What is Felix Baumgartner’s Net Worth?
Felix Baumgartner is an Austrian daredevil who has a net worth of $5 million. Felix Baumgartner, or “Fearless Felix,” is best known for his jump to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere on October 14, 2012.
Early Life
Born in 1969 to his mother Eva in Salzburg, Austria, Felix Baumgartner has said he’d dreamed about being a daredevil and going skydiving since he was a child. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping and training to land on small target zones. This helped hone his skills for what would be a record-breaking life to come.
In 1999, Felix claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he leapt from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And in 2003, he became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a custom-made carbon fiber wing. Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, jumping 95 feet from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. He also was the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France in 2004. In December of 2007, Felix Baumgartner became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck of the (at the time) tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
Red Bull Stratos
In 2010, Felix Baumgartner teamed up with scientists and his sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest skydive on record, using a helium balloon. The first test jump had him jumping 71,581 feet where he reached speeds of more than 360 mph. It lasted eight minutes and eight seconds, and Baumgartner became the third person ever to safely parachute from a height over 13.5 miles. The second test jump took place at 96,640 feet. It took 90 minutes to reach the target altitude but only three minutes and 48 seconds before parachutes were deployed during free fall.
The original main jump launch date of October 9, 2012, was scrubbed due to adverse weather conditions. But on October 14, Felix Baumgartner jumped from a capsule hoisted in the stratosphere by a helium balloon and landed in eastern New Mexico after a 127,852-ft free fall, falling a record distance of 119,431 feet and parachuting the final 8,421 feet. He became the first person to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle reaching speeds of 844 mph, or Mach 1.25.
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Awards & Accolades
In 2012, Felix Baumgartner won the Bambi award in the category of “Millennium” for excellence in international media and television. Later that year, he was named one of “The Men of the Year 2012” by “Top Gear” magazine. Baumgartner was named the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year and received the Mankind Award at the Spike Guys’ Choice Awards in 2013. “Flying” magazine ranked him No. 46 on their 2013 list of “51 Heroes of Aviation,” the youngest living person on the list.
Personal Life & Controversy
Felix Baumgartner once dated German Playboy playmate of the century Gitta Saxx. He later was engaged to model and former beauty queen Nicole Öttl, but they split in 2013. Since 2014, he has been involved in a relationship with Romanian television presenter Mihaela Rădulescu.
Baumgartner has found himself in the middle of controversy a few times over the years, several of them stemming from political comments and views. After stating he would opt for a moderate dictatorship over a democracy, he backtracked saying he didn’t want to get involved in politics. In 2016, Felix posted critical remarks against refugees and later endorsed right-wing presidential candidate Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party of Austria. He then deleted his Facebook page with 1.5 million fans claiming he’d become too uncomfortable for political elites. Felix Baumgartner was also once convicted of battery and fined $1,500 after slapping a Greek truck driver in the face after an argument.