Masaharu Morimoto was born on the 26th May 1955, in Hiroshima, Japan, and is a chef as well as TV personality and restaurateur, who is best known for his appearance in “Iron Chef”, the reality TV show. He is also widely recognized for his unique-looking dishes, and a chain of restaurants across the globe.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth this Japanese Iron Chef has accumulated so far? How rich Masaharu Morimoto is? According to sources, it is estimated that the total of Masaharu Morimoto’s net worth, as of mid-2017, exceeds the sum of $18 million, acquired through his television cooking career which began in 1999, as well as through his business endeavors and Morimoto restaurants chain.
Masaharu Morimoto Net Worth $18 Million
Masaharu attended Tamagawa University where he received practical training in cooking, thoroughly studying traditional Kaiseki cuisine as well as sushi in his home town of Hiroshima. At the age of 25, in 1980 Masaharu opened his first restaurant, and spent the next five years further honing his cooking skills. However, in 1985, deeply interested in Western cooking styles, Morimoto sold his Hiroshima restaurant and moved to the States, traveling around and experimenting with fusion cuisine in order to enrich his culinary repertoire. Finally he settled in New York City, where he began working for the Sony Club, Sony Corporation’s VIP and executive stuff dining area. This venture provided the basis for Masaharu Morimoto’s net worth.
In the mid 1990s, Masaharu became the executive chef of NY City’s prestigious Japanese restaurant – Nobu. In 1999 he began his on-camera cooking career as one of the contestants in the Japanese reality TV show “Iron Chef”. Soon after ending his run on the show, he left Nobu and in 2001 opened his first restaurant in the states – simply named Morimoto – based in Philadelphia. These achievements helped Masaharu Morimoto to establish himself as a prominent chef in the demanding restaurant business, and also to add a significant sum to the total of his revenues.
In 2004, Morimoto debuted in ABC TV ‘s reality cooking show “Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters”, and since then has made almost 70 appearances in “Iron Chef America: The Series”. His on-camera portfolio includes appearances in several other cooking shows, such as “Food Network Star”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Top Chef” and “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”, but which also includes cameo appearances in TV series such as “Hawaii Five-o”, “The Chew” as well as “The View”. Doubtlessly, all these appearances have helped Masaharu Morimoto to boost the level of his fame which resulted in increments to his net worth.
In 2006, Masaharu opened his flagship restaurant – Morimoto New York – which was followed by expanding his business empire by adding additional restaurants to his Morimoto chain, including locations such as Bangkok, Maui, Mexico City and Las Vegas. He also owns Morimoto Asia in Orlando, Morimoto XEX located in Tokyo, as well as Momosan Ramen & Sake in NY City. The newest additions to his prosperous restaurant realm are in Morimoto Dubai and Morimoto Doha, as well as a concept restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii, all opened in 2017. It is certain that all these endeavors have helped Masaharu Morimoto to dramatically increase the total of his net worth.
Apart from those already mentioned, Morimoto has published several cookbooks, including “Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking” and “Mastering The Art of Japanese Home Cooking”. He also owns signature lines of beers, premium sakes as well as wines, seed oils and knives, all positively impacting his wealth.
When it comes to his personal life, Masaharu Morimoto has been married since 1978 to Kaiko with whom he has welcomed three children. For his skills and great contribution to cooking and cuisine in general, Masaharu was honored with the James Bearded Award, and has been inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame.
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