For bodybuilders, it's not always about talent, it's more about the work, effort, and consistency that's pumped into the sport before success can be achieved.

Among other bodybuilders who have shown real zeal and tenacity for the sport, we have Lou Ferrigno. This man, amidst all the odds he faced from his father and bullies in school as a child, has managed to find his passion and follow through with it.

Rising above all odds, Lou Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title, and two IFBB Mr. Universe titles consecutively. He's also famous as an American actor for playing the role of The Incredible Hulk in the television series. He also doubles as a fitness trainer and fitness consultant.

It's natural that once an athlete becomes famous, people always want to know their net worth, biography, and career history.

With this fact in mind, this article has been prepared to give you all the information you need about Lou Ferrigno, his personal life, career life, and importantly, his net worth.


Lou Ferrigno Early Life

Louis Jude Ferrigno was born to Matty and Victoria Ferrigno in New York on November 9, 1951. Lou had it rough while he was growing up. He lost about 80% of his hearing due to an infection when he was five years old. And ever since then, he has had to depend on hearing aids to hear properly.

Because of his deafness, he was ostracized by his mates and bullied by his friends. He was so small and couldn't fight back so he figured that the only way to withstand the bullying was to be strong.

He started working out at the age of 13, he started with chin-ups because his body was so frail to lift weights. It took him a while to start lifting weights and when he started, his parents couldn't afford to buy him weights. So he made his weights with buckets that he filled with cement. He looked up to superheroes like Hercules and the Hulk. Immediately after high school education he competed and won IFBB Mr. Universe and IFBB American titles. He also featured in other bodybuilding contests and won.

Young Lou Ferrigno


Lou Ferrigno Bodybuilding Career

Ferringo started his Bodybuilding career immediately after he got out of high school. He competed and won in the IFBB Mr. America. He won the IFBB, Mr. Universe, four years after his first IFBB win.

Lou Ferrigno lived in Columbus, Ohio during the early days of his bodybuilding career. He trained alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. They both competed in the Mr. Olympia competition in 1974 and Lou came second, he competed again the next year in 1975 and placed third.

In 1975 Lou Ferrigno competed against Arnold Schwarzenegger, and this competition made him famous and it became the theme of a documentary titled"pumping iron". In 1977 he competed in the world's strongest man competition and ranked fourth out of eight athletes.

Although he was winning bodybuilding competitions, it seemed it wasn't such a high-paying sport at that time because he couldn't quit his day job just yet.

He worked at a sheet metal company in Brooklyn where he made $10 per hour. He worked in that company for 3 years until he was forced to quit when a friend cut his hand accidentally while working with a machine.

Lou took a break from bodybuilding competitions for a while and played football for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football league. Having no experience playing football in his entire life, he was dropped after two matches.

After his break, he returned to bodybuilding later in the '90s. Upon his return, he participated in the 1992 Mr. Olympia where he placed 12th. In 1993 he competed again and placed 10th. He retired from bodybuilding in 1994 when he competed for Masters Olympia. A documentary titled "Stand Tall" was produced based on Lou's attempt to win against Robbie Robinson and Boyer Coe.


Lou Ferrigno Acting Career

The documentary released about Lou and Arnold Schwarzenegger catapulted Lou into the spotlight. In 1977 he was preparing for Mr. Olympia which he believed he would win because Arnold had already retired.

Fate had other plans because a few weeks before Mr. Olympia, he auditioned for the role of "The Incredible Hulk". He was given the role and that was the beginning of his acting career.

Although he found the hours of make-up application and rehearsals quite vigorous, the movies he featured in became his ticket to fortune.

He starred as The Hulk in other Hulk movies from 1997 to 1981. He was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in 2012 in "The Avengers" and he earned $2 million for starring in that movie. By the time he featured for the third time, he had made $6 million. This means that Lou must have made a lot of fortune acting the role of The Hulk.

Aside from being an actor, Lou doubled as a fitness trainer, holding training sessions for other athletes. He got a job as a fitness trainer for Michael Jackson sometime in the early 90s. In the list of the best fitness trainers, Lou Ferrigno is among the top ten highest-paid fitness trainers in America.

The amount he earns as a fitness trainer per session isn't disclosed yet but we're able to get a glimpse of his payment plan by how much others like Gunnar Peterson. Peterson charges $15,000 for a six-week training program. Over the years, the actor and bodybuilders have acquired massive wealth through these different careers.


Lou Ferrigno Law Enforcement Career

Lou tested out both bodybuilding and acting and was successful so he went on to try out his passion for law enforcement. As a result, he was a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles county in 2006, he was also sworn in as a member of the volunteer sheriff posse in Maricopa county, he served in Arizona as a reserve deputy, he also served in San Luis Obispo, CA and recently in 2020 he accepted the position of the deputy sheriff for New Mexico. His annual salary as a deputy sheriff earns him $52,000.

Lou Ferrigno continued to become popular and in May 2018, he was chosen to be a member of Donald Trump's sports, Fitness, and Nutrition council.

Lou Ferrigno Police


Lou Ferrigno Personal Life

Lou Ferrigno has been involved in two different marriages. He was married to his first wife for a period of just a year (1978-1979). He remarried another lady Carla Green in 1980. Carla Greene was initially a psychotherapist before she became Lou's trainer and Manager.

The couple share three kids between them. Shanna, Louis Jr, and Brent Ferrigno. The children are all grown up now living their best life. Shanna holds a recurring role in "Days of our Lives" as an actress. Louis Jr plays for his University football team as a linebacker.


Lou Ferrigno Net Worth

Lou has ventured into different businesses and careers, so it's difficult to lay an exact claim on his net worth. However, as of 2022, his net worth is estimated at $15 million coupled with his cars and properties.

Lou, together with his wife bought a home in Santa Monica for $547,000 in 1980 and sold the same house for $3.2 million in 2019. Around the same time he sold his house, he purchased another house in Pismo Beach with an overview of the ocean. He purchased the house for $2.9 million.
Also, his career as a fitness trainer has earned him more wealth. He was a personal trainer for Michael Jackson from the early '90s to 2009.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Lou Ferrigno

Q: Did Lou Ferrigno use steroids at any time?
It's an open secret that during the 80s, steroids were taken regularly by athletes. Most bodybuilders from that time are all guilty of using steroids although it wasn't going against any rule back then. Lou Ferringo admitted to using steroids during those times.

Q: Who was Lou Ferrigno Personal trainer?
Lou didn't have any personal trainer during any of his events. He however trained alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger during his early bodybuilding career.

Q: Did Lou Ferrigno win any Mr. Olympia competition?
Lou didn't place first in any Mr. Olympia competition throughout his bodybuilding career. He has however placed respectable positions the times he contested


On a final note;

Many other bodybuilders have touching stories to tell before they rose to success. However, Lou Ferrigno's story stands out from the crowd.

He started working out at age thirteen to withstand the bullying of his friends. He won two different IFBB competitions immediately after he rounded up his high school education.

Although Lou Ferrigno is also a force to be reckoned with, he wouldn't have risen to fame if he didn't take on "The Hulk" role in 1977. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a legend, and he always topped his games. This would have made it almost impossible for Lou to top any games he competed against Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This article has been able to give you more information about Lou Ferrigno's early life, bodybuilding career, career as lin enforcement, and fitness coach. He has had an interesting life through the years and has earned massive wealth.

Lou Ferrigno

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