Richard Petty, the former NASCAR driver, is worth approximately $65 million. However, only a tiny portion of that money comes from his NASCAR earnings. Instead, Richard Petty has made a few intelligent investments and has run several businesses.
Knowing the exact net worth of Richard Petty can be challenging. Most of the information is not made public. That said we believe we have the most informative guide on Richard Petty's net worth on the web!
Richard Petty Net Worth
The retired race car driver Richard Petty is worth approximately $65 million, which is impressive considering that for his first NASCAR title, Petty only made around $700. In addition, Richard recently sold his majority shares of Richard Petty Motorsports for approximately $19 million.
Richard Petty was nothing short of dominant in his NASCAR career. They don't nickname you “The King” if you didn't dominate the sport. On top of that, Petty is one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR history.
Still, Petty's earnings are far outpaced by the NASCAR drivers of today. This chart compares the earnings of Richard Petty in his 35 year racing career to those of Mark Martin, a 30 year veteran who also enjoyed a successful racing career but wasn't nicknamed “The King” if you know what I mean.
Near the middle of the chart, you can see where Petty's and Martin's careers overlapped. Earnings were fairly comparable at that time. Toward the end of Petty's racing career in the late 80's & 90's, you can see where Martin's career takes off along with the prize pools for NASCAR events.
This is a common trend in most sports. Earnings from competition started to take off around the same time ESPN became a household name and spread the popularity of viewing professional sports around the clock.
A driver with similar success in today's racing landscape likely would have won well over $100 Million in race winnings. Jimmie Johnson in fact, is tied with Petty for NASCAR Cup Championships (7) and has over $150 Million in career NASCAR earnings.
Richard Petty, now 85 years old, is one of the most famous race car drivers in history. His NASCAR career spans almost four decades, from 1958 to 1992. Over the years, Richard Petty created quite a healthy bank balance, and today we are going to discuss how Richard Petty became one of the richest NASCAR drivers of all time.
Richard Petty's NASCAR Career
Richard Petty’s father, Lee Petty, was a three-time NASCAR champion. So, you could say that racing was in Richard Petty's blood. Richard Petty's career started in 1958 when he started racing for the family-owned Petty Enterprises, which used a Plymouth Pontiac
Richard began racing for NASCAR at 21 years old back in 1958. One year later, the 22-year-old was named the NASCAR rookie of the year. Petty finished second in the NASCAR Grand National two years into his career. However, it was only in 1963 that his Talent started to shine.
In his 35 years as a race car driver Richard Petty started 1184 races. Let's take a look at how Richard Petty did with all those races:
- Pole position starts: 123
- Top 10 finishes: 712
- Wins: 200
- Championships: 7
As a driver, Richard Petty was phenomenal. However, his personality also had the ability to draw people in, and thanks to this, he accumulated many fans and was one of the most exciting race drivers of all time.
Richard Petty's Achievements And Awards
During his 35-year career, Richard Petty won the most popular driver of the year for eight years. He also won rookie of the year in 1962. Additionally, many of his Awards came after his Racing Career. Let's take a look:
[ninja_tables id=”8431″]Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports is a family-owned company with yearly revenue of $20 million and is valued at $29 million. Unlike many other drivers, Richard Petty raced for his family's business, which he later owned. While the company did have partners, Richard Petty held the majority.
In 2021 Richard Petty sold his majority stake in the company for just over 19 million dollars, which definitely added to Petty's net worth.
Throughout the years, the company has had several sponsors, including Best Buy, FocusFactor, and many more.
The team has won more than 260 titles over its long and storied history in motorsports.
Richard Petty's Earnings From Sponsorships
If you were to convert the first deal that STP gave Richard Petty Motorsports based on inflation, this would be worth $1.5 million today. The company has sponsored and been involved with the Petty family for over 51 years.
However, the exact figures for that sponsorship are not publicly available. We do know that the most recent deal between STP and RPM was for $250,000, with Richard Petty getting an extra $50,000 on top of that.
Richard Petty is also the spokesperson for several organizations, including:
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Nicorette
- Goody's headache powder
- Brawny paper towels
- Liberty Medical
Richard Petty Film And TV
Richard Petty is no stranger to film and TV. From voiceovers to cameos, Richard Petty has been acting since his race career ended.
The biggest movie that stars Richard Petty is the animated film Cars, where he plays “The King.”
Cars had a budget of $120 million and ended up making over $480 million in box office sales alone.
Does Richard Petty Do Charity?
Richard Petty has done a lot of charity work over the years. In fact, the family is synonymous with philanthropy. With that said, the Petty family Foundation is a charity organization that aims to provide funding to those that need it.
The foundation was centered around helping veterans and children. However, have a long list of projects, including:
- Helping Hospice.
- Disaster and hardship relief.
- Fighting blindness.
You can find out more about the petit family foundation here.
Richard Petty is also one of the founders and currently sits on the board of the victory Junction fun camp, which aims to help bring fun to kids with illnesses and disabilities.
The charity was started in honor of Richard Petty's late grandson, Adam Petty.
You can find out more about victory Junction here
Richard Petty's Other Businesses
Richard Petty is involved in other businesses apart from Richard Petty Motorsports. Most notably, fans of NASCAR can visit the Petty museum, where they can purchase items, primarily NASCAR merchandise.
A Break Down Of Richard Petty's Net Worth
[ninja_tables id=”8437″]That sums up how much Richard Petty made from NASCAR; however, his salary is not disclosed.
Richard Petty also made his money through sponsorships, investments, running other businesses, and appearing in film and TV.
FAQs
Who is the richest NASCAR driver?
Dale Earnhardt Jr is worth $300 million.
Is Richard Petty married?
Richard Petty was married to Lynda Petty, who sadly passed away in 2014.
Where does Richard Petty live now?
Level Cross, NC.
