Here's How Much Doc Antle From Tiger King Is Really Worth
Netflix's latest crime docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has been making waves all across the globe, not only for the crime and tiger aspect, but for its bizarre cast of characters and their even more bizarre antics.
Among those characters is Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, the owner of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), a Myrtle Beach Safari attraction. In the docuseries, we learn that "Tiger King" Joe Exotic, the owner and operator of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, was actually inspired to open his own facility because of Antle's success; Antle's park is, as of this writing, still in operation, and continues to rake in a small fortune for the owner.
Even before Tiger King captured the public imagination, Antle's park was famous as being a place where humans can interact with wildlife. From meeting tiger cubs to hugging orangutans to feeding elephants, Doc has attracted all manner of people wanting to partake in the opportunity to hobnob with the animals.
Although nobody has an exact figure, The Cinemaholic estimates that Antle's value is somewhere around the $10 million mark, given the sizable revenue his park has raked in for him over decades, and his sometime work as an animal wrangler for Hollywood film productions. How much he actually has socked away in his personal bank account, however, is up for debate.
How much does T.I.G.E.R.S. make in a year?
Back in 2015, Antle spoke with Rolling Stone and revealed some unexpected numbers. The park was estimated to bring in approximately $1.3 million annually at that stage between ticket sales, encounter prices, and photo package costs, which Antle was happy to brag he feels no guilt charging "a ton" for given the short window during which members of the public are allowed to interact with the cats.
So, let's break it down: the cost of a standard tour is $339 per person. Then, because the park doesn't allow any photography, if visitors want photographic mementos of their encounters, they will need to fork out another $150 for professional photos, according to Women's Health. That adds up to $489 per person. Tours are a maximum of 45 people at a time, meaning the park makes a whopping $22,005 for every single tour given. In summer, tours are run three times per week, so make that $66,015 per week for T.I.G.E.R.S. Over 26 weeks, it adds up to a total of more than $1.3 million per year.
That's a fortune for a park like his, but Antle insisted at the time that he wasn't using the cubs and the park to get rich, claiming he funneled all the money straight back into the park.
Antle has even more sources of income
Even if Antle isn't using the park to make himself rich, it's likely he still takes some kind of salary from the business. Considering the cats, which number approximately 70 in the park, eat somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of food per year, there's plenty left over if the park is indeed making approximately $1.3 million per year. Some of that money is donated to charity, according to Antle, with 10% of profits donated to the Rare Species Fund. There are also other charities that have received one-off payments from Doc and the T.I.G.E.R.S. park, all in the interest of animal conservation.
Antle also has other business ventures that would bring money in. He sells photos of the cubs at a satellite store in an outdoor mall in Myrtle Beach. There is also a secondary cat park in Miami, although smaller than the main one in Myrtle Beach. That park forms part of the Jungle Island amusement park, and the cats are used to put on shows at that location. (We're pretty sure that tickets aren't cheap, either.)
Also, like we mentioned, Antle is credited with animal training and wrangling on several big Hollywood films, although he hasn't done this kind of work in quite some time. To name a few, he worked on the two Ace Ventura films, the 1994 edition of Jungle Book, and Mighty Joe Young, jobs that would have paid fairly decently.
All of this is to say that Antle may not be running his park with the aim of getting rich... but he isn't exactly poor, either.