George Foreman

George Foreman was born in a poor family on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, which is in the state of Texas, USA, and his full name is George Edward Foreman. He joined a government program named Job Corps, which helped him to change his life. and his coach, Doc Broadus, provided him a proper training to achieve his goal. So, let us explore his life in more detail.

Personal Basic Information

Full Name	George Edward Foreman
Nick Name	Big George, The Heywood Giant and The Punching Preacher
Father’s Name	Leroy Moorehead
Mother’s Name	Nancy Foreman
Date of Birth (Born)	January 10, 1949
Birth Place	Marshall, Texas, USA
Current Age	Age: 77 years, 2 months, and 7 days as of today. Time left for next birthday: 9 months and 24 days.
Height	6 feet 3 inch (1.92 meters)
Weight	220-260 pounds (100-118 kg)
Net worth	Approx. $300 million dollars as of March 2025
Marriage Status	Married
Wife’s Name	Mary Joan Martelly
Kids Name	George Jr., George III (“Monk”), George IV (“Big Wheel”), George V (“Red”), George VI (“Little Joey”), Natalia, Leola, Freeda (deceased in 2019), Michi, Georgetta, Isabella Brandie Lilja (adopted in 2009) and Courtney Isaac.
High school	Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas.
Nationality	American
Zodiac Sign	Capricorn
Retirement	Retired on November 22, 1997 at the age of 48 years

George Foreman’s Net Worth

As of 2025, George Foreman has earned more than $300 million dollars and this net worth comes from various sources such as:

Boxing Earnings: In his entire professional boxing career George Foreman has earned around $20 million dollars as of 2025, and at the age of 45 years, George became the oldest boxer to earn the Heavyweight title against Michael Moorer in 1994.
Business ventures: George’s The George Foreman Grill became such a popular grill and business venture that it sold more than 100 million units all over the world and he still earns 40% of royalties from the product and after selling the rights to Salton Inc, George still made more than $200 million dollars from it, he has also had cleaning solution, clothing and other types of business ventures.
Endorsements: George Foreman has also had sponsorship deals with several companies such as Doritos, KFC, and Meineke, which have also contributed a huge deal to his net worth.
Public Appearances & Media: He has also been involved in the commendatory industry and has worked as a sports analyst in the HBO network for more than 12 years, which has earned him over $45 million dollars as in income.
Real estate: George has also invested his income in real estate and has bought many properties over the years but not much information is known about these properties or how much he has made through them.

George Foreman Early Life and Childhood

George Foreman was born on 10^th of January in 1949, in Marshall, Texas, USA, his mother Nancy Foreman brought him up as a single mother, he had six siblings.

After his mother remarried J.D. Foreman, who was a proud worker for the Railroad in Southern Pacific, George’s biological father was Leroy Moorehead but he decided to take on his step father’s surname.

When he was young, his family used to struggle financially and because of this, he often used to go to bed empty stomach, sometimes, there was no electricity or even water at home. As a kid, George was a very difficult and active child.

Education and the Beginning of Sports Career

As a child, George used to attend a local elementary and secondary school in Houston’s Fifth Ward in Texas. and by the time he went to 9^th grade, George dropped out from school, when he was just 15 years old.

He was often involved in gang fights and started working as a mugger and a thief. George was a very troublesome child to raise and after he joined the Job Corps and moved to Pleasanton, California to receive further training.

There he started living a very disciplined lifestyle, during his time in the Job Corps he met Doc Broadus, who used to work as counsellor and was an ex-boxer.

Doc advised George to try boxing and eventually George started his training under George Foreman and started his boxing career during the 1967 as an amateur boxer.

Professional Career

1965-1970: Job Crops was an US Government program which was set up to help the disadvantaged and needy youths of the united stated.

This was the unit that Foreman joined at the age of 16 in the year 1965 where he trained under the mentorship of Doc Broadus and got to discover his boxing talent for the very first time.

George won the gold medal on October 27, 1968, in the Mexico City Olympics in the heavyweight division against Jonas Čepulis.

1971-1975: The years 1971 and 1972 were decent from his performance point of view where he added 7 and 5 victories respectively to his name Until 22nd of January 1973.

There, he won the title of World Heavyweight Champion for the first time by defeating Joe. On March 26th 1974, Ken Norton fought again for the world Heavyweight Champion title and defeated him by a second-round knockout.

After which he lost his title to Muhammad Ali in the fight titled “Rumble in the Jungle” on October 30th, 1974.

1976-1980: Foreman appeared in the ring after a year-long break for the first time on 24^th of January 1976 and defeated Ron Lyle by a fifth-round knockout.

