Michael Bond Net Worth 2018: How Much Did Paddington Bear Earn Him?
Today, Michael Bond, the creator of Paddington bear, died at the age of 91. Bond had been sick before he passed away.
The success of Paddington bear made Bond wealthy and famous. So what was Michael Barnett worth? How much did he make out of Paddington bear? Read on…
Michael Bond creates Paddington bear
Michael Bond began writing while he was in the military in the UK. He wasn’t particularly successful at the beginning, writing a bunch of short stories and other works, so he had to take a side job for the BBC.
However, in the late 1950s, he came up with his first book, the bear called Paddington. By the mid 60s the book was so popular that he was able to quit his job and focus on Paddington entirely.
According to lore, Michael Bond was in Paddington station in London when he saw a single, lonely teddy bear in the window of a store. That’s what gave him the idea to create young Paddington bear.
Paddington bear was used in commercials as well, earning Bond and trademark holders significant profits.
Paddington was even the first thing then went through the euro tunnel when it was opened in the mid-90s.
Paddington bear becomes a worldwide success
Today, Paddington bear books and media have been translated into 30 different languages, and have sold more than 35 million copies internationally.
In addition to books, Paddington bear has his own movies, plush toys, and all sorts of novelty items. Michael Bond had licensed the publishing rights for Paddington to HarperCollins, and Vivendi owns the trademarks.
The Paddington bear movies alone netted over a quarter of a billion dollars.
Michael Bond net worth and Paddington bear earnings
So how much was Michael Bond net worth?
Michael Bond, the creator of Paddington bear earned tens of millions of dollars off of Paddington bear movies. For book royalties, Paddingon likely earned Bond $50-75 million. Add to that merchandise, advertisements, and other royalties.
In total, we estimate Michael Bond net worth at over $250 million. It looks like Paddington earned Michael Bond quite a lot of money. That’s one lucky bear!
Photo: Stefan Oemisch
