Ric Flair Net Worth

To the wrestling audience, Ric Flair is known for his Wooo! shout trademark. Whenever he taunted his opponents with his signature move, the knife edge chop, it was always followed by the Wooo! Coming from the crowd. The Wooo! also made its way into popular culture.

In 1975, Ric Flair survived a serious plane crash, a pilot was killed, and another wrestler was completely paralyzed. Ric Flair broke his back in three places and was told by the doctors that he could never wrestle again. In April 1995, Flair wrestled in Pyongyang, North Korea, in front of 190,000 spectators.

Throughout his career in the wrestling business, Ric Flair is a major pay-per-view attraction. Flair is the only professional wrestler in history to be inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame. Ric Flair is a 16-time WWE world champion with eight NWA World Heavyweight Championship, six WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and two WWF Championship.

What is Ric Flair’s Net Worth?

For somebody with a professional career that spanned more than five decades, you’d expect they will be financially comfortable, if not well-off. This is not the case with Ric Flair; he owed the IRS unpaid taxes as far back as the 1990s up to the present day, which amounted to nearly a million dollars, along with his lavish spending, failed businesses, unpaid medical bills, alimonies for his many wives, and a hefty lawsuit. As of August 2022, Ric Flair’s net worth is estimated to be at $US500,000—this could go into the negative shall the IRS seize his assets or banks come knocking.

Who is Ric Flair?

Ric Flair, born Richard Morgan Fliehr, is an American professional wrestler—one of his most memorial quotes that people love to mimic is the “stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ and dealin’ son of a gun, wooo!.” Ric Flair is also known by another pseudonym, the Nature Boy. His birth name is Fred Phillips, and his official name is Richard Morgan Fliehr, born on February 25, 1949, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Ric Flair’s biological parents are Luther and Olive Phillips.

Shortly after his birth, Flair was adopted by Richard Reid Fliehr and Kathleen Virginia Kinsmiller at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society as Kathleen could no longer become pregnant after losing a daughter shortly after birth. Shortly after his adoptive father completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology in Detroit, Michigan, the family moved to Edina, Minnesota, where the young Fliehr lived throughout his childhood. In high school, he attended Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Fliehr had an avid interest in sports he actively participated in wrestling, football, and track.

Fleihr was an amateur wrestler in high school. He attended the University of Minnesota and dropped out after his first year.

Early Wrestling Career

In 1972, Ric Flair made his wrestling debut in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, where the stage name Ric Flair was first adopted. During his time at the AWA, Flair wrestled against several future wrestling stars, such as Dusty Rhodes and Andrea the Giant. In 1975, Ric Flair survived a deadly plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was told by the doctors that he could never wrestle again. However, after undergoing a lot of physical therapy, Flair returned to the ring within three months but had to change his wrestling style to less aggressive moves due to the accident.

In 1986, when prominent wrestling promoter Jim Crockett planned to expand National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) nationwide, Crockett used Flair as the face of the company for the promotion.

When Ric Flair joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991, Flair had a run-in with the WCW president Jim Herd—Ric Flair was forced to change his ring name to Spartacus his appearance by shaving his hair and wearing a diamond earring. Flair refused to comply and got fired by Herd. Flair immediately moved to World Wrest Federation (now changed to WWE).

Flair signed with WWE in 1991 and began parading his Big Gold Belt on TV he previously won at WCW.  WCW sued Flair for not returning the belt—Flair argued that WCW hasn’t returned his $25,000 for the belt’s deposit when he reigned as a champion at WCW, so Flair believed that the title belt had become his personal property.

After the WWF president, Vince McMahan, dropped Flair from main events in 1993, Ric Flair returned to WCW. In 1995, Ric Flair traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea, for a wrestling match in front of 150,000 spectators.

In 1998, a feud between the president of the WCW, Eric Bischoff, and Ric Flair—Flair challenged Bischoff to a match for the president of WCW. Flair defeated Bischoff and became the president of WCW. For the next year, Flair played the villain, and just like Bischoff, he began abusing his power. The reign came to an end after he lost to Sting.

While at WCW, Ric Flair was a 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and became the first wrestler to complete WCW’S Triple Crown by holding three different title belts, including World Tag Team Championship, after already winning the WWE Championship.

In 2001, WCW was acquired by WWE for $4.2 million. After his return to WWE in November 2001, Flair played on-screen as the co-owner of the WWE as he owned a significant share in WWE. In 2007, WWE president Vince McMahon announced if Flair loses in any future match, he will be forced to retire. At some point, Flair took this threat seriously—he fought and won several ‘career threatening’ opponents, including Triple H and Randy Orton.

Ric Flair’s match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 was an acclaimed match, it was lauded and praised by fans and critics. As a result, it was voted the 2008 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match of the year. During Ric Flair’s farewell retirement speech in March 2008, many retired and current WWE superstars came out to thank Flair for his lifetime contribution to the wrestling industry—and along with the fans, Flair received a standing ovation. It’s a rare sight to see the in-ring villains and faces come out to the ring together and broke character.

In the next decade, Ric Flair appeared in different wrestling companies as a promoter and wrestled in several matches. Some critics and retired professional wrestlers stated Flair had damaged his legacy.

Personal Life

There seemed to be a pattern in Ric Flair’s five marriages. Flair’s first mirage lasted for 12 years from 1971 to 1983 and had two children. His second marriage was from 1983 to 2006 for a total of 23 years and fathered two more children. Flair’s third marriage was from 2006 to 2009. From 2006 to 2014, he was married to his fourth wife. And married his fifth wife in 2018, but announced they were separated four years later, then reconciled in 2022.

Two of his sons were former wrestlers. His daughter, Ashley, is a wrestler in the WWE who goes by the ring name Charlotte Flair.

Other Interesting Facts about Ric Flair

• In 2000, Flair considered the possibility of running for governor of North Carolina. A former wrestler and current politician urged him not to do so after he learned Flair had received 145 speeding tickets.
• Ric Flair has a heart condition problem due to alcohol abuse.
• In 2002, Ric Flair asked a flight attendant to touch his penis while he was in a wrestling robe naked. She sued the WWE and the case was settled out of court.
• In 2005, a judge issued an arrest warrant for his road rage for getting out of his car, grabbing a motorist by the neck, and causing damage to his car.
• In 2007, Ric Flair opened a financial business called Ric Flair Finance. He filed for bankruptcy a year later.
• In 2008, Flair’s signature wrestling robe is put on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
• Flair took out loans from Highspots Inc. by using his NWA championship belt as collateral. In 2011, an arrest was issued for his failure to repay back the loan.  
• In 2016, Sports Illustrated named him the Greatest Professional Wrestler of All Time
• In 2018, his former son-in-law Riki Paul Johnson sued him, his daughter Charlotte, and the WWE for $5 million for allegedly making several false claims about him including he is sterile.

Ric Flair FAQs