Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Who Is Jeremy Clarkson?
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English journalist, broadcaster, presenter, game show host, and author.
Clarkson achieved international fame for his role as a host of the globally acclaimed sports car programs ‘Top Gear’ and ‘The Grand Tour,’ alongside James May and Richard Hammond. He’s also credited for hosting the revived game show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ which is aired on the ITV network.
Jeremy Clarkson Quick Facts
Full Name: | Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson |
Popular Name: | Jeremy Clarkson |
Gender: | Male |
Birth Date: | April 11, 1960 |
Age: | 62 years |
Parents: | Edward Grenville Clarkson and Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson |
Siblings: | Joanna Clarkson |
Birth Place: | Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Nationality: | British |
Ethnicity: | English |
Education: | Hill House School and Repton School |
Marital Status: | In a relationship with former actress and screenplay writer Lisa Hogan; was previously married to Alexandra Hall (from 1989 until their separation in 1990) and Frances Cain (from May 1993 until their divorce in 2014) |
Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
Wife/Spouse: | N/A |
Children: | Emily Clarkson, Finlo Clarkson, and Katya Clarkson (all from his marriage to Frances Cain) |
Dating: | Lisa Hogan |
Net Worth: | USD 70 million |
Source of Wealth: | Journalism, Broadcasting, Presenting, Game Show Hosting, Writing, and Other Ventures |
Height: | 6′ 5″ (1.96 m) |
Weight: | 107 kg; In pounds: 236 lbs. |
Early Life
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson was born on April 11, 1960, in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Edward Grenville Clarkson and Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson. His father was a traveling salesman whereas his mother was a teacher.
Clarkson attended Hill House School located in Doncaster. He later transferred to Repton School, where his schoolmates included former Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman and Formula One engineer Adrian Newey.
Career Information
Jeremy Clarkson was expelled from Repton School due to bad behavior. Following this incident, Clarkson moved back with his parents and became a traveling salesman in his family’s toy making and selling business.
But after a few years, Clarkson lost interest in the toy business and began to focus on his real passion – cars. In 1984, he teamed up with journalist Jonathan Gill to establish ‘The Motoring Press Agency.’ The duo conducted road tests on cars while also contributing automotive articles to local newspapers and magazines.
The more the car business continued to boom, the more Clarkson’s interest in the automotive industry grew. He eventually trained himself as a journalist with ‘Rotherham Advertiser’ and initially dedicated his career to writing about cars.
In 1987, Jeremy Clarkson had a short stint at Amstrad Computer User. He’s credited for writing the ‘Amstrad CPC’ game reviews.
As his popularity as a journalist increased, it was only a matter of time before Clarkson landed major writing gigs. He currently writes weekly columns for ‘The Sun’ and ‘The Sunday Times.’ Clarkson has also authored about 20 acclaimed books, starting with 1996’s ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s Motorworld.’ His latest book, titled ‘If You’d Just Let Me Finish,’ was published in October 2018.
In 1988, Jeremy Clarkson began presenting the British television motoring program Top Gear. He presented the show until 2000. Besides presenting Top Gear, Clarkson also contributed articles to its related eponymous magazine launched in 1993.
From 1995 – 1996, Clarkson presented 13 episodes of ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s Motorworld.’ In 1998, he presented six episodes each of ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s Extreme Machines’ and ‘Robot Wars.’
Clarkson’s next major presenting role was in his self-titled 1998 program. He presented 27 episodes of the show until 2000.
Clarkson presented several programs over the next few years. Notable ones include Clarkson’s Car Years (2000), Speed (2001), Jeremy Clarkson: Meets the Neighbors (2002), and 100 Greatest Britons (2002).
In 2002, Clarkson began presenting the relaunched version of the original Top Gear program, alongside Andy Wilman and Richard Hammond. However, he was suspended from the show in March 2015 after a fracas with one of the program’s producers, Oisin Tymon.
The following are Jeremy Clarkson’s other major television projects:
As A Presenter
• Have I Got News for You (2002 – 2015)
• The Victoria Cross: For Valour (2004)
• Inventions That Changed the World (2004)
• Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2006)
• Jeremy Clarkson: The Greatest Raid of All Time (2007)
• Forza Motorsport 4 (2011)
• Forza Motorsport 5 (2013)
• The Grand Tour (2016 – present)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2018 – present)
• It’s Clarkson On TV (2020 – present)
• Clarkson’s Farm (2021 – present)
As a Participant
• Grumpy Old Men (2003)
• Who Do You Think You Are? (2004)
• QI (2004 – 2016)
• TFI Friday (2015)
Jeremy Clarkson’s Net Worth

As of 2023, Jeremy Clarkson had a net worth of $70 million. Clarkson credits his net worth to his long and successful careers in the entertainment industry, which include journalism, broadcasting, presenting, and game show hosting. Jeremy’s paychecks also come from book writing and other endeavors, such as screenwriting and farming.
Clarkson makes an estimated $20 million annually from his various endeavors. That’s enough to place him among the world’s highest-earning journalists.
Although Jeremy Clarkson has involved himself in numerous income-generating projects over the years, the bulk of his net worth comes from his role in Top Gear.
Clarkson earned $4 million annually from Top Gear in base salary alone. But that’s not all. He also owned a whopping 30% of the rights to the program. That means he earned an additional 30% of Top Gear’s revenues generated from licensing deals, syndication, DVD sales, and merchandise sales.
In 2013, the BBC seized full control of the lucrative Top Gear Empire by buying out all outstanding stakes. Clarkson pocketed an estimated $21 million from that one-off deal.
Lessons from Jeremy Clarkson
1. Follow your dreams
Jeremy Clarkson landed a job at his family’s toy business almost immediately after leaving high school. But that didn’t stop him from quitting to pursue his true interest – cars.
2. Courting a little controversy isn’t such a bad thing
Clarkson’s public life hasn’t been without its fair share of controversy. Jeremy has been fiercely criticized for some of his actions and utterances. Interestingly, many of these incidents have contributed to his popularity.
3. Invest in your passions
Jeremy Clarkson has been passionate about cars for nearly his entire life. Clarkson maintains a huge collection of cars, a perfect demonstration of how he truly feels about automobiles. Some noteworthy brands in his collection include a Range Rover Autobiography V8, a Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser LWB, and a Jeep Wrangler.
Famous Quotes by Jeremy Clarkson
• If you are clinically insane, by which I mean you wake up in the morning, and you think you are an onion, this is your car, (about the BMW X3).
• Multi-tasking is the ability to screw everything up simultaneously.
• Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.
• We all know that small cars are good for us. But so is cod liver oil. And jogging.
• You’re a car, but most of all, what you are, what you’ve become, is a mate. And that’s what makes a car special. That’s what makes a car great. You start to think of it as a person. You start to love it.
Conclusion
Jeremy Clarkson has been a distinguished figure in the British media fraternity for over three decades. Thanks to his various journalistic exploits, Clarkson has accumulated a net worth of $70 million as of 2023.