What was Rocky Aoki's Net Worth?
Rocky Aoki was a Japanese-American amateur wrestler and restaurateur who had a net worth of $40 million at the time of his death in 2008. He was best known as the founder of the Japanese cuisine restaurant company Benihana, which owns or franchises over 100 franchises across the globe.
Aoki also garnered infamy in 1998 when he was charged with insider trading related to Spectrum Information Technologies, Inc.
His son Steve Aoki is one of the most famous and richest DJs in the world. And his daughter Devon Aoki is a highly successful model and actress.
Early Life and Wrestling
Rocky Aoki, born Hiroaki Aoki on October 9, 1938, in Tokyo, Japan, was raised by his parents, Yunosuke and Katsu. Early on, he formed a rock band named Rowdy Sounds but shifted to athletics. He attended Keio University, excelling in karate, wrestling, and track and field, before being expelled for fighting. Aoki qualified for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome but opted not to compete. Offered wrestling scholarships from several American colleges, he enrolled at Springfield College in Massachusetts and later transferred to CW Post College in Long Island, New York. Aoki became a minor wrestling sensation in the United States, winning the flyweight title three years in a row from 1962 to 1964 and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995.
Benihana
Focusing on restaurant management, Aoki studied at New York City Community College while operating an ice cream truck in Harlem. Graduating with an associate degree in management in 1963, Aoki used $10,000 saved from his ice cream business to persuade his father to help him invest in the first Benihana restaurant on West 56th Street. The name 'Benihana,' meaning safflower, was inspired by a red safflower his father saw sprouting amidst Tokyo's postwar ruins.
The restaurant's concept revolved around the teppanyaki style of Japanese cuisine, where an iron griddle is used to cook dishes such as steak, noodles, and various vegetables, prepared theatrically by knife-wielding chefs in front of patrons. Benihana expanded beyond New York, opening its first restaurant outside the city in 1968 in Chicago. In 1982, the company went public with Joel Schwartz as president. It expanded globally, acquiring Haru and RA Sushi restaurants and opening franchises worldwide, including Panama, Brazil, Romania, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and India.
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Other Ventures
In 1973, Aoki launched the softcore porn magazine Genesis. In the early 80s, he partially funded and crewed the Double Eagle V, the first balloon to successfully cross the Pacific Ocean, traveling from Nagashima, Japan to Mendocino National Forest, California. Aoki also took on the role of an offshore powerboat racer during his career.
Insider Trading Scandal
In June 1998, Aoki was charged with insider trading, making a profit of over $590,000. The charges stemmed from insider information he received about Spectrum Information Technologies, Inc. Reportedly, stock promoter Donald Kessler informed Aoki that Spectrum was about to appoint Apple Computer Inc. chairman John Sculley as its new chairman. Consequently, Aoki purchased 200,000 shares of Spectrum stock, which saw a 46% increase when Sculley's hiring was publicly announced. In 1999, Aoki pleaded guilty, resulting in a $500,000 fine and three years probation.
Personal Life
Rocky Aoki was married three times. He first married Chizuru Kobayashi Aoki in 1964, and they divorced in 1981. His second marriage was to Pamela Hilburger Aoki from 1981 to 1991. His last marriage was to businesswoman Keiko Ono Aoki from 2002 until his passing in 2008. Aoki fathered seven children, including Grace, Kyle, Kevin, and Echo. In 2005, he sued these four children over an alleged attempt to take over his companies. Among his other children are Steven, a successful DJ and record producer, and Devon, a fashion model and actress known for her roles in films such as "Sin City," "DOA: Dead or Alive," and "Mutant Chronicles."
In July 2008, Rocky Aoki passed away from pneumonia in New York City. He was also suffering from diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and reportedly Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in the late 70s.
