WWE billionaire Vincent McMahon, a friend of Donald Trump, has fallen on hard times during the pandemic – but the US wrestling CEO is still worth US$1.7 billion

Oct 17 , 2020

Vincent McMahon has been described as encapsulating “a thuggish old-school CEO”. Photos: @likeamcmahon/Instagram; @DailyWWENews/Twitter

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WWE billionaire Vince McMahon is having a tough year.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the live wrestling matches that are the bread and butter of his company’s business, the league’s ticket sales and subscriber base had been plummeting amid concerns over the brand’s creative direction under McMahon’s leadership.

McMahon built WWE, a tightly scripted wrestling league, into an entertainment powerhouse after acquiring the brand from his father. Along the way, McMahon became one of the richest people in America and struck up friendships with other billionaires, including President Donald Trump.

A representative of McMahon at WWE did not provide a comment on the CEO’s personal history, career at WWE, or net worth – but keep reading to learn more about the billionaire wrestling mogul.

Vincent McMahon, 75, was practically born into the wrestling business

McMahon was raised in North Carolina, US, by a wrestling promoter: his father, also named Vincent McMahon, founded WWE (then a regional league called Capitol Wrestling Co), and even McMahon’s grandfather Jesse worked in wrestling.

Before joining the family business full-time, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University.

McMahon took over the business that would eventually become WWE from his father in 1982