Calvin Richard Klein was born on 19 September 1942, in The Bronx, New York City USA into a Jewish family, with his father an immigrant from Hungary and his mother from Austria. Calvin Klein is known as a prominent fashion designer and a businessman, with his name prominent in many outlets around the world.
So just how rich is Calvin Klein? According to sources, Calvin’s net worth amounts to an impressive total of $700 million, which wealth he largely owes to the fashion house that he founded which is called “Calvin Klein Inc.”. Among his assets is an ocean-front estate in Southhampton, New York bought in 2003, which Calvin demolished and replaced with a $75 million glass-and-concrete mansion.
Calvin Klein Net Worth $700 Million
Calvin Klein attended the High School for Art and Design, and then attended, but never graduated from, New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology; however, he did receive an honorary Doctorate in 2003. Calvin Klein began his working life in 1962 as an apprentice for Dan Millstein, who was a traditional manufacturer of cloaks and suits. Calvin Klein then spent five years working as a designer in various shops in New York before launching his own company.“Calvin Klein Inc.”, which he founded in 1968 with a budget of $10,000, focusing primarily on selling coats and dresses aimed at the youth population. By the year 1971, Calvin Klein had expanded his sales and added classic blazers, sportswear and lingerie to his collection of women’s clothing.
Several years later Klein received a COTY American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1973 for his collection of womens wear that consisted of 74 pieces, making him the youngest recipient of the award at the time. Klein went on to win the award again in 1974 and 1975. By the year of 1977, his annual revenues reached $30 million, and as a result, increased Klein’s personal net worth to $4 million. That same year, Klein expanded the company’s products and added scarves, shoes, belts, and sunglasses and later signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, as well as menswear. “Calvin Klein Inc.” success came with the different outlook on men’s underwear. Instead of selling the usual white and boring underwear, Klein’s head of menswear design, John Varvatos ,created a hybrid of briefs and boxer shorts that were called “boxer briefs”. Greeted as “one of the greatest apparel revolutions of the century”, boxer briefs became even more famous due to various advertisements that featured Mark Wahlberg.
A year later, Calvin Klein was named “America’s Best Designer”, but then surprising news came in 1999 when it was announced that the “Calvin Klein Inc.” company was being sold. The company was finally sold in 2002 to “Philips Van Heusen Corp”, which is an American clothing company, for $400 million in cash, including $30 million in stock, as well as licensing rights and loyalties. It could be said that Calvin Klein came out of the deal unharmed as he managed to gain a substantial amount of money that added to his net worth. A year after the deal with “Phillips Van Heusen Corp”, Calvin Klein purchased the aforementioned estate in Southampton Village in Long Island, New York where he usually resides.
In addition to the awards that Klein has received for his intricate designs, Klein earned a place on the International Best Dressed List and was rewarded with Councils of Fashion Designs of America awards in 1981, 1983 and 1993. Calvin Klein has remained a truly inspirational figure in the fashion industry.
In his personal life, Calvin Klein has been married to Jayne Centre(1965-74) with whom he has a daughter. He was also married to Kelly Rector(1986-2006) although they separated in 1996. Calvin is known to be a supporter of the Democratic Party, to which he has donated considerable sums over the years.
