of a larger plan — and that his time on television could be coming to an end while
he pursues that greater goal.
As he said during a 2013 speech to university students, as reported by Algonquin Times -
"I don't want to keep doing TV, to be honest with you, but I'm not done yet. I'll know
when I'm done when the industry has changed, it's as simple as that."
While he claims he doesn't desire to do more television, he's aware enough to know that
he has a platform to inspire the changes he desires. The way Holmes saw it -
"It's people who actually stand up with voice and talk — properly — that will make change."
At a certain point in his television career, Holmes began bringing his progeny into the
picture. As a result, all of his recent series have included daughter Sherry and son Mike
Jr. According to Holmes, this wasn't some grand nepotistic strategy, but just the way
things turned out, given that Holmes' children have long been fascinated by their dad's dual
roles as iconic contractor and TV star.
Sherry, in fact, accompanied her father to New Orleans as part of his construction crew,
and the fuse was lit. As she told the The Times Colonist -
"It was phenomenal. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Holmes, however, offered his own perspective:
"I love working with my kids, watching them build on what they know and get better every
day."
"I'm not bending over-"
"It's actually kinda cute - cuz it's a new side of him he's like a little kid and then
its like me and sherry are the parents all of a sudden."
"Get out!"
"Fine."
A certain degree of altruism has always been woven through many of Mike Holmes' TV series.
That desire to give back was front and center in Holmes' 2021 series Holmes Family Effect,
which made its debut on Canadian television before crossing the border to air in the U.S.
on Fox. As Fox noted, the series follows Holmes and his offspring as they help quote, "deserving
people by transforming their spaces."
Sherry told TRNTO -
"My favourite part was always surprising our heroes and seeing the looks on their faces
but also getting to show them the finished project. We might have done the work, but
they're the real heroes for caring for their communities and doing an amazing job spreading
good vibes and positivity."
Everyone has their own favorite, special space in their domiciles. For Mike Holmes, that
area is his garage. As he told Canada's National Post -
"Some people have a meditation or yoga room — I have my garage. To me, it's the same
thing. I can go out there, have a beer, and Zen out for a bit."
Then again, Holmes' garage isn't exactly typical. That became clear in his series Mike's Ultimate
Garage, in which son Mike Holmes Jr. worked under his dad's specifications to transform
the space into a -
"Solar-powered man cave with remote-controlled skylights, car lifts, weight room, bar, entertainment
system, and tool shop."
Mike Holmes may have been the unlikeliest of television stars, but there's no questioning
the stratospheric degree of success he's experienced. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the humble
contractor has amassed a net worth that's been estimated somewhere in the range of $30
million.
As Holmes' website illustrated, Holmes has his hand in a number of other pies, such as
endorsing an array of "Holmes-approved" products within the home-renovation realm. Then there's
his workwear collection and his own nationwide home inspection business in his native Canada.
In addition, Holmes has also authored several books, including Make It Right: Inside Home
Renovation with Canada's Most Trusted Contractor and his 2015 tome The Holmes Manual, in which
he shares construction knowledge he's accumulated throughout his career.
In the spring of 2021, Mike Holmes decided there was one more medium he wanted to conquer:
podcasting. This led to the launch of his Holmes on Homes Podcast, yet another extension
of his mission to educate the public about the importance of proper building techniques.
As he said in a trailer for the podcast -
"Twenty years on television and my whole goal is to help people in trouble and educate you,
the public, on things you need to do to do things right the first time."
The podcast, he explained, gives him another platform from which he can deliver information
straight to listeners.
In his podcast's freshman season, Holmes covered a range of different topics, including sinks
and faucets and electrical safety, but he wants to go further than that, saying -
"I want to bring in lawyers, I want to bring in government people, I want to talk about
the dangers of this world."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more The List videos about your
favorite Canadian celebrities are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the
bell so you don't miss a single one.