Alex Honnold has shared details about his incredible ascent of the 1,667ft Taipei 101 skyscraper, including how much he earned for the challenge.
Renowned for its massive damper and futuristic design, Taipei 101 in Taiwan presented a unique climbing challenge. The building’s structure features sections that taper outward, creating ledges that signal the start of each new section, leading to eight successive overhangs before a final narrow section at the top.
Despite these challenges, Honnold successfully completed the climb without any safety ropes, a feat broadcast live on Netflix in the thrilling 1 hour and 35 minutes of “Skyscraper Live.”
Considering the risk involved, one might expect a significant financial reward. However, when questioned by The New York Times, Honnold refrained from giving specific figures, simply stating, “Maybe. It’s less than my agent aspired to.”
He described the payment as an ’embarrassing amount’ when compared to the lucrative contracts of athletes in mainstream sports. “Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount,” he explained. “You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about.”
He emphasized the disparity: “So in that case, yeah, an embarrassingly small amount.”
Sources suggest Honnold’s earnings were in the ‘mid-six figures,’ but for him, the money was not the primary motivation.
“I mean, I would do it for free,” he admitted. “If there was no TV program and the building gave me permission to go do the thing, I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing.”
Honnold described the exhilarating experience of reaching the top: “I mean, just sitting by yourself on the very top of the spire is insane. And so, you know, if there wasn’t the whole spectacle around it, and I just had the opportunity to go do it by myself, I’d be fine with that. I would do that, but in this case, there is a spectacle.”
Regarding his compensation, Honnold clarified: “I’m not getting paid to climb the building. I’m getting paid for the spectacle. I’m climbing the building for free.”
He also opted out of life insurance, citing cost concerns and expressing skepticism about the industry’s fairness: “I think insurance in general is kind of a scam. The whole point is to pay in. There’s a reason insurance companies are financial giants. Because everyone else is getting screwed.”