WWE and Endeavor’s UFC Are Merging — Ari Emanuel Will Head the New Company

As a founding partner of Endeavor Agency, now known as Endeavor, Ari Emanuel has played a crucial role in driving the company to become one of the world’s leading entertainment and talent agencies. Since 2009, Emanuel has served as the CEO of Endeavor and will continue to hold the leadership role after UFC and WWE merge.

Given his title, Ari Emanuel must have a high net worth, right?

Despite already being quite rich, Emanuel’s net worth may get a boost after Endeavor’s UFC and WWE officially merge to form a new publicly traded company. Keep reading for details on the merger as well as what Endeavor’s CEO’s net worth is now.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Emanuel’s net worth is $450 million. Endeavor's leader might see his net worth expand even more once UFC completes the merger with WWE to become a new publicly listed company.

In an April 2023 press release issued by Endeavor, it was noted that the company had signed a definitive agreement with WWE. The two will form a "$21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse," said Vincent McMahon, who's the majority owner of WWE.

Emanuel called the merger a "rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed." Once the merger is completed, Endeavor will hold a 51 percent controlling interest in the new company while existing WWE shareholders will hold 49 percent interest, per Endeavor.

Emanuel will serve as the CEO of the newly formed company and McMahon will serve as the executive chairman. Currently, Emanuel collects an estimated salary of $10 million per year to head Endeavor.

In 2016, a group led by WME-IMG acquired UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) from UFC’s parent company Zuffa for a little over $4 billion. WME-IMG was later renamed Endeavor Group Holdings.

Although Emanuel doesn't own UFC persay, he and his colleague, Patrick Whitesell, reportedy own "37.6 million shares in the company out of 430 million total," per Celebrity Net Worth.

Born in 1961, Emanuel helped found Endeavor Agency in 1995. Today, Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. represents a diverse set of clients including filmmakers, actors, and writers.

Emanuel has well over 1,000 clients including many A-list people associated with the entertainment industry. According to Business Insider, his “client list includes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, and Oprah Winfrey.”

Ari Gold is a fictional character in the HBO comedy Entourage. The character is played by Jeremy Piven. In the comedy, the character is Vince's agent. However, the character is based on Emanuel, who is Mark Wahlberg's real-life agent.

According to Dirt, Emanuel bought a house in Beverly Hills for $27.5 million from Edward Slatkin. It's a 7,877 square foot house with four bedrooms and two guesthouses. The house has seven bathrooms — four full and three halves.

Emanuel tied the knot with fashion designer Sarah Staudinger in May 2022. The ceremony was held in St. Tropez and many well-known names were in attendance including Sean "Diddy" Combs, Emily Ratajkowski, and Elon Musk.

Emanuel and Staudinger dated for about two years after Emanuel filed for divorce from his wife, Sarah Addington, according to PageSix. Emanuel and Addington were married for almost three decades and have three children.