Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls has actually got quite a few side projects that help keep
that cash flowing even when he's not in front of the camera.
Here are some of the highlights from his financial journey over the years that have helped him
mint his fortune in spades.
While it isn't everything, the successful survivor's television career has obviously
served as a critical piece in founding his financial fortune.
Man vs. Wild, his first blockbuster show, was watched by over a billion viewers.
But in more recent years, the Discovery Channel sensation managed to leverage his growing
popularity into several other shows, including Running Wild, in which he's taken numerous
celebrities with him on his adventures in the wilderness.
"Let's, uh, let's really discuss our plan here…
“I think on these journeys it's always step by step...Really.”
“Right.
You don't think we should stop and discuss a plan."
According to The Richest, it's estimated that Grylls raked in a whopping $30,000 per episode
and that was just during his stint on Man vs. Wild.
Since then, the numbers only seem to have gone up.
Needless to say, there's no doubt that Mr. Grylls' personal fortune has received a healthy
boost from the years he's spent in front of the camera.
"I think if somebody said to me at age 7 that I could have a job that involved climbing
trees and getting muddy, I would've thought, 'heaven.'"
Television career aside, Grylls has also made several savvy real estate investments over
time, the most impressive of which has to be the island he owns in Wales.
But we're not talking about a dirt-rich celebrity dropping a ton of cash on a fancy new island
just for fun.
According to The Telegraph, Grylls actually bought the island in 1999, over five years
before Man vs. Wild started up.
The island, which he considers one of his best investments, covered 20 acres that came
with a cottage in need of renovation.
He spent the four years following the purchase scrimping and saving up enough money to make
repairs.
In 2008, Bear estimated he'd spent 100,000 pounds on the project and that it was worth
a cool million.
Call it old school if you'd like, but when The Telegraph asked how he preferred to pay
for things, Gryll's answer was short and simple:
"Debit card because then there's no risk of getting into debt."
Even when he was still getting started, Bear refused to fall victim to the "swipe and forget
it" mentality that plagues the modern consumer-driven world.
While he may have the gusto to buy a fixer-upper island, that doesn't mean the man spends money
at the drop of a hat.
In fact, he's demonstrated an ability to be cautious enough to ensure that his personal
fortune remains in the black.
Mr. Grylls has carefully curated his persona as a tough-as-nails survivalist, but he's
also built up an impressive side career as an accomplished author.
His lengthy list of book topics includes survival tips, lifestyle advice, his own personal experiences,
and even a number of children's series.
A catalog of books that big by one man is an incredible sight to behold on its own nevermind
the fact that for Grylls, it's a side hustle.
Sure, he might already own an island and be paid tens of thousands of dollars per episode,
but when you consider the fact that he'd reportedly sold over three million copies of his books
by 2015, the amount of influence that "Bear Grylls the author" has played in building
his fortune becomes a bigger deal than just some cash on the side.
For a man who's spent much of his life showing off his skills by surviving with next to nothing,
the guy seems to have managed to make bank on his merch sales.
According to the Evening Standard, he was estimated to have brought in over three million
pounds in merchandising in 2015 alone.
So what exactly does a man who eats maggots and pees on his clothes sell?
As it turns out, the Bear Grylls merch line includes everything from his famous Bear Grylls
Ultimate Pro Knife to a water bottle that also serves as a lamp and power source.
While merch sales are hard to pin down on a consistent basis, there's no doubt that
the sale of his own products has created some lucrative side income for Grylls.
While there's no doubt that Grylls has a boatload of money, he's made it clear from early on
that just because he has more than he needs doesn't mean he throws money away with the
little transactions.
As he told The Telegraph, he's tried not to convert the money he earns from his U.S. shows
into British pounds because he doesn't want to lose cash in the transition.
Instead, Grylls put his U.S. dollars into an international investment fund, where it
can gain value without the need to go through any switch over to U.K. currency.
While it seems like a small detail, it comes from a mind that is clearly focused on making
the best possible decisions at every turn.
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