What is Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano's net worth? Ex-gangster swapped mafia life for social media
Be it 'The Godfather' or 'The Sopranos', movies and series about the mafia always seem to draw attention -- something about the way these families function has gone on the become a genre of media that is widely enjoyed. But for some people, it's a literal way of life, seeing that they are caught in the fray. Something similar happened to Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano who had his whole life mapped out.
The cast of 'Families of The Mafia' tells the story of these people. To make reforms and change their way of life, these families try to walk a straight path, but it's never that easy. If you're looking for similar stories, you might want to check out 'Cold Justice: A Touch Of Evidence', 'Private Network: Who Killed Manuel Buendía?', 'Elize Matsunaga' and 'Sophie: A Murder in West Cork'.
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'Families of the Mafia': Release date, how to watch, cast, trailer of MTV reality show
'Families of The Mafia' Full Cast List: Meet Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano and other stars of MTV show
Who is Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano?
Born March 12, 1945, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano was Giorlando 'Gerry' and Caterina 'Kay' Gravano's son, youngest of their three children. His parents were from Sicily -- his mother came to the USA as a child while his father was the crew of a freighter who entered the US illegally.
Giorlando ran a dress factory and the family lived well. A gangster and the underboss of the Gambino crime family, Gravano is known to have helped prosecute John Gotti, the boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gravano testified as a government witness against Gotti, in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in 19 murders. He was a part of the group that planned to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985. Along with Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone, he played a vital role in carrying out the crime.
However, when Gravano agreed to became a government witness, he became the highest-ranking member of the Five Families to break his blood oath by helping the government. He decided to testify against Gotti after hearing him make several remarks about him via wiretap that would implicate them both in several murders.
Gravano's testimonies resulted in Gotti and Frank Locascio getting life sentences, while Gravano was to serve only five years in prison. And, since he had already served four years, his sentence at the time was reduced to less than a year. However, following this, he was arrested on federal and state drug charges and sentenced to twenty years in prison. He was released early in September 2017.
In a conversation with Fox 10, he mentioned that he believes in God and but also believes in doing things his own way. "I think I'll be judged very good. God makes all of us.. I think I'm gonna be able to talk back and I'm gonna say you made me, you had to know that there's lions and deer. I'm a lion. There's no question about it, but why didn't you kill me early in life? You did it your way. You gave me free will, you had to know who I am," he said.
"God knows, you may be at the back of the line. Now if meaning at the back of the line is you go this way instead of this way and if down here is strip clubs, gambling and drinking and all kinds of [expletive], I'm gonna say, woah, hold that bus, I'm gonna go with that freak. I'm gonna go down there," he explained.
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Sammy the Bull's net worth
Celebrity Net Worth reports Gravano's net worth to be $2 million. Although not much is known about his assets, fans did get a glimpse of his Arizona mansion. It's clear as day that the former underboss has it all planned out!
Cinemaholic.com states Gravano entered into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola, and it earned him the reputation of a “good earner” within the Gambino crime family. This reputation of his enabled him to become a multi-millionaire. He invested this money to buy real-estate for him and his family. With the help of this money, Gravano also became the operator of a disco club called The Plaza Suite, from where the earnings were $4,000 a week. He additionally used this club as his construction racket headquarters.
“The Bull” made quite a bit of his money from his book and interviews as well. In 1997, Gravano was consulted for 'Underboss', a biographical book of his written by Peter Maas. But the New York State took legal action to seize Gravano’s profits from the book. His interviews with various publications like The Arizona Republic have also helped him in earning money after he helped the FBI bring down John Gotti.
He's also gotten creative with his new sources of income, seeing that he now sells merchandise, has a Patreon, TikTok, a podcast and a YouTube channel as well. Gravano is now available on Facebook and Instagram. His lengthy YouTube interview has garnered over 8.4 million views ... and counting.
Season 2 of 'Families of The Mafia' premieres on MTV on July 15, at 9 pm ET.
