Jack Bushnell Hanna was born on the 2nd January 1947, in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA of Lebanese and American descent. He is a zookeeper, who is probably best recognized for being the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. He is also known for being a television personality, as he has hosted his own TV show named “Hanna’s Ark”. He is also recognized by his nickname “Jungle Jack”. His zoological career has been active since 1973.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Jack Hanna is? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the total size of Jack’s net worth is over $8.5 million as of mid- 2016, accumulated through his zoological career. Additional to that, he has also appeared in a number of TV shows and series, which have also increased his overall wealth by a large margin.
Jack Hanna Net Worth $8.5 Million
Jack Hanna spent his childhood on the family farm, so from a very young age he loved animals, and when he was 11 years old he became a volunteer for the family veterinarian, Dr. Roberts. Later he moved to Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, where he attended The Kiski School, after which he enrolled at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Political Science in 1968. During college he had troubles, as he kept ducks in his room and a donkey behind his fraternity house (The M.A.C.E. Club).
Subsequently he returned to his hometown, where he initially opened a pet shop and so during the 1970s, his career began. He founded a petting zoo on his father’s farm; however, he had to close the zoo, after a lion attacked a boy and tore his arm off. He and his wife then moved to Florida, where he found a job at the Central Florida Zoo as its director, but three years later he was hired by the Columbus Zoo. Little by little his career improved, and his involvement at the Zoo began to increase, so that he eventually became the director of the zoo, which highly increased his net worth.
In no time, Jack began to manage the zoo, and in order to increase the attendance figures, he launched a TV show named “Hanna’s Ark”, which was aired on WNBS, affiliate of CBS. Little by little the Columbus Zoo received national attention, and encouraged by the success of his first show, Hanna started several others, including “ZooLife With Jack Hanna” (1992), “Animal Adventures” (1995-2011), “Jack Hanna’s Into The Wild” (2007-2015), and “Jack Hanna’s Wild Countdown” (2011-2016), all of which increased the popularity of the Zoo, and with that Hanna’s overall net worth.
To speak further of his accomplishments, he has also appeared as a guest in several popular talk shows, including “Late Night With David Letterman”, “Good Morning America”, and “Larry King Live”, among others, which also contributed to the overall size of his net worth.
Undoubtedly, Hanna’s net worth will become even bigger in the forthcoming years, as the Columbus Zoo continues to develop.
When it comes to his personal life, Jack Hanna has been married to Suzi Egli since 1968; the couple has three daughter together and now six grandchildren.
