Top 10 Highest Paid Chefs 2022 Chefs are a long way from being behind-the-scenes workers in fancy restaurants.
Today, they are millionaires with the most exotic cars and luxurious houses!
They have huge followings on social media and are living the dream!
We’ll be taking a look at the top 10 highest-paid chefs in the world.
Hold on now, your guess on who holds the number 1 spot is most likely wrong – mine was!
Well, stick around to find out.
#10 Marco Pierre White
Known as the first celebrity chef. Marco Pierre White made a name in the culinary space as soon as he got into it.
He’s most notably known for being the youngest chef to have three Michelin Stars, which he got at the age of 33.
He went on to mentor other chefs who achieved this feat at a young age too.
His career was so successful that he was able to retire in 1999 at 38 years old.
So where does the money keep flowing in from?
His books and shows have managed to increase the numbers of his bank accounts for over two decades after retiring.
He boasts of a net worth of $40 million and he’s the 10th highest paid chef in 2021.
#9 Ina Garten
Ina Garten didn’t start as a chef.
She served as a Budget Analyst in the White House before diving into the culinary space.
So if you like your meal served with a portion of presidential secrets, Ina Garten is your way to go.
In terms of cooking, she keeps it simple, which is to be expected as she didn’t go through any formal chef training.
Ina Garten has a net worth of $50 million.
Her books make up a huge chunk of her culinary-related revenue.
She also has a huge following of loyal fans with over 3 million followers on Instagram alone!
#8 David Chang
David Chang comes in 8th on our list but, make no mistake, he has a special space in the culinary world.
He’s got the formal qualifications to back his success as a chef with education at New York’s International Culinary Center.
From there, he would chef at luxurious dining establishments.
Gathering all of this experience, David would later open his restaurant – codename Momofuku.
His career would skyrocket and would launch him to the biggest cooking TV shows including MasterChef Australia, Treme, and Netflix’s Ugly Delicious!
How about that for a stepwise growth of a career, huh?
Well, he has $60 million to show for it.
#7 Emeril Lagasse
Tying with David Chang at the $60-million mark is the fun and enthusiastic Emeril Lagasse!
Emeril’s cooking process leaves you with a smile and so it’s no wonder that he’s as successful as he is.
He gives the people what they want!
Emeril became Executive Chef at the Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.
That was a stepping stone to an incredible journey as a chef seeing as he’s now Executive chef at over 10 more top-level restaurants across the United States!
He’s featured in multiple shows and released several successful cookbooks.
NASA once selected some of his dishes to be added to the menu at the International Space Station – Yes, in space!
#6 Rachel Ray
Rachel Ray is, simply put, an exceptional chef and maybe more impressively, an out-of-the-box thinking businessperson.
At a time when chefs were gaining the recognition they’d long-deserved, Rachel thought of a way to stand out, an area whose potential hadn’t been tapped into.
So she came up with the idea of “30-minute meals”.
While other chefs made the fanciest of meals which took half the day to make.
I’m not saying anything wrong with that – but Rachel gave us delicious healthy meals in half of half of half of half of the time.
It didn’t take long for her to then warm her way into my heart and the hearts of many others.
She has a magazine known as the Rachel Ray Mag, and combined with her other streams, earned her a net worth of $77 million!
#5 Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller might have had the dream childhood of any chef – growing up in the kitchen of his Mama’s restaurant.
With time, Master Chef Roland Benin would take him under his wings and show him the ropes of making delicacies that shook the world.
Thomas, wasting no time, established his first restaurant in New York – he named it Rakel.
The French Laundry, another establishment of it was located in California and soon enough, Thomas had his three Michelin Stars and a James Beard award.
They say, “the rest is history” but Thomas remains relevant to this day with his line of kitchenware products, cookbooks, and yeah, being a consultant at Disney Pixar’s Ratatouille!
Mr. Thomas Keller has a net worth of $80 million and is one of the highest-paid chefs in 2021.
#4 Wolfgang Puck
69-year-old Wolfgang Puck comes in next! This man has a chef career that doesn’t slow down.
You’d probably heard about him, seeing as he’s partnered with hundreds of restaurants around the planet!
He’s the owner of a long list of successful retail lines and culinary services and he looks made for TV.
Yes, I know that because I’ve seen him on The Simpsons, CSI, and Frasier.
A less-known fact is that Wolfgang Puck is the executive chef to the biggest Movie Awards show – The Oscars!
His uniquely creative dishes and friendship with Hollywood have earned him a net worth of $82 million.
#3 Gordon Ramsay
It’s easy to assume Gordon Ramsay would hold the top spot seeing as he’s arguably the most famous chef in the world today!
He has an Instagram following of over 12 million followers, and successful TV shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares.
Talk about creative titles, huh?
He’s made other appearances on-screen in New Girl, Extras, and The Simpsons.
As of 2021, Gordon Ramsay has a net worth of about $190 million, a value that’s likely to skyrocket soon seeing as he’s still being paid so much by his businesses and shows!
#2 Nobu Matsuhisa
Ever heard of Nobu?
You should have!
Drake mentioned it in his Behind Barz freestyle not too long ago.
Well, Nobu is a restaurant co-owned by Nobu Matsuhisa.
That’s not all, famous actor Robert De Niro is his business partner!
That in itself should say much about the global success of this restaurant.
But that would be unfair to say as Mr. Matsuhisa’s dishes and cooking style have been the driving force of Nobu for years.
Matsuhisa has a net worth of $200 million, several cookbooks, and some other investments in hotels with his longtime partner, De Niro!
#1 Jamie Oliver
Anyone with a keen eye on the culinary space would have guessed that Jamie Oliver would make the list.
And why not?
He’s easily a charming person who adds personality to his cooking.
He has a huge Instagram following of 8.6 million followers, second only to Gordon Ramsay.
He established himself by prioritizing healthy eating for kids and working with public schools to cement his ideas.
From being a pastry chef at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street restaurant to the sous-chef in Fulham, Jamie had all the experience he could need to make it big.
His partnership with the BBC would boost his career to a point where he would amass a wealth of $372 million!
In 2003, Jamie Oliver was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire, the third-highest Order of the British Empire award.
He is the only person on this list to have achieved such a feat!
Conclusion
There is a name that should normally make this list if not for some unresolved issues. Yeah, you guessed it – Alan Wong!
There are inconsistencies in his net worth valuation with many believing that he’s being mistaken for tech billionaire, Allan Wong.
As you must know, this blog is only home to verified, accurate information and so I can’t risk putting out information that’s that shaky.
