Dana White’s salary and net worth
Dana White is a business guy and sports promoter from the United States with a net worth of $500 million. Dana White is best known as the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), dedicated to mixed martial arts.
Dana owned 9% of UFC when sold to William Morris Endeavor (WME) in 2016. He previously sold most of his holdings to the Fertitta brothers (billionaire casino magnates). Dana’s 9% profit margin on the sale was approximately $360 million after taxes.
Childhood
Dana Frederick White Jr. was born in Manchester, Connecticut, on July 28, 1969. He is June and Dana White’s son. Their mother and grandparents primarily brought up Dana and his sister Kelly. He spent his adolescence traveling between Las Vegas and Maine.
While growing up, White was heavily active in sports, particularly boxing, and has been a lifetime admirer of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. In 1987, he graduated from Hermon High School in Maine.
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Career
White continued his education at the University of Massachusetts; however, he did not complete his studies. While he was there, he established a boxing program for inner-city, at-risk youth.
He also became an aerobics instructor during this period to supplement his income. He eventually migrated to Las Vegas full-time and founded Dana White Enterprises in 1992.
He began managing fighters Chuck Lidell and Tito Ortiz about this time. White began to broaden his horizons by branching out into other fighting forms, including Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai, eventually defining the UFC.
Fortunately for White, he grew up alongside Lorenzo Fertitta, a former high school classmate who had established himself as an executive at hotel and gambling giant Station Casinos.
The two reconnected at a mid-’90s wedding, connecting over their mutual passion for boxing and expressing their desire to work together in the future.
White became caught in a conflict with the UFC while managing fighters. He discovered that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent business of the UFC, was bankrupt. White approached his childhood buddy, Lorenzo Fertitta, about making an offer upon learning the news.
Lorenzo swiftly recognized the opportunity for profit and struck a deal to acquire the UFC. Additionally, Lorenzo invited his older brother Frank to join in on the fun.
The Fertitta brothers spent $2 million in 2001 for an 81 percent share in the UFC. They quickly installed White as President. Since acquiring the UFC, White and his staff have transformed the organization into an international sensation, once considered savage and illegal.
White has continued to serve as President of the company even after being sold. He has been instrumental in growing the sport’s appeal and transforming it into a multibillion-dollar company.
White was confirmed as the host of Dana White’s Contender Series by the UFC in May 2017. The event is only viewable on UFC Fight Pass, the company’s digital streaming service.
It includes up-and-coming competitors and allows them to exhibit their abilities in the hopes of one day making it to the UFC. On March 18, 2019, White announced that he had signed a new seven-year contract with ESPN to continue as UFC president.
Controversies
White used abusive and graphic words at writer Loretta Hunt in 2009 after she published an article about him that offended him. When alluding to the sources of her information, he used anti-gay slurs. GLAAD urged White and the UFC to apologize for the anti-gay slur, which White did.
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Private Life
Since 1996, White has been married to his wife, Anne. They met in eighth grade. Aidan and Dana III are the couple’s boys, while Savannah is the couple’s daughter. White desires to maintain a personal relationship with his family.
White claimed in May 2012 that he had been diagnosed with Ménière’s illness, a neurological disorder he alleges was triggered largely by a fight he was a part of as a kid.
White was an outspoken backer of Donald Trump throughout his initial presidential campaign, speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
White continued to lend his support to Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, speaking at rallies and in interviews to discuss how Trump was an early backer of the UFC, allowing one of the organization’s first large events to be staged at one of his properties.
In 2010, White contributed $50,000 to Tuptim Jadnooleum, the daughter of one of Tiger Muay Thai’s coaches. White donated $100,000 to his former high school in 2011 to help with improvements.