For most people, eating is just something they do to survive, but for Matt Stonie it is a way through which he stakes his claim in the world. The American Youtuber and professional eater has established himself as one of the top-ranked competitive eaters in the world. Although competitive eating has been branded a bizarre sport and is harshly criticized since forever, it still manages to hold the interests of audiences everywhere because of the amazing feats that eaters manage to pull. Five years ago, Matt was just a skinny kid in college, but today he is an accomplished professional eater. Matt Stonie’s net worth is proof of how far he has come in his career in such a short time.
Since he first gained worldwide attention for stripping Joey Chestnut, the eight-time defending champion of his title at the 2015 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, Matt has gone on to break and set many world records. Some of his astonishing accomplishments including eating 25 McDonald’s Big Macs in 22 minutes, 71 Smithfield pork ribs in 5 minutes, 182 slices of bacon in 5 minutes, 241 Hooters chicken wings in 10 minutes, and 22 pounds of Smoke’s Poutinerie Poutines in 10 minutes.
How Matt Stonie Made a Fortune From Competitive Eating
The food enthusiast was born in San Jose, California on May 24, 1992, to Dorian and Cathy Stonie. He has one sibling, a brother named Morgan, who helps with his video productions for YouTube. Matt is of Lithuanian, Japanese, and Czechoslovakian descent. He was a student at Evergreen Valley High School, from where he proceeded to Mission College in Santa Barbara to study nutrition. His family has been hugely supportive of his career and have even shown up at several of his competitive events to cheer him on.
Matt never actually set out to become a competitive eater. It was not a career path that he dreamed of pursuing, however, he started down the part while he was in college. As a broke student, he heard about a lobster roll eating contest that was happening close to his house, so he decided to enter just so he could eat free food and maybe take home the $1000 cash prize. He ended up winning the competition and realized that he really enjoyed the experience.
After that, he kept on participating in eating challenges across the country. The more he ate, the more his body became accustomed to the enormous amounts of food he was consuming, helping him perfect his craft. Matt gained widespread recognition in 2015 after he defeated Joey Chestnut and became the champion of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. He ate 62 hotdogs within the allotted time while Chestnut ate 60.
The fast-eater is also a member of the Major League Eating Organization. In addition, Matt has spread his tentacles to YouTube, where he has accumulated nearly 10 million subscribers on his channel and over 1.7 billion views. His entertainment content has brought in all kinds of audiences including celebrities like Waka Flocka Flame, Bam Margera, and Cheech & Chong, all of whom have spoken highly about Matt’s videos.
Despite the extreme nature of his chosen profession, Matt takes his health very seriously. He exercises regularly to ensure he doesn’t end up gaining unnecessary weight. He also enjoys raising and donating money for charity as his way of giving back to the community and world at large.
See Also: How Did Ryan Seacrest Achieve a Net Worth of $410 Million?
What Is Matt Stonie’s Net Worth?
Matt Stonie’s net worth is quite impressive and serves as proof that you can make an insane amount of money from doing what you love. Competitive eaters earn tens of thousands of dollars from a single event and take home six-figure paychecks at the end of the year. As of 2019, Matt Stonie’s net worth stands at $700,000 and he is well on track to becoming a millionaire very soon.
As one of the highest-ranked professional eaters in the world, Matt Stonie earns a lot of money from prizes, public appearances, as well as sponsorships. However, most of his money comes from his YouTube channel where he posts videos of himself doing all kinds of crazy food challenges. With the number of views he commands for each one of his videos, he is able to earn serious bucks through ad placements.
