Kriti Mehrotra
It was on June 8, 1978, in Essex, England, that Edward “Eddie” Hearn was born to proud homemaker Susan Hearn and rising sports promoter Barry Hearn as one of their two children. He was admittedly raised in a financially comfortable yet rather strict household with a lot of tough love, but he was also cared for and supported every step of the way in life. In fact, even when he failed to get into sixth form (grades 11 and 12) at the private Brentwood School, they did all they could to encourage him before sitting back to let him pursue his goals.
How Did Eddie Hearn Earn His Money?
Since Eddie Hearn had seen his father promote various sports from an early age as the Founder-President of Matchroom Sport (established 1982), he developed an interest in them too. He actually played cricket and soccer at a high level, so a petition was made to let him continue in school when he was held back based purely on his sporting record, but to no avail. In the end, the 16-year-old enrolled at Havering College of Further & Higher Education, with his father promising him £1,000 for each grade of C or above; he ultimately graduated with two Cs and an A. Eddie subsequently kick-started his career in a sports management company representing golfers before spreading his wings by taking on event management and poker promotions.
What followed was a series of successes over several years, enabling him to ultimately join his father’s business in 2000 as the head of the newly formed Golf Management team. He had no idea what kind of doors the blend of his unwavering ambitions, his dedication to furthering his father’s legacy, and the brand reputation of Matchroom Sport would open, leading to new heights. Eddie was appointed Chief Executive of the independent PGA EuroPro Tour (golfing) in 2005, following which he consciously decided to embrace every opportunity to come his way. He soon started leading Matchroom Sport’s poker and online gaming operations before climbing the ladder to take on boxing and assume the role of Group Managing Director.
Eddie’s most notable role has indeed been in the boxing division, considering his passion shines through in every little thing he does with it, especially his presence on the sidelines of almost every match he promotes. In fact, he helped boxer Audley Harrison rebuild his career upon meeting him by chance at a poker game in 2010, signed a lifetime agreement with Anthony Joshua a year after he won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, and has other big names like Canelo Álvarez, Katie Taylor, and Conor Benn as clients. In addition, in 2018, Eddie signed boxing’s first-ever $1 billion streaming deal with DAZN before signing another ground-breaking 5-year deal with them in 2021 while severing all other ties.
Moreover, Eddie is mainly responsible for the development of boxing in Saudi Arabia, thanks to his connection with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, a Saudi Arabian sports promoter and investor. Eddie has undeniably been thriving in every sense of the term over the past few years, especially after he was appointed Chairman of the company his father built from the ground up in 2021. With Barry stepping aside as President owing to his age in an effort to pass down his legacy, his son now helms Matchroom Boxing, Matchroom Boxing USA, Matchroom Media, Professional Darts Corporation, and PGA EuroPro Tour. Today, he earns his money through client/match promotions, creating brand new events such as the Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5, getting a cut from the athletes’ purse wins, and selling streaming rights, amongst much more.
Eddie Hearn’s Net Worth
Considering that Eddie Hearn has dedicated every part of himself to his career for nearly three decades, it goes without saying that he has managed to accumulate significant wealth over the years. Unfortunately, calculating his precise earnings is nearly impossible since the details of his income range and the stake he holds in his father’s company are not public knowledge. However, we do have some estimates based on the market at different times, his experience, his reputation, and the positions he has held since he first started out. From what we can tell, he likely bagged close to $70,000 in the sports and event management industries before it skyrocketed with his entry into sports promotions.
Eddie has primarily held executive positions since the 2000s, so it’s probable his net income during his early days at Matchroom was around $1 million per year. Then, with his climb up the ladder, it only increased, likely going to $5 million by the early 2010s and to $8-10 million once he started promoting some heavy-hitting names. It’s imperative to note that Eddie possibly also earns money through his public appearances, podcast features, and his social media platforms, thanks to his significant following. Therefore, taking into account all these aspects, along with his feature in Netflix’s ‘Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen,’ his assets, investments, returns, and expenses as a married father of two, we believe his net worth to be $50 million.
Disclaimer: The estimated net worth above is based on publicly available clues and educated guesses. The only person who truly knows the real figure is Eddie Hearn himself.
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