The restaurant business can be tough, but those at the top definitely pull in a significant amount of cash! Hard work, persistence, star power, and of course, a passion for excellence is one thing that all three top earners have in common. With multiple restaurants and cookbook endorsements, as well as TV shows and licensed food ware, the sky the limit in terms of earnings for these chefs who made their name their brand and then drove that brand to great success:
1. Wolfgang Puck's estimated net worth is $400 million. An Australian native, Wolfgang worked as an apprentice in Paris before emigrating to the United States. His first restaurant was Ma Maison in Los Angeles.
2. Jamie Oliver is worth around $150 million total. He started out at Antonio Carlucci's Neal's Yard Restaurant, where he was mentored by Gennaro Contaldo. He was spotted by the BBC several years later, which launched his show, "The Naked Chef," a well as his status as a celebrity.
3. Gordon Ramsay got an accidental start to the culinary world. He opened Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in 1998. In 2001, the restaurant was the first owned by a person of Scottish descent to earn three Michelin stars. He is estimated to be worth $118 million.
