Over his career, renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer has accumulated a substantial wealth with his current net worth at $400 million
In 1982, when local celebrities were usually used to introduce boxers, Michael Buffer started his career by presenting every event hosted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank ESPN. He was the sole ring announcer for all of Donald Trump’s casinos by the late 1980s, including those in Atlantic City, a gambling hotspot.
In 2024, Buffer is a well-known figure in the sports announcing business, distinguished by his gaudy clothes and his tagline, “let’s get ready to rumble,” which he registered as a trademark in 1992.
Who is boxing and wrestling announcer Michael Buffer, bio, age, height, parents, wife, brother, son, catchphrase, salary and net worth
On November 2, 1944, 80-year-old Michael Buffer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is 6ft tall. In the midst of World War II, his father Joseph Buffer joined the US Navy. After his parents separated when he was 11 months old, Buffer was raised in Roslyn, Pennsylvania, by foster parents who were a homemaker and a school bus driver.
At the age of 20, he joined the US Army during the Vietnam War and remained there until the age of 23. After working as a car salesperson and starting a modelling career at age 32, he eventually became a ring announcer at age 38.
There have been three marriages for Michael Buffer. His first marriage produced two boys, Michael and Matthew
Buffer first wed at age 21, but the marriage ended in divorce after seven years and more than 25 years passed before he remarried in 1999.
Since 2008, Buffer and Christine Prado, his third wife have been married. From 1999 till 2003, he was married to his second wife Alina Buffer. In 2007, Buffer asked Christine Prado to marry him on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Bruce is the half brother of boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is the President and CEO of their company, The Buffer Partnership. Bruce Buffer who is a UFC ring announcer has a net worth of $12 million and reportedly makes $100,000 per event.
Michael was raised by foster parents under the name of Huber but when he went into the army during the Vietnam war [recruiters] saw his birth certificate said his name was Buffer as he was never formally adopted as Huber.
In 1989, he was contacted by his birth father, who introduced him to his half-brothers after seeing him on television and in the mid-1990s, Buffer brought along one of his half-brothers, Bruce Buffer, as his agent/manager which grew into a business partnership.
Michael Buffer career
Boxing Winner Stays On with Michael Buffer 👀🥊 pic.twitter.com/kZJFKxVz3q
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) December 20, 2024
Michael Buffer started working as a boxing ring announcer in 1982. At a period when ring announcers were exclusively locally hired talent, he gained national recognition by 1983 when he began narrating all boxing events produced by Bob Arum’s Top Rank on ESPN.
In his announcements, Michael Buffer came up with the catchphrase “Let’s get ready to rumble!” by 1984, and it quickly became quite popular. In the 1980s, he started the process of getting the term registered as a federal trademark, which he eventually obtained in 1992. As a result, Buffer has made more than $400 million from his trademark license.
Buffer acquired a contract with HBO in 1991 and started working as a fulltime ring announcer for World Championship Boxing. He also occasionally filled in for Jimmy Lennon Jr. on Showtime, a rival network, on Showtime Championship Boxing, and Lennon also occasionally filled in for Buffer on HBO.
As the exclusive ring announcer for all of DAZN’s boxing broadcasts, including agreements with Matchroom, Buffer signed on with the streaming service in 2018.
He revealed the Affliction: Banned mixed martial arts show on July 19, 2008. Buffer made the announcement for NBC’s Sunday Night Football game on September 12, 2021, in which the Los Angeles Rams met the Chicago Bears in the inaugural NFL regular season game that drew spectators to SoFi Stadium.
At the Sphere in Vegas on June 28, 2024, Michael Buffer used his trademark catchphrase to announce his hometown Philadelphia Flyers’ 13th overall pick of the first round of the 2024 NHL entry draft. He then introduced draft pick Jett Luchanko, who had the same height and weight as Buffer in the ring, along with Luchanko’s former team.
Michael Buffer’s net worth
Michael Buffer is estimated to have a net worth close to $400 million. Buffer is paid between $25,000/£18,900 and $100,000/£75,600 each time he announces an event.