Michael Chow Net Worth - Pulptastic
Jessica Cortez
What is Michael Chow’s Net Worth?
Michael Chow, a Chinese-American actor, interior designer, and restaurateur, boasts a net worth of $300 million.
He is renowned for establishing the high-end Mr Chow restaurant chain, which originated in London, England, in 1968. The chain now has several locations, including three restaurants in London, and numerous establishments in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Beverly Hills.
Mr Chow has also acted in several notable films, such as “The Savage Innocents,” “Joanna,” “Hammett,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” and all three films of the “Rush Hour” series.
Early Life and Education
Michael Chow was born in Shanghai in 1939 to a family with a rich artistic and business background. His father was a famous Peking Opera actor, and his mother was from a wealthy tea dynasty. At the age of 12, Chow was sent to a boarding school in the UK, where he later attended Saint Martin’s School of Art and the Hammersmith School of Building and Architecture.
Chow’s sister Tsai Chin is also an accomplished actress, singer, and director.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
Michael Chow’s first venture into entrepreneurship was the London hair salon Smith and Hawes, which he co-founded with Robin Sutherland. The business was later sold to renowned hairdresser Leonard of Grosvenor Square and renamed Leonard and Twiggy.
Mr Chow: Michael Chow’s Most Successful Business
Mr Chow, an upscale restaurant serving Pekinese Chinese cuisine, was founded by Michael Chow in 1968 in the Knightsbridge district of London. The restaurant quickly became popular among famous diners such as Frank Sinatra, Federico Fellini, and the Beatles. To create a ritzy atmosphere, Chow displayed artwork by renowned artists such as David Hockney, Allen Jones, and Peter Blake.
In 1974, Mr Chow opened its first location outside of London in Beverly Hills, California, where it was frequented by stars like Jack Nicholson, Billy Wilder, and Anjelica Huston. The restaurant continued to attract famous diners when it opened another location in Manhattan in 1978, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Madonna. Mr Chow expanded to multiple locations, including Miami Beach, Florida; Malibu, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chow Yun-fat’s Film Career
Chow Yun-fat made his film acting debut in 1958 in “Violent Playground” and went on to appear in several historical action films, including “Marco Polo” and “55 Days at Peking.” He took a decade-long break before returning to the big screen in 1978 with a role in “Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?” and later appeared in Wim Wenders’ “Hammett.” Chow’s most notable roles include the buddy action films “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Rush Hour,” “Rush Hour 2,” and “Rush Hour 3” and the tearjerker “My Sister’s Keeper.”
Real Estate and Design
In 1991, Michael and his wife Eva purchased a property on South Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills for $3.5 million, which they transformed into a 30,000 square foot mansion modeled after the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. In October 2018, they listed the house for sale for $78 million. Michael Chow has also had a prolific career in painting and architecture, designing all of his own restaurants and the Giorgio Armani stores in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, as well as his own home in Los Angeles.
Art Collection
Michael Chow and his wife Eva are also known for their impressive contemporary art and furniture collection, which includes works from renowned artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Chow is also a major collector of contemporary art and furniture, and has had numerous gallery shows in London as well as solo exhibitions in Hong Kong and Beijing in the 2010s.
Michael Chow’s Marriages and Children
Chow married Grace Coddington, a Welsh model and Vogue magazine creative director, in 1968, but they divorced the following year. In 1972, he wed jewelry designer and model Tina Lutz, with whom he had a daughter named China and a son named Maximilian. The couple later divorced in 1989. In 1992, Chow married Eva Chun, with whom he had a child named Asia before eventually divorcing in 2017. Two years later, he wed Vanessa Rano, and the couple has two children named Phoenix and Skye.