Clive Cussler was born on the 15th July 1931, in Aurora, Illinois USA, and is an author and underwater explorer, best known for his thriller novels around the main character, Dirk Pitt. Cussler’s books are multiple best-sellers, and he also owns the National Underwater and Marine Agency which discovered more than 60 shipwrecks. His career started in 1973.
Have you ever wondered how rich Clive Cussler is as of late 2016? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Clive Cussler’s net worth is as high as $80 million, an amount earned through his successful career as a writer. In addition to having written over 70 books, some of his stories have made it to film, and all improved his wealth considerably.
Clive Cussler Net Worth $80 Million
Clive Cussler is a son of Amy, who is of English descent, and Eric Cussler, who is of German ancestry. He grew up in California and went to Pasadena City College for two years before joining the US Air Force during the Korean War, making Sergeant. After the war, he worked in the advertising industry, initially as a copywriter and later as a creative director.
In 1973, Cussler published his debut book “The Mediterranean Caper”, with Dirk Pitt as a protagonist of the story. Pitt would continue to be Cussler’s main character in the years to come. By the end of the ‘70s, Clive had written “Iceberg” (1975), “Raise the Titanic!” (1976), and “Vixen 03” (1978), with “Raise the Titanic!” made into a film in 1980 starring Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, and Alec Guinness.
In the ‘80s, Cussler released five more books based on Dirk Pitt’s adventures: “Night Probe!” (1981), “ Pacific Vortex!”, “Deep Six” (1984), “Cyclops”, and “Treasure” (1988). The success of his books in the ‘70s and ‘80s helped Cussler to increase his net worth significantly. He continued to write, and published “Dragon” (1990) and “Sahara” (1992), with the latter a movie adaptation in 2005 starring Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz, and Steve Zahn. By the end of the ‘90s, Clive had released “Inca Gold” (1994), “Shock Wave” (1996), “Flood Tide” (1997), and “Atlantis Found” (1999), followed by another nine Dirk Pitt’s books in the new century, including “Valhalla Rising” (2001), “Trojan Odyssey” (2003), “Treasure of Khan” (2006), “Poseidon’s Arrow” (2012), and most recently “Odessa Sea” (2016).
Cussler has also written a series of 13 books thus far about the adventures of Kurt Austin, a Team Leader of NUMA’s Special Assignments Division, including “Serpent” (1999), “Lost City” (2004), “Medusa” (2009), and “Devil’s Gate” (2011), while the next one “Nighthawk” will be released in 2017. The prolific Cussler has produced three more series of books: “The Oregon Files” (11 books from 2003 to date), “Isaac Bell Adventures” (ten books from 2007 to date), and “Fargo Adventures” (eight books from 2007 to date). His net worth has risen steadily.
Aside from these series, Clive has worked on non-fiction and children’s books, including “The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks” (1996), “The Sea Hunters II” (2002), “The Adventures of Vin Fiz” (2006), and “The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy” (2010).
Regarding his personal life, Clive Cussler was married to Barbara Knight from 1955 until her death in 2003, and they had three children together.
