How is The Net Worth of Salt Bae a Whopping $65m?

What Is Salt Bae’s Net Worth?

Net Worth$65 Million
Source of WealthButcher/Chef/Food Entertainer/Restauranter
Real NameNusret Gokce
Date of BirthAugust 9, 1983
NationalityTurkish
Height1.68 m (5’ 5”)
Place of BirthErzurum, Turkey
Star SignLeo
ReligionMuslim
Martial StatusMarried

Most people who enjoy food-related content on social media are familiar with the iconic restauranteur and food entertainer Salt Bae. This Turkish chef has made a living by being one of the current generation’s most comedic and talented chefs.

Salt Bae’s net worth may surprise you. He started as an internet meme that took the world by storm in 2017. However, since achieving viral success in 2017, Salt Bae has grown a global empire of food entertainment.

Fans of Salt Bae are always looking for more information about him. For example, fans of Salt Bae often inquire where he grew up, if he came from a wealthy family, and how he became an internet meme.

Salt Bae is a private person. However, there is some information Salt Bae has offered about his early life, career, and upbringing.

Before the Spotlight

Salt Bae’s early life is mysterious. He was born in Erzurum to Kurdish parents in the early 1980s. His father worked as a mineworker, and his family suffered from impoverishment.

At around age 11, Salt Bae had to stop attending school and pick up work to help his family make ends meet. He has three brothers Erman, Özgür, and Uğur Gökçe, who are all chefs, but only Salt Bae has attained a celebrity status to date.

Salt Bae left school as a sixth-grader and began working as an apprentice for a butcher in Istanbul. Salt Bae is deeply empathetic for the people who live in his hometown and has committed to building schools and other community buildings to assist those in his hometown.

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The Road to Success

Salt Bae began his career as a restaurateur in 2007 through 2010, when he toured many countries, including the United States, and Argentina while working at restaurants free of cost. This gave him exposure to cooking. In exchange for labor, he would learn many new practices.

Upon returning to Turkey in 2010, Salt Bae opened his restaurant in Istanbul using everything he had learned. Despite getting little to no success, he opened another restaurant in Dubai in 2014. Salt Bae entered the spotlight of fame in 2017 when he posted videos online of him skilfully cutting meat smoothly before salting meat with an iconic pose.

These videos spread like wildfire across the internet and amassed 10 million views on his Instagram page. Bae’s first video entitled “Ottoman Steak,” grabbed him with thousands of visitors curious to try his dishes.

Gaining worldwide recognition, Salt Bae expanded his professional career by opening new restaurants in Miami, New York City, London, and Doha. The “Nusr-Et Steakhouse London” restaurant soon got featured on Instagram. Reportedly, a single steak sold for £1800!

It did earn him bad critic reviews, but at the same time, people were indulged into rich, flavourful meat steaks that became his signature dish. In 2017, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had a meal at his restaurant in Istanbul, which significantly bolstered his recognition as a professional cook.

The Best Moments

Salt Bae’s highlights are as follows:

  • He began working as a butcher at a young age.
  • Salt Bae traveled the world to learn.
  • He opened his restaurant in Dubai in 2014.
  • He became an internet sensation in 2017.
  • Salt Bae now owns several restaurants globally.

The Private Side

Salt Bae is a very private person, and details about his personal life are scarce. Rumors are that Salt Bae is married to Candy Denat and has two children.

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15 Things You Didn’t Know About Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe)

The official YouTube Channel for the Wall Street Journal did a short piece on Salt Bae in 2017, shining a light on his success.

Famous Quotes of Salt Bae

Every word of Salt Bae holds a great power. Here are some influential quotes that gives us an insight to his intellect.

  • “I get all my motivation from my customers.”
  • “In Turkey, butchering was a low-class, degrading job. Now, thanks to me, all the kids want to become butchers.”
  • “Being tired isn’t anything. What’s important is the mind. The body being tired isn’t important. You can get over the body being tired by resting for a half-hour or an hour. What’s important is whether the mind is tired.”
  • “New York City is the center of the world. There is an energy here. People from all over the world feel at home here.”

Best of Salt Bae Compilation

Social World

Salt Bae did not have many followers before 2017. However, he gained over 10 million views across Twitter and Instagram.

You can find Salt Bae’s on Twitter. There is even more information about Salt Bae’s restaurants, menus, and locations on his website.

Lessons From Bae

There are many lessons to learn from Salt Bae. Here are just a few.

  1. Patience and hard work will pay off. Did you know that he was subjected to acute criticism by the public? A customer reported: “It is cheaper to fly and have food at Salt Bae’s Turkish restaurant than dine at the London one.” Salt Bae soon began to be considered as an overrated chef.

    However, this did not stop the talented young man. He constantly worked hard and stayed optimistic even under the sheer criticism. He silenced the growing hatred by skillfully and carefully preparing his meat steak dish, which soon attracted a lot of visitors to his restaurants.
  2. Being different is never a bad thing. It’s all about the quality folks. The way he sprinkled salt, the way he dressed, the specific sound of the knife tapping on the board, and his sharp movements – how often do you see such finesse? Salt Bae knew how competitive cooking had gotten. He re-invented himself to stand out from the crowd.
  3. Establish connections. One of the reasons to his world-wide fame links to his interactions with his brothers who are also a professional chef like Salt Bae.

    They helped him learn many new cooking techniques and master the balance of each ingredient to his special dishes. Don’t hesitate to learn lessons from your fellow beings. It might end up paving the way to your success!

The Unusual Facts

Here are some of the exciting facts about Salt Bae that we bet you didn’t know of:

  • Salt Bae owns 15 restaurants globally.
  • A Golden Tomahawk Steak in a Salt Bae restaurant is $2,000.
  • Salt Bae is a self-made millionaire who came from poverty.

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FAQs Answered

How did Salt Bae become famous?

Salt Bae became famous for the iconic way he seasoned his meats in his online videos.

What is the real name of Salt Bae?

His real name is Nusret Gokce, which appears far less glamorous-sounding to many people.

How much is Salt Bae worth?

Salt Bae is worth $65 million.

Does Salt Bae’s Restaurant in New York have a Michelin Star?

Salt Bae’s New York location does not have a Michelin Star but still draws massive crowds.

The Closing

Cooking is not a profession; it’s an art. Salt Bae mirrors his artistic skills by captivating the audience with his unique style of seasoning the meat. People of all ages are bound to be mesmerized by the rich flavors of his carefully prepared scrumptious dishes that is surely going to make you lick your fingers to the tips. 

Salt Bae is worth around $65 million and has several restaurants. Not only did he have the most humble beginnings, dragging himself and his family from the bottom, but he also worked hard to give back to his community.

Featured image credit: Erdal Mahir Curan / Shutterstock.com

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Asad Elahi

Asad Elahi is a personal finance expert and author with over 5 years of experience in the industry. He has written extensively on topics such as saving, investing, and building wealth, focusing on helping individuals achieve financial independence. His work has been featured in major publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, and he is a regular contributor to financial websites and blogs.