Ron Popeil Net Worth

Publish date: 2024-05-07

Ronald M. Popeil net worth is
$100 Million

Ronald M. Popeil Wiki Biography

Ronald M. Popeil was born on the 3rd May 1935, in New York City USA, and is an inventor, marketing expert and salesman, probably best known as the pioneer of the TV sales pitch with his direct response marketing and production company – Ronco. Ron is also widely known for his “But wait!” catchphrase.

Have you ever wondered how much wealth this iconic TV salesman has accumulated over the years? How rich Ron Popeil is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total size of Ron “But wait!” Popeil’s net worth as of mid-2016 is $100 million, which includes Rancho Quinta Ladera, 150-acre ranch in Santa Barbara, California which is now released for sale at just under $5 million.

Ron Popeil Net Worth $100 Million

Ron Popeil was born the younger of two sons of Julia and Samuel J. Popeil, a kitchen gadget inventor. After the divorce of Ron’s parents when he was just three years old, alongside his brother, he moved to a grandparent’s home in Florida, but later transferred to Chicago and remained with his father.

It is no wonder that Ron Popeil has managed to become a successful inventor and salesman – his father is the inventor of Chop-O-Matic and Veg-O-Matic kitchen gadgets, and the founder of the Chicago-based manufacturing company, Popeil Brothers. Ron Popeil showed interest in sales first while he was still a teenager, when he started selling various kitchen-related products on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famous flea market – he was purchasing products at wholesale from his father, and reselling them on the street. These early efforts provided the basis for Ron’s now quite impressive net worth.

Subsequently, Ron started working as an independent contractor at Woolworth’s flagship store, where he demonstrated and sold his father’s products at which he was, apparently, very successful – quickly he started earning $1000 weekly. During the summer seasons, Ron circuited around fairs all over the country, constantly increasing his net worth.

In 1964, Ron Popeil founded his own company, Ron’s Company or Ronco. Although in the beginning he was selling only Samuel Popeil’s kitchen products, he expanded business rapidly and soon started selling products from other manufacturers. As he already had significant sales experience, Ron spotted the flaws of in-person way of selling kitchen gadgets, and decided to change that by making a revolution in advertising with his TV commercials – working without a script and performing live, by heart, and by the beginning of the 1970s, Ron was selling exclusively on television. Some of the first products which he presented include Ronco Spray Gun and Chop-O-Matic. It’s certain that these engagements have massively helped Ron Popeil to significantly increase his wealth.

Although the company was doing well with millions in profits, in the late 1980s the bank called in all of the company’s notes and seized all the company’s assets. However, Ron Popeil reached into his personal funds, and bought his own company back for $2 million. Ron subsequently went back into television marketing with his new product, an Electric Food Dehydrator. Doubtlessly, it has helped Ron Popeil to increase even more the total amount of his fortune.

The catchphrase “But wait! There’s more” made him a pop-icon of the 1970s. The Self Magazine listed Ron Popeil among “the 25 people who changed the way we eat”. Ron Popeil has made a notable impact on pop culture as he, or his products, have appeared in a huge variety of popular media projects such as “The X-Files”, “The Simpsons”, “Futurama” and “Sex and the City”. He has been referenced even in music, by Alice Cooper, Weird Al Yankovic and the Beastie Boys. In 2005, he sold Ronco for $55 million, but has remained the chairman of the invention department, and a sales consultant.

Ron Popeil served as a member of the board of directors of Mirage Resorts for 22 years, and is currently serving as well as a member of the University of California Los Angeles’ business advisory board.

When it comes to his personal life, since 2006, Ron Popeil resides in Beverly Hills, California with his wife Robin(m. 1995) and their two daughters. From his previous marriages, Ron also has three more daughters, two with Marilyn Greene and one from his marriage with Lisa Boehne.


