Mr T’s net worth revealed – how the ’80s star lost his fortune

After leaving the military as a young man, Mr T made a name for himself as a bodyguard to the stars, charging anywhere between $3,000 to $10,000 a day to protect the likes of Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.

He then appeared on a reality competition show, where he was spotted by Sylvester Stallone and given the starring role in Rocky III, which launched his Hollywood career. 

In his role in The A-Team, Mr T was reportedly earning up to $80,000 per week, and he followed this up with a starring role in the Canadian TV show T and T from 1988 to 1990.

Despite appearing in ’90s films like Freaked, The Terrible Thunderlizards, Spy Hard and Inspector Gadget, work dried up for Mr T, leading to a loss of income. This was exacerbated by a cancer diagnosis in 1995, which he fought for six years before entering remission.

He was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, and shared his reaction with Coping at the time. “Can you imagine that? Cancer with my name on it – personalized cancer!” he said.

“My fame couldn’t save me. My gold, my money, couldn’t stop cancer from appearing on my body. If they can’t save me, then I don’t need them.” 

He added that he had sold his famous gold chains due to financial strain. “I’m probably broke. I’ve probably got $200 in the bank. I gave [my jewelry] to my family for them to sell, make money, whatever they want to do. Material stuff…You can only take it to the grave, not past the grave,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

Even after he was declared cancer-free, Mr T decided to scale back on his flamboyant jewelry, due to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. 

“As a Christian, when I saw other people lose their lives and lose their land and property…I felt that it would be a sin before God for me to continue wearing my gold. I felt it would be insensitive and disrespectful to the people who lost everything, so I stopped wearing my gold,” he told Sky News.

Mr T bounced back from financial crisis thanks to a series of endorsement deals with brands like Snickers, Fuze Ice Tea, World of Warcraft and Skechers, and reportedly has a net worth of $1 million.