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What is Joey Chestnut's net worth? Eating champ wolfs down 63 HOT DOGS and 1 protester at July 4 contest

JOEY Chestnut rose to fame in 2007 after he dethroned six-time defending champ, Takeru Kobayashi, at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

American competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, who resides in Westfield, Indiana, devoured his way to the 15th win on Monday, July 4 at the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest, powering down 63 hot dogs and buns at the annual exhibition of excess. Chestnut has won the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual Independence Day tradition on Coney Island 14 times and has only lost once in 2015. The 38-year-old is currently ranked first in the world by Major League Eating - an organization that organizes professional competitive eating events and television specials.

Chestnut's first Nathan's Hot Dog Eating championship came in 2007 when he beat six-time defending champ Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi. At the time, Chestnut consumed a record-breaking 66 hot dogs and buns. In July 2009, he set a new world record by downing 68 hot dogs and went on to break his record again in 2013 after consuming 69. In 2020, Chestnut again broke his own contest record by consuming 75 hot dogs. This year, despite having a leg injury Chestnut beat his competitors and took home the title of the Fourth of July Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. 

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"It's beautiful to be back here" in front of a throng of spectators, Chestnut told ESPN after his feat, which the 38-year-old managed while wearing a surgical boot because of a leg injury. "It hurts, but I was in the zone for a little bit. I was ignoring it," said Chestnut, but the pain eventually slowed his pace in the 10-minute competition. Chestnut competed despite his suffering from a ruptured tendon in his right leg. Chestnut was also interrupted by protesters about halfway through the 10-minute test of ingestion endurance according to Fox News.

What is Joey Chestnut's net worth?

Chestnut, who is best known for being one of the most-successful competitive eaters in history, has a net worth of $2.5 million and an annual salary of up to $500 thousand according to Celebrity Networth. This number comes from his career earnings and other business ventures. Aside from competitive eating, Chestnut also has a line of condiments sold under his name "Joey Chestnut Eats". He sells mustard, dipping sauce, coney sauce, hot sauce, and more. The top prize for winning Nathan's is $10,000 and a top competitive eater can easily earn $250,000 – $500,000 per year from prize money and sponsorships.

Protestors during the competition

In the middle of the contest, protestors rushed to the stage. A protestor wearing a Darth Vader mask and holding a sign that read "Expose Smithfield Deathstar" pushed Chestnut aside in the heat of his digestion effort. However, the 38-year-old champ grabbed the man around the neck in order to pull him to the ground, and then he quickly returned to eating as authorities ushered the protesters off the stage, Fox News reported. "Joey was on a record pace. We should have witnessed history," charged first-time Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest attendee Frankie Capobianco of Boston, Mass. who otherwise reveled in what he called "the all-American spectacle" for the first time. "That guy totally messed with [Joey’s] momentum."

Three people were taken into custody and charges are pending, according to TMZ.

"When the barren hills and the cracked earth and the once-proud oceans drain to sand, there will still be a monument to our existence," emcee and Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest host George Shea said of the reigning champ. "This man represents all that is eternal in the human spirit", she added.