Understanding Jeremy Clarkson’s Net Worth and TV Career, Wife and Kids

Jeremy Clarkson is a British TV host, broadcaster, journalist, and writer. He gained international prominence in 1988 as the co-presenter of BBC TV show Top Gear which rapidly propelled him to the elite class. His earnings during his 15-year stint at Top Gear are hugely responsible for his net worth of over $60 million.

Clarkson’s brash attitude and controversial comments on Top Gear, most of which were perceived as “homophobic” often stirred a backlash from the public and worse, lawsuits. He became his own undoing in 2015 after a brawl between him and a producer culminated in his dismissal. Nevertheless, Amazon, after a short while, offered him a multimillion, 3-year deal to produce a new car series known as The Grand Tour.

Analysis of His $60 Million Net Worth

Jeremy Clarkson Has Top Gear to Thank for Massive Fortune

After years of working as a local journalist, Clarkson received his first breakthrough in 1988 when he was selected as one of the presenters on BBC flagship car show, Top Gear. He retained his role for the next two years until 2000 when the show went on a brief hiatus. Two years later, in 2002, the show debuted a new format with Clarkson returning to reprise his co-presenting role.

Clarkson alongside co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond helped propel Top Gear’s viewership to record-breaking numbers. Its popularity influenced the making of related versions abroad including; “Top Gear US”, Top Gear Australia”, and “Top Gear Russia”. Under Clarkson’s helm, Top Gear set a Guinness World Record for the most-watched factual television program in the world seen in 212 territories with over 350 million weekly viewership. Also, its Top Gear magazine subscribers reached almost 2 million. For its commercial arm BBC Worldwide, the show generated annual revenue of $225 million.

Deservingly, Clarkson and his sidekicks were duly rewarded for these incredible feats. Clarkson became BBC’s highest-paid TV star with a salary of £1 million. In 2014, his earnings were a few dollars shy of $900,000! In addition to his salary on BBC which peaked at $4 million, Clarkson was entitled to a 30% right of the entire Top Gear franchise. As a result, Clarkson in 2012 earned $15 million from dividends and bonuses. In 2013 when BBC who already owned 50% of the Top Gear Empire, bought the entire rights, Clarkson received a whopping $21 million from the outstanding stakes.

What Warranted His Disgraceful Dismissal from the Show?

Prior to the end of his then-active contract in March 2015, Clarkson had signed a 3-year contract extension. However, following an altercation between him and a producer named Oisin Tymon, BBC axed their highest-paid star, withdrawing his contract.

The incident occurred during a filming location in Hawes, North Yorkshire where Clarkson punched and verbally abused Tymon calling him a “lazy Irish cunt” after he brought him cold lunch different from what he had requested. The punch landed Tymon in a hospital. Despite 1 million signatures on a Change.org petition to retain Clarkson, BBC fired a suspended Clarkson.

Tymon filed a lawsuit against him for racial discrimination. Clarkson issued an official apology and settled for £100,000. Top Gear is now hosted by the American former Friends star, Matt LeBlanc.

Amazon Prime Picked Up His Show and He Continued Earning Bigly

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While die-hard fans worried about the future of their beloved Clarkson’s TV career, the dismissal soon proved to be a blessing in disguise. A few months later, Clarkson was offered a reported $46 million and 3-year contract by Amazon Prime to produce a new motoring show. Clarkson gladly accepted and named the show The Grand Tour. Contrary to many speculations, it premiered in November 2016 to impressive reviews. Not to mention its production budget which by a mammoth margin gives Top Gear the run for its money.

The Grand Tour became Amazon’s most-watched premiere with “millions” of views– it’s not exactly Amazon’s style to reveal the exact number of views. To ascertain Amazon’s vague ratings, Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a 97% audience rating.

Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos revealed that The Grand Tour cost Amazon Prime about $250 million license fee for the planned 3 seasons. However, it remains speculation as Clarkson later revealed that the numbers are slightly more. He also refuted the £10 million ($12 million) per season salary he’s been estimated to earn, calling it “made-up nonsense”. However, speculations are that it definitely won’t be lower than what BBC paid. A 7 figure pay is almost guaranteed.

Producing an episode of The Grand Tour would cost between $1.2 million and $4.9 million that is (£1 million – £4 million). In comparison, an episode of Top Gear costs $556,000 (£450,000) to produce. The Grand Tour viewership is available to Amazon Prime subscribers at the cost of $99 and $199 per year in the US and UK respectively, after the expiration of a 30-day free trial.

Highlights of His Significant Earnings Over the Years

The English Broadcaster Has Also Made Money from Presenting Other Shows and Writing

Jeremy Clarkson became a journalist after training with Rotherham Advertiser. He started by writing for the likes of Shropshire Star, Wolverhampton Express, and Lincolnshire Life. So in addition to banking from his motoring shows, Clarkson has made good money from writing columns for the likes of The Sun, The Sunday Times, and Toronto Star.

Also, he has published at least 19 books, including Born to be Riled, Jeremy Clarkson on Ferrari, The World According to Clarkson, and Driven To Distraction.

