Joe Exotic- Biography

Joe Exotic is an American personality who has appeared on television.

Joe Exotic’s Net Worth & Salary

Joe Exotic is a zoo owner in the United States with a net worth of more than $10 million. In addition to claiming to be one of the top Americans who can handle big cats, he has been featured in documentaries such as “Tiger King.”

There are numerous notable documentaries made on the name Joe Exotic, with titles such as Tiger King (2020), America’s Most Dangerous Pets (2011), and Shooting Joe Exotic (2021).

Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage was born in Garden City, Kansas on March 5, 1963, to Francis and Shirley Schreibvogel.

He was one of five children born to his parents. Tamara, Pamela, Yarri, and Garold “G.W.” Wayne are the names of the other four children. Joe’s family relocated to Texas after a few years in Garden City, where he enrolled in Pilot Point High School.

Following graduation, he joined the Eastvale Texas Police Department, where he chose to become the chief of a small department. He was outed as homosexual by his older brother Yarri, for which he had to shake his father’s hand while promising not to attend his funeral.

When he moved to Texas with his family in 1963, he served as the chief of police in Eastvale before opening an animal store with his brother.

Exotic sold the store after his brother died in 1997. Later, he founded G.W Zoo, and during his tenure as director, he organized many magic shows and cub-petting events on the grounds of his zoo, which later appeared on television shows.

He was about to start a reality television series with producer Rick Kirkham, but his efforts were cut short when a fire destroyed the entire set in 2015.

Joe Exotic’s Career

Soon after his car accident, Exotic relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he managed to open a pet store and maintain his friendship with a man who assisted him in driving through the safari park and bringing up the baby lions to a neighbor’s home and allowing Exotic to handle them.

Exotic attributes all of these events in his life to inspiring him to be capable of handling large animals such as lions and tigers.

Exotic has been a member of the G.W Zoo for over 20 years. He left the zoo when he was arrested on June 18, 2020, for a three-month sentence.

Exotic partnered with a traveling magician who used to handle the tigers during stage shows or illusions before going to jail to earn money to feed himself and the animals he had in his cage.

Magic shows proved to be a lucrative source of income for Exotic. He began staging big cats on the stage of magic shows and adopted the stage name “Joe Exotic” for himself.

YouTube

He has also created videos for various songs and posted them to his YouTube channel. “I Saw a Tiger,” one of the well-known songs, was later featured in the film “Tiger King” and has been covered by many future bands and artists.

From 2014 to 2018, Exotic worked as an occasional wrestler and hosted two wrestling shows at his G.W Zoo.

Exotic announced on March 3, 2021, that his autobiography “Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir” would be released on November 9, 2021. He was allowed to use a computer while in prison, and as a result, he began working on his book every day.

Joe Exotic’s Personal Life

Exotic has openly stated that he is gay and has had numerous physical relationships with his male partners. Brian Rhyne, who died of HIV complications in 2001, John Finlay, an employee hired by G.W Zoo, J.C. Hartpence, an event manager, Travis Maldonado (who arrived in 2013), and many more.

Exotic married Dillon Passage on December 11, 2017, in front of Travis Maldonado’s mother. Later, on March 26th, 2021, Passage announced on Instagram that he and Exotic would be filing for divorce and ending their marriage on a positive note.

Exotic announced a contest called “The Bachelor King” in July 2021, in which many men over the age of 18 competed, and the winner of the contest was Seth P, with whom Exotic is currently said to be in a relationship.

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Quick Facts of Joe Exotic

• He is also a businessman and a convicted felon who operated G.W Zoo (Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park) from 1998 to 2018.
• He began staging with big cats on the stage of magic shows and adopted himself with the name “Joe Exotic” as his stage name.
• From 2014 to 2018, Exotic started working as an occasional wrestler and hosted two wrestling programs at the ground of his G.W Zoo.
• On 3rd March 2021, Exotic announced his autobiography “Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir” would be released on 9th November.
• He is an American zoo operator with an estimated net worth of more than $10 million.