In the same year a rematch was conducted in which he also defeated Joe Frazier Foreman lost to Jimmy Young in a bout on March 17^th, 1977, after which he decided to retire from professional boxing.

From 1977 to 1987, George operated as a Christian Minister and opened a Youth Centre in his name.

1987-1992: George came out of his retirement and made a comeback to professional boxing at the age of 38 years old.

After 10 years of his retirement to fund his youth centre. After which he became very active in the boxing world and made numerous appearances in the ring during 1987 and won all of them.

In the following year he registered 9 wins and defeated several players like Gerry Cooney. In the year 1991, Foreman faced Evander Holyfield but lost the fight, in 1992, he fought a bout against Alex Stewart and achieved victory against him.

1993-1997: At the age of 45 years he defeated Michael Moorer on November 5^th, 1994 and became the 2^nd time World Heavyweight Champion.

This made him the oldest person to achieve this title. George went on to defend his title by defeating Axel Schulz on 22^nd April, 1995, but later that year Foreman lost his title because of not being able to accept the mandatory rematch.

In the year 1997, Foreman fought his career’s last match against Shannon Briggs, where he lost and later that year George announced his retirement in the same year at the age of 48 years old.

Achievements / Awards / Medals

In the professional boxing journey of George Foreman, he has a long list of achievements and here are some of them:

International Achievements

1968: In this year, Joe represented his country America at the Mexico Olympics, where defeated Jonas Čepulis, there he achieved the gold medal in the Heavyweight category.
1994: He was nominated for the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year because of his grand comeback and being the oldest player to achieve the heavyweight title.

National Achievements

1994: In this year, George Foreman was given the Comeback of the Year by the Ring Magazine because of his incredible performance after his comeback to the boxing world.
1995: George Foreman was presented with ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete because of his commendable performance and victory.
2003: He was honoured with an induction in International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Modern Era Boxers category along with other legendary boxers of that time such as Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and many other.

Married Life and Family

1^st Marriage: George’s first marriage was to Adrienne Calhoun and the two of them got married in 1971. After three years of marriage, they decided to get a divorce in 1974. While they were married, the two of them had a daughter.

Michi Foreman: She was born in the 1970s and lives a quiet life.

2^nd Marriage: George’s second marriage was to Cynthia Lewis, the two of them were married for approximately 2 years from 1977 to 1979. She was with him while George had a close call with death after his fight with Jimmy Young and not much information is available about Cynthia but the two of them never had any children.

3^rd Marriage: In the year 1981, George Foreman entered in his 3^rd marriage with Sharon Goodson, the marriage took place in his retirement years but due to personal differences, the marriage didn’t work out for either of them. Sharon was a model and an actress and after just one year of marriage the couple divorced each other in 1982.

4^th Marriage: Shortly after his divorce, George Foreman married Andrea Skeete in 1982, who bore him two children and was known as a great support system for George but unfortunately, even this marriage of his did not last for long and they divorced each other in 1985.

Freeda Foreman: She was born on 16^th October, 1976 and was a boxer just like her father but in 2019, she lost her life to suicide.
George Foreman III (Red): He was born on 23^rd of January, 1983 and was a professional boxer, he also runs a gym called EverybodyFights.

5^th Marriage: Shortly after his divorce, George entered into his 5^th and last marriage with Mary Joan Martelly. She met George after his spiritual awakening and has been a steady partner for him. She has borne him two children and they have even adopted three kids.

George Foreman IV (Joe): He was born between 1985 to 1987, and works as an assistant in Foreman Enterprises.
George Foreman V (Big Wheel): He was born during the late 1980s and he likes to keep his life private.
George Foreman VI (Little George): He was born during the 1990s-2000s, he is youngest son of George and likes to keep his life private.
Natalie Foreman: She was born in the late 1980s and likes to stay away from the public presence.
Leola Foreman: She was born during the late 1980s.
Isabella Brandie Lilja (Foreman): She was adopted in 2009 and originally, she is from Sweden.
Courtney Isaac Foreman: She was also adopted in late years of George’s life.

George Foreman has, had children outside of his marriages as well and the below are the names of his children:

Georgetta Foreman: She was born in the late 1970s and works as a producer in the television industry.
George Foreman II (Monk): He was born between 1976-1978 and is a business owner and lives a private life.

Death

At the age of 76 years old on 21^st of March in 2025, George Foreman passed away at home in Texas. Many of his competitors and people from the sports world gave him a tribute and expressed remorse over his death.