Top Gears and books aside, the man has presented a handful of other popular shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Forza Motorsport 5, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Inventions That Changed the World, Clarkson, Jeremy Clarkson’s Motorworld, Jeremy Clarkson’s Extreme Machines, Robot Wars, and much more.

In view of all of that, one might be tempted to wonder why he’s only worth $60 million. The answer is not far-fetched, the man is a big spender, especially when it comes to houses and cars.

Inside Look at Jeremy Clarkson’s Houses and Cars

Clarkson owns a £2.5 million estate located at Chipping Norton. The estate which is situated on seven acres of land is an eight-bedroom manor house set in seven acres of land.

In 2016, Jeremy was granted permission to pull down his five-bedroom farmhouse worth £4 million to build a new one but you can’t imagine what he did, instead of getting a bulldozer to bring it down, he blew it up.

Jeremy doesn’t only have a penchant for good houses but also for good cars. He has quite a number of collections in his garage. In his garage, you will find a Ford GT, a Ferrari F355, a Volvo XC90 SUV,  Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, a Jaguar XJR, a Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, and even an ex-military Land Rover Defender. What an impressive car collection!

The Famous Presenter Was Worth Only $10 Million in 2007

Jeremy Clarkson’s $60 million net worth came through years of hard work and dedication. Records have it that his first job was as a travelling salesman. After that, he worked as a journalist for years before he was picked as one of the presenters of Top Gear.

The success he recorded presenting the show would make him famous as much as it made him a wealthy man. Being someone always in search of opportunities to explore, Jeremy didn’t rest on his laurels. He spread his wings: presenting other shows and writing several books. As such, his net worth has continued to grow. The man was worth only $10 million in $2007.

Timeline of Clarkson’s Net Worth Growth Over the Years

Jeremy Clarkson’s First Wife Left Him after Six Months of Marriage

• Name: Alexandra James (Alex Hall)
• Date of Birth: Undetermined
• Occupation: Entrepreneur
• Duration of Marriage: (1989 – 1990)
• No. of Kid With Jeremy: Nil

His first wife Alexandra James whom he married in 1989 left him for one of his friends just after 6 months of marriage. Ouch! Once speaking about their marriage, the famous English broadcaster related that Alex admitted to a number of flings and left him for another man.

Worse still, the man was his friend, a property developer named Stephen Hall. Alex and Stephen got married in February 1993 but the marriage lasted for only four years. Alex has claimed that leaving Jeremy was a mistake that affected her life in ways she never imagined.

Based on what she has shared, she left him because she believed he was lazy and very opinionated. She has claimed that Jeremy cheated on his second wife with her but the man has insisted that she only resurfaced when he became a TV star to demand money for her silence.

He Has Also Parted Ways With His Second Wife

• Name: Frances Cain
• Date of Birth: Undetermined
• Occupation: Artist Manager
• Duration of Marriage: (1993 – 2004)
• No. of Kid With Jeremy: 3

As fate would have it, Jeremy found love again in the eyes of one Frances Cain and they got hitched in 1993. Frances helped Jeremy to build his career; it has even been suggested that the man may not have been able to achieve what he has attained without her.

Even though details of her life and career before she got married to Jeremy are hard to come by, it is known that she worked as her husband’s manager for many years, before and after they got married. Cain was so instrumental to her husband’s rise to fame that when she filed for divorce, his first wife Alex Hall asserted that she (Cain) deserves every penny she can get from the Top Gear host as she is the secret of his success.

It Is Believed Their Marriage Ended Because Jeremy Cheated

When Cain filed for divorce in 2014, it widely circulated that the broadcaster cheated on her with Phillipa Sage, a colleague from his show, Top Gear. Years earlier, it was rumored that the two were having an affair but Jeremy insisted that it was not true. But then, he was photographed kissing the woman on a beach sometime in 2013.

It is obvious that Jeremy Clarkson and Frances Cain opted to part ways without any dramas. What Frances got out of the marriage remains a secret as she has refused to comment on it. But she has been seen on vacation with friends and a younger man, suggesting that she has indeed moved on from what she had with Jeremy.

Meet the 3 Children of Jeremy and Frances 

Emily Clarkson (Daughter)

• Date of Birth: July 21, 1994
• Occupation: Journalist

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The former couple had three children together, two daughters and a son. Their first child and daughter Emily Clarkson seems to be following in her father’s footsteps. She is currently a blogger and an author of a book titled Can I Speak to Someone in Charge.

The TV presenter and his older daughter seem to be very close. In 2017, he attended the launch of her book in London alongside his former wife Francis Cain. Mr. Clarkson recently revealed how he had to stop the police from arresting his daughter after she used the ‘F’ word on a US airport worker.

Finlo Clarkson (Son)

• Date of Birth: March 14, 1997
• Occupation: Undetermined

Finlo is the second child and only son of Jeremy Clarkson and his second wife. Apart from being his parents’ child, almost nothing is known about Finlo. Things like the schools he attended and what he does for a living have remained a mystery as he leads a private life away from the spotlight.

Katya Clarkson (Daughter)

• Date of Birth: November 24, 2000
• Occupation: Photographer

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The last child of Jeremy and Cain, Katya is a passionate photographer. She is much like her older brother in terms of keeping her private life away from the public. Katya is very fond of her siblings and parents.