Bam Margera Net Worth, Salary, Early Life

Bam had the drive and passion for pushing himself to go further with every venture he undertook and rose to fame through Jackass success once he joined forces with Knoxville and Tremaine. He continued fame with more spin-off shows like Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union.

Love him or hate him, Bam Margera has lived an exciting life, so let's look at his early life, career, salary, net worth, and more as we explore the life and chaos that is Bam Margera.

Who Is Bam Margera?

Brandon Cole Margera, known as Bam, was born on September 28, 1979, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He has two parents, April and Phil, an older brother named Jesse Phillip, and an uncle, Vincent.

Bam's attachment to video started in the 80s after his father, Phil, would film everything and everything Bam and his brother Jess did. You could almost say it was obsessive. He would film them playing sports, but Bam found his love was for skateboarding.

Bam's homelife was easygoing, where he was often left to his own devices. His parent's never pressed him to do chores or have real responsibilities but insisted that he spend his time having fun and making videos.

Very quickly, Bam's life became all about skateboarding, where he, his dad, and his friends would film and skate all day and then review the tapes at night. By age 10, Bam was already promising as a great skater and making quite the name for himself at his local skate park, Cheapskates. At this skate park, he met his friend, Brandan Novak, and a young professional skateboarder named Bucky Lasek.

By now, Bam was making many skating videos but had noticed that not everyone was interested in watching them. Finally, he found more people were interested in watching by including clips like bloopers and silly stunts.

Sponsorship and Competitions

It was at the age of thirteen when Bam got his first sponsorship. According to Bam in his documentary, this was from a local skate shop, Fairman's, and consisted of a couple of boards and some wheels a month. But, if it wasn't a sure thing for Bam, once he got his sponsorship, skating became his life.

He and his friends went to every skate competition or event they could, and Bam made a name for himself by being the young kid who would do anything for videos. However, by the time he was 18, he got his own sponsorship from Toy Machine.

School Life

Bam Margera was diagnosed with ADHD, and once skating became a more significant part of his life, he battled with focusing. He attended West Chester East High School for several years but dropped out at the end of his junior year.

After this, his parents homeschooled him, and he later received his GED. With him being as successful as he was at skating, some could say this was a great decision. However, he was passionate only about skating and making videos.

After dropping out, he moved to California, Los Angeles, to skate with his friend, Mike Modano, who had sponsorship from Toy Machine, who later went on to sponsor Bam in 1997 and 1998.

Fame in California

Bam spent his time skating, perfecting tricks, performing stunts, and filming everything. He was trying to make a name for himself in the big leagues. However, during his career, Bam realized that his stunts, performances, and goofy acts were more entertaining than his skating. He quickly realized he could use this to his advantage by dividing his videos into equal parts of skating and skits.

Meanwhile, Bam's brother had made a name for himself in his band Camp Kill Yourself and used Bam's early skating footage in their music videos. Following this, he created CKY, which was created under the same name as his brother's band, but using the acronym. This is also when he met and became inseparable with Ryan Dunn.

This was produced by Landspeed, called Landspeed Presents CKY, and was distributed through as many skate shops as possible, selling more than 400,000 copies. It was the success of these videos that caught the eye of Jeff Tremaine, who was the editor for Big Brother, a magazine made for skateboarders.

Money and Everything With It

However, through the success of CKY, Bam's fame increased, and he was getting recognized more often in public. This fame and recognition from fans got Bam interested in the financial side of things, and he realized something didn't add up.

He wasn't making much money from those videos, and after a dispute, he left Toy Machine and re-released CKY under a new distribution company as just CKY. After this new distribution round, Bam Margera finally received a massive payment of $1 million. Bam then went on to produce CKY2 in 2000.

Bam Margera and His Career and Film History

Bam Margera went on to make many films, and some are relatively obscure that not many people even know about them. The most well-known ones we'll discuss are below.

Jackass: The Series and The Movie

Having seen the CKY videos, Jeff Tremaine invited Bam to meet with him and Johnny Knoxville. Between them, they came up with the idea for Jackass and presented it to director Spike Jones, whom he knew from childhood.

The show idea was a success, and it was picked up by MTV, who went through old footage from CKY videos and created the first season of Jackass. Jackass aired on MTV on October 1, 2000, and was an instant hit.

The original Jackass crew consisted of Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville, Ryan Dunn, Stevo-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Ehren McGhehey, Preston Lacy, and Weeman and was wildly popular among the youth.

