What Is Zak Bagans' Net Worth and Salary?
Zak Bagans is an American television host, paranormal investigator, and author who has a net worth of $30 million. Known for his captivating presence, Bagans is best known for hosting and creating the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures (2008–present). As an executive producer and director for numerous episodes, his contribution to the show is significant.
Once a skeptic, Bagans' interest in the paranormal was sparked after encountering the spirit of a suicidal woman in his Michigan apartment building in 2002. This experience led him to co-found the Ghost Adventures Crew (GAC), a group dedicated to investigating paranormal phenomena.
In addition to Ghost Adventures, Zak has hosted and produced several other shows like Paranormal Challenge (2011), Deadly Possessions (2016), and The Haunted Museum (2021). He has co-authored books such as Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew (2011) and I Am Haunted: Living Life Through the Dead (2015) with Kelly Crigger, and published Ghost-Hunting For Dummies in 2019. Additionally, Bagans ventured into the fashion industry with his clothing lines, DungeonWear and Reaper, and partnered with Lords of Acid for the 2012 song Paranormal Energy. He also collaborated on the album Necrofusion with the band's keyboardist, Praga Khan.
Museum and Other Assets
In Las Vegas, Bagans owns and operates a haunted museum called Zak Bagans' The Haunted Museum. The museum showcases his personal collection of haunted memorabilia, which is deemed quite valuable. Additionally, Bagans possesses $2 million worth of vehicles and owns the building that houses the museum.
Early Life
Born Zachary Alexander Bagans on April 5, 1977, in Washington, D.C., Zak Bagans developed an interest in the paranormal at the age of 10, spurred by garage sales with his mother, Nancy, where they sought spooky collectibles. He has an older sister Meredith and two younger half-siblings, Phil and Sky. Bagans graduated from Glenbard West High School in Illinois in 1995 and briefly attended Western Michigan University, leaving after eight months. Subsequently, he studied at the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan.
Career
In 2004, Bagans produced the documentary Ghost Adventures alongside Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff. The Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) aired it in 2007. By 2008, the Ghost Adventures series premiered on the Travel Channel. Boasting over 230 episodes and 45+ specials across 21 seasons, the show transitioned to Discovery+ in 2021, spawning several spinoffs like Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks (2014–2016), Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer Spirits (2019), Ghost Adventures: Quarantine (2020), and Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room (2020). Bagans also created and produced several other paranormal shows, including Paranormal Challenge and Paranormal Paparazzi. His museum featured in 2016's Deadly Possessions, and he wrote, directed, and starred in the 2018 documentary Demon House. In 2021, Discovery+ aired the horror anthology series The Haunted Museum, with Bagans hosting Halloween Wars the same year as part of its Ghostober programming.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Personal Life
In May 2019, Bagans began dating Playboy model Holly Madison, former star of E!'s The Girls Next Door, after meeting her at his Haunted Museum. They broke up in early 2021. Bagans has numerous tattoos, among them a Celtic cross, an Aries symbol, and the German phrase "Denn die Todten reiten Schnell," meaning "for the dead travel fast."
Real Estate
In October 2019, Bagans purchased a Los Feliz home in Los Angeles for $1.889 million. Tragically, this was the site of the 1969 murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca by followers of Charles Manson. The property was listed for $2.2 million in October 2020, eventually selling for $1.875 million in June 2021. Bagans’ real estate ventures have included a house in Indiana bought for $35,000, reputed to be a portal to hell, and a Las Vegas home for $370,000, which he sold for $445,000 in January 2015 after purportedly encountering demonic activity.
