Who Is Criss Angel?
Criss Angel is a renowned magician, illusionist, and actor with a net worth of USD $50 million. Criss Angel was conceived on December 19, 1967, as Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos in Long Island, New York. He comes from a Greek family that runs a restaurant and a doughnut shop.
He was introduced to magic for the first time when he was 7 years old by his Aunt Stella when he learned a very basic card trick. It began to develop an interest in him and soon snowballed when he became bigger.
When Criss attended East Meadow High School and during school hours, he did magic at restaurants and restaurants. After graduation, he has resolved to have a career that entails doing magic.
Criss Angel has two brothers, Costa and J.D., who along with them founded the BELIEVE Charitable Foundation in 2007 as a tribute to their deceased father who died somewhere in 1998. The charity is primarily for the sake of children, particularly those which are suffering from severe illnesses.
He was twice married, initially to his long-term girlfriend, JoAnn Winkhart, and subsequently to Sandra Gonzalez. Prior to his relationship with Gonzalez, he was in a relationship with Holly Madison, a famous Playboy Playmate, for nearly a year.
Apart from being an excellent magician, Criss Angel is also a musician, stuntman, illusionist, actor, and a hypnotist.
Earnings and Net Worth
Today, Criss Angel is estimated to be worth USD $50 million. You might be thinking how it got there. Although he earned most of his wealth from his magic shows, Criss Angel also had several projects that added to his net worth. Therefore, let’s see where the money came from.
Criss Angel Mindfreak
He was the star and producer of A&E Network’s Criss Angel Mindfreak. It is an illusion show that was aired on several television networks. It was first aired last July 20, 2005, and had 96 episodes until 5 years later, 2010. The initial two seasons were produced at The Aladdin, which is in Las Vegas, while the third season was produced in Luxos, Las Vegas. The series had an IMDB score of 6.0.
Due to his magic performances, Criss Angel obtained several world records and was titled the “Magician of the Century” in 2010 and “Magician of the Decade” in 2009. The two awards were presented by the International Magicians’ Society.
Earnings From Other Projects
Apart from his career as a magic performer, Criss Angel made numerous special guest appearances on television shows. Some of these include The Oprah Winfrey Show, WWE RAW, CSI:NY, The Late Show With Craig Ferguson, The Megan Mullally Show, Larry King Live, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Criss Angel also judged at some times, adding to his already million-dollar net worth. Together with Uri Geller, he judged for the Phenomenon Show in 2007.
Stage Show Earnings
As a performing act in Luxor, Criss Angel became an alliance member of Cirque du Soleil to stage “Criss Angel Believe” as a live act. Last October 31, 2008, is when the said act opened with very much mixed critics. There were many reviewers that viewed the play as being one of Cirque de Soleil Vegas productions with the least entertaining performance.
Even having negative reviews, over USD $5 million of tickets were sold several months before the show. “Believe” is scheduled to have 4,600 performances for more than a 10-year run in the Luxor theater.
The concept of “Believe” was inspired by Harry Houdini. After his death, the show received fundings worth USD $ 100 million from the American Global Hospitality and MGM Mirage, an entertainment company.
Also, Criss Angel earned very well from different live performances, like “Mindfreak Live!,” “Criss Angel Magicjam,” and “The Supernaturalists.” In “The Supernaturalists,” he was a creator, executive producer, and director of this program. Artists are Krystyn Lambert, magician, and London Swank, illusionist.
Music Earnings
Criss Angel is a multi-talentist so it is not surprising that he is also interested in music. In the late 1990s, he was the lead singer of “Angeldust,” a heavy metal band. The discs that the group has released are Musical Conjurings From the World of Illusion (1998), System 1 in Trilogy (2000), System 2 in Trilogy (2000), System 3 in Trilogy (2000), Mindfreak (2002), Supernatural (2003), and Mindfreak the Official Soundtrack (2006).
Book Earnings
Criss Angel is also a renowned writer. He authored the book, “Mindfreak: Secret Revelations” published in 2007 by Harper Entertainment. The book discusses one of his most frightening performances ever. He was attached to four fish hooks and was lifted through a helicopter over 1,000 ft. above the ground. It also discusses his childhood and how we became fascinated with magic.
The book also emphasizes other of his performances, like “Submerged,” which he performed in 2002 and was sealed in the water for a day, and “Burned Alive,” when he was stuck in a barrel. Besides magic, he also discusses his other interests, like motorcycle riding, music-making, and martial arts.
The book contains inspirational quotes from his mother, Dimitra, two brothers, Costa and JD, his cousin George, and so many others. In short, the book is all about a man who possesses will power, persistence, strong work ethic, and relentlessness. He highlights how family matters and how they contributed to all his successes. The book is now available at $14.28 for paperback, $18.00 for hardcover, and $7.99 for Kindle on Amazon.
Criss Angel definitely earned a vast amount of money from his magic performances. His skills as a magician and illusionist definitely paid him back. However, these are not the only ways that led his net worth to USD $ 50 million. He is also an actor, director, producer, musician, judge, author, and many more! To add icing to the cake, Criss Angel is diligent, persistent, and has a high level of commitment, all of which enabled him to reach where he is now.