Full NameRon Popeil
Net Worth$100 Million
Date Of BirthMay 3, 1935
Place Of BirthNew York City, New York, USA
ProfessionInventor, Marketing personality, TV salesman, Businessman
EducationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
NationalityAmerican
SpouseMarilyn Greene (1956-1963), Lisa Boehne, Robin Popeil (m. 1995-)
ChildrenLauren Popeil, Shannon Popeil, Pamela Popeil, Valentina Popeil
ParentsJulia and Samuel J. Popeil
SiblingsLisa Popeil, Jerome Popeil, Jerry Popeil, Pamela Popeil
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/Ron-Popeil-Fan-Page-148215828574244
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/ronpopeil
IMDBwww.imdb.com/name/nm1528334
AwardsIg Nobel Prize in Consumer Engineering (1993), Electronic Retail Association's Lifetime Achievement award (2013), Direct Response Hall of Fame
TV Shows“The X-Files”, “The Simpsons”, “Futurama”, “Sex and the City”
#Quote
1But wait! There's more!
2Now, how much would you pay?
3I'm an inventor first and a marketer second. Other people in our business take the spaghetti approach. They throw a lot of stuff against the wall and hope something sticks. The failure rate is dependent solely on what you're throwing up against the wall. I don't operate that way. I'm willing to make a serious investment in an idea and take two to two and one-half years of my life to create it, to get behind it and understand it and take it to the marketplace.
#Fact
1A likeness of his head appears in Futurama: A Big Piece of Garbage (1999) as the inventor of the technology to keep disembodied heads alive.
2Co-host, with Nancy, of an infomercial for the "Ronco Food Dehydrator". [2008]
3Co-host, with Steve Bryant, of an infomercial for the "Showtime Rotisserie". [2006]
4Co-host, with 'Steve Bryant' of an infomercial for the "Showtime Knives". Also appearing are his daughters Shannon Popeil and Lauren Popeil, and his cousin Arnold. [2006]
5Co-host, with Jill Whelan, of an infomercial for the "RONCO rotisserie". [2002]
6Co-host, with Nancy, of an infomercial for the "Ronco Electric Pasta Maker". [2008]
7Release of his book, "The Salesman of the Century: Inventing, Marketing and Selling on TV: How I Did It and How You Can Too!" by Ron with Jefferson Graham. [1995]
8Co-host, with Nancy, of an infomercial for "GHL" (Great Looking Hair). [2008]
9Grandson of Mary Popeil.
10Son of Sam Popeil, who is also an inventor.
11Younger brother of Jerry Popiel, by one year, and Lisa Popeil.
12Has daughters named Shannon Popeil, Pamela Popeil, Contessa Popeil, Valentina Popeil and Lauren Popeil.
13Cousin of Ashley Tisdale and Jennifer Tisdale.
14"Ronco", the company he sold in 2005, has filed for bankruptcy protection [June 15, 2007].
15Satirist 'Weird Al' Yankovic, had a song about the infomercial king on his 1984 album, "In 3-D". The song is called "Mr. Popeil" and it mentions many of the more memorable Ronco products (the Vegematic, the Pocket Fisherman, etc.) as well as unrelated infomercial gadgetry
16In every one of his commercials he uses the line: "But wait! There's more!"
17Inventor and TV pitch-man of various gadgets. Since the relaxation of advertising restrictions on US television, he has become a fixture on "infomercial" paid programming.
18Coined the phrase "cordless electric" to make an item seem more sophisticated than "battery operated".

Actor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Futurama1999TV SeriesRon Popeil's head

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
As Seen on TV2009TV Movie documentaryHimself - Infomercial Pitchman
Iron Chef USA: Showdown in Las Vegas2001TV Special documentaryHimself - Judge
The Weird Al Show1997TV SeriesHimself
Late Night with Conan O'Brien1994-1995TV SeriesHimself
Biography1987TV Series documentaryHimself
Late Night with David Letterman1982TV SeriesHimself

Archive Footage

Known for movies


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