Meanwhile, Bam produced four more CKY videos, all released in 2001 and 2002, and he earned a lot from these sales.

Thanks to the hit success of Jackass the series, Paramount Pictures funded Jackass the Movie, which was released in early 2002. This movie was so popular it made ~$80 million worldwide.

Viva La Bam

After the success of Jackass the Movie, MTV wanted to capitalize on the momentum and offered Bam his own show, Viva La Bam. This show centered around Bam Margera and his stunts and pranks. The videos included him and his friends messing around, much as they did for CKY and Jackass.

The show also included both Bam's parents, Phil and April, and his uncle Vincent, who was known (on the show) as "Don Vito." A lot of the video footage was Bam terrorizing his family and ransacking their house. This is ultimately what the show was primarily known for in the end.

In Season Two of Viva La Bam, he purchased a home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which he named Castle Bam. This quickly became a hangout for skaters and friends and was renovated to include an indoor skate park and a full casino.

At this time, the show had a weekly budget of around $300,000 per episode of Viva La Bam. However, Bam hasn't said what he earned from each episode. The show was on air for 60 episodes across five seasons. These seasons ran from 2003 through to 2006.

It was unfortunate for Bam that the show was more of a hit for his skating stunts, and eventually, he was pressured to quit skating and focus solely on creating chaos for Viva La Bam. It was during this time that he started using substances like alcohol.

Bam eventually ended the show because he didn't want to film anymore and ended up spending his days drinking and messing around. After that, he tried to go back to skating, but there were too many obstacles, and he'd been off his board for too long.

Eventually, MTV pitched Jackass 2, and Bam switched to filming for that. It was released in 2006 and was an immediate hit, bringing in $85 million worldwide.

Bam's Unholy Union

After filming Jackass 2, Bam started working on his next idea, which he called Bam's Unholy Union. The show, while almost identical to Viva La Bam, also featured him and his now-ex girlfriend, Missy, planning their wedding. Unfortunately, it ended in Season 1 when MTV pressed Bam and Missy to have a child for the plot for Season 2, which Bam was, understandably, not on board.

Jackass 3D and the Rest

Jackass 3D came out in 2010 and was Bam's most significant movie success, earning $171 million. After Jackass 3D, five more movies went on to be made. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, released in 2013, made $160 million. However, Jackass Forever wasn't as successful and only earned $74 million.

Bam Margera and His Relationship History

Bam has had several serious relationships, two of which culminated in marriage. In 2005 he started dating his childhood friend, Melissa 'Missy' Rothstein, whom he married on February 3, 2007. 350 family and friends attended the wedding, filming it for the show Bam's Unholy Union.

They honeymooned in Dubai; however, they split in November 2012 after five years of marriage. It's rumored their marriage failed because they rarely saw one another and were leading separate lives for a while before deciding on divorce. Other sources claim it was due to drinking and infidelity.

Bam married his wife, Nicole Boyd, on October 8, 2013, and they are currently still together. The two got married in Reykjavík, Iceland, and announced Nicole's pregnancy on June 19, 2017. Their baby boy, Phoenix Wolf, was born on December 23, 2017.

Bam's Addiction

For anyone who's looked up Bam Margera, it's common knowledge he has battled with substance abuse since around the age of 25. However, Bam only got into drinking and drugs later in life due to needing to be sober for his professional skateboarding.

Bam Margera FAQ

No matter who you are, once you know about Bam Margera, it leaves you with questions. So, we've gathered some frequently asked questions so you can learn the answers.

How Did Bam Get His Name?

Bam was born Brandon Cole, but his grandfather gave him the nickname 'Bam Bam' because of his tenancy to run himself into walls. Later his family shortened it to Bam, and he's kept the name since.

What is Bam's Net Worth?

Bam Margera has a net worth of a total of $25 million.

What is Bam Margera's Salary?

Bam Margera is currently making around $2 million per year.

Who is Bam Margera's Manager?

Bam's father, Phil, quit his job as a line cook and became Bam's financial manager.

The Crazy Chaos That is Bam Margera

No matter who you are, you probably heard about Bam Margera at some point in your life. He virtually single-handedly made skating videos what they are today, in a time before social media like YouTube was popular.

Love or hate him, Bam has led a fascinating life, and there's no telling where he may go from here.

Our net worths are for entertainment purposes only. We do our best to provide accurate figures, but we cannot guarantee their accuracy. The figures are based on public information and estimates, and may not reflect the true value of assets or liabilities.