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The career to date of former bad boy turned (almost) national treasure Chris Evans has turned out to be like a game of two halves but with both earning him a mint from the small screen and radio. The adrenalin-fuelled first half for the DJ and television presenter's working life earned him a fortune of around $40 million.
He climbed the greasy pole to stardom from a modest start at Manchester Piccadilly Radio in the mid 1980s to fronting a seriously successful string of television shows The Big Breakfast, TFI Friday and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, the latter made by his own company Ginger Productions.
For some of that time he was also on a BBC salary presenting the popular Radio 1 breakfast show.
The workaholic redhead spent his money as fast as he could earn it, however, investing in a rectory in Kent and a Bentley and pouring the rest into a celebrity party lifestyle. But the hard living and long hours took its toll and Radio 1 eventually sacked him for repeatedly failing to turn up to work.
In 1993 Evans switched to Virgin Radio, which he later bought in 1997 from Richard Branson in a consortium with others for £85m. When he sold it in 2000 to the Scottish Media Group he netted a reputed personal cash windfall of £35m.
Soon Evans got bored with the show, turned to drinking and began going awol again. He was fired and after suing his employers, lost the case and (depending on which reports you believe) had to pay between £4m-£9.5m in legal fees, costs and compensation to SMG.
Despite these financial and professional hiccups, which removed him from the public spotlight for about three years, the Sunday Times Rich List calculated Evans was worth £55m in 2003, which enabled him to indulge in lavish spending sprees during the time of his marriage to Billie Piper, the former teen pop star turned actress.
Earnings & Financial Data
Date |
Category |
Description |
Amount |
---|---|---|---|
2000 |
Sale of Asset |
Payment received for the sale of Ginger Media Group to SMG plc for £225 million |
$59,000,000 |