Celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Matsuhisa have made an art of spinning kitchen skills into serious fortunes through restaurant brands, endorsements, TV shows and savvy business deals
But which of these culinary moguls leads the pack – without a restaurant – and why is the richest man in the world’s brother Kimbal Musk among them?
There’s no denying that any renowned chef knows how to put together a delicious meal. When you hear names like Pierre Gagnaire or Marco Pierre White, you know you’re in for a treat. But some seriously savvy chefs have managed to turn their magic into the kitchen into millions in the bank too. These chefs have created true culinary empires, from bestselling cookbooks and highly rated TV shows to Michelin-starred restaurants.
Here’s how the net worths of these cashed-up cooks stack up, according to Celebrity Net Worth at the time of writing.
6. Rachael Ray
Estimated net worth: US$100 million
At 55 years old, Rachael Ray has owned the Food Network scene with her cooking approach that relies on finding simple solutions to dishes, spearheaded by her flagship 30 Minute Meals concept.
Per the Food Network, Ray said she grew up in a foodie environment, with one of her first memories being watching her mum whip up meals in a restaurant kitchen. Now, Ray boasts books, TV shows and even a magazine, shining as a culinary luminary for ordinary folks trying to up their cooking game.
5. Wolfgang Puck
Estimated net worth: US$120 million
Growing up in Austria, a young Wolfgang Puck was influenced by his mother who was also a chef, according to his official bio. When he was just 14 years old, he started his formal training; he went on to work at some of France’s most renowned restaurants, including Maxim’s in Paris and Monaco’s Hôtel de Paris. At the age of 24, he took a friend’s advice and made the leap across the pond to Indianapolis, where he worked at restaurant La Tour. After leaving La Tour in 1975, he moved to Los Angeles, quickly elevating his profile to catch the eye of West Hollywood’s Ma Maison.
He eventually opened his first flagship restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982 – and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, Puck is the proud owner of Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Catering and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, comprising restaurants such as Spago and Cut, which can be found across the world in Las Vegas, Singapore, Bahrain, London and Istanbul.
4. Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
Estimated net worth: US$200 million
World-famous Japanese restaurant chain Nobu may have over 50 – and counting – locations around the world, but Matsuhisa never meant to create an empire. Per Food and Wine, Matsuhisa had wanted to be a sushi chef ever since his brother took him to a sushi restaurant when he was a child; he moved to Tokyo when he was 18 years old and began working at a family-run sushi bar. After several years, he leapt at the opportunity to move to Lima, Peru when a restaurant regular offered him the chance to open a restaurant – it was during his three years here that he developed his signature culinary flair.
After a few false starts, he moved to the US and eventually opened his first Matsuhisa restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1987 with the help of a friend. He soon reportedly impressed actor Robert De Niro, who loved his food and concept so much that he co-founded the first Nobu restaurant. The chef – and his restaurants – went on to gain massive global recognition.
3. Jamie Oliver
Estimated net worth: US$200 million
Jamie Oliver was just 16 when he left school to finish his studies at Westminster Training College. After cutting his teeth at restaurants across France – and Antonio Carluccio’s London eatery the Neal Street Restaurant – Oliver went to work at River Café. While here, he appeared in a 1997 documentary Christmas at The River Cafe and was soon offered his own TV show. This fast-tracked his reputation as a chef determined to “strip down food to its bare essentials”, he famously said, to create simple but delicious masterpieces.
As his fame grew, Oliver doubled down on his passion for food education, nutrition and training future chefs, creating numerous initiatives, including a national campaign called Feed Me Better for nutritious school meals in his native UK.
3. Gordon Ramsay
Estimated net worth: US$220 million
With books, TV shows and Michelin-starred restaurants, Gordon Ramsay is one of the most successful chefs in the world. He gained worldwide fame for his role on MasterChef, earning a reputation for being a foul-mouthed perfectionist who doesn’t hesitate to belittle others. The notoriously divisive chef even counts peers among his detractors, with Anthony Bourdain and Jacques Pépin both having spoken out against him – although Pépin clarified it was “not his intention to insult” his fellow chef.
However, some say that Ramsay’s bad boy persona is mostly an act, and he only really gets riled up if his culinary reputation is at stake. His food clearly speaks for himself, as his restaurants continue to receive accolades – in fact, Ramsay has 17 Michelin stars in total, only behind France’s Alain Ducasse’s 21.
2. Kimbal Musk
Estimated net worth: US$500 million
Brother to one of the world’s richest men, Elon Musk, Kimbal is a tech entrepreneur as well, sitting on the board of directors for both Tesla and SpaceX and co-founding now-defunct software company Zip2 with older brother Elon. Away from tech, the younger Musk is also a chef, restaurateur and co-founder of The Kitchen Restaurant Group.
Per DC Finance, the concept behind the group is to serve “real food at every price point” while creating over a thousand jobs. Musk’s personal ambition is to “pursue an America where everyone has access to real food”. The group’s restaurants, which include Next Door, Hedge Row and The Kitchen, source food grown from American farmers.
1. Alan Wong
Estimated net worth: US$1 billion
He may not be as famous as his fellow chefs on the richest list, but Japanese-born Alan Wong is certainly the richest – he’s widely reported to have cracked the US$1 billion mark with his trademark Hawaiian regional cuisine. He is widely considered the king of island fusion and has even cooked for former US president Barack Obama.
Wong is known for his use of fresh products, local flavours and experimenting with tastes to create delicious dishes. Unfortunately, he was forced to make the difficult decision to close Alan Wong’s Restaurants after 25 years, in November 2020.
