Charles Barkley Bio: Net Worth, Salary, and Professional Career

Charles Barkley was born on February 20, 1963, in Leeds Alabama. During his professional basketball years, he earned the nickname “The Round Mound of Rebound” because of his powerful yet aggressive style of play combined with his consistent rebounding performance. When Barkley retired from basketball in 2000 he started a new successful career as a sports analyst and extended his influence within the basketball world.

Charles Barkley Early Life

Barkley’s arrival as the first Black baby at an all-white segregated hospital created a hospital history. He also became among the first Black students attending that school. Barkley grew up in turbulent family circumstances because his parents divorced after his father left them following his birth. Barkley lost his dear stepfather in a fatal accident at age 11. Barkley displayed remarkable athletic ability through his high school years where basketball was his main sport but he also excelled in baseball and football. Besides baseball where he excelled, he competed in football before basketball became his main sport.

Charles Barkley Personal Information

Charles Barkley's life off the court is way more interesting than his NBA career. From battling gambling addiction to being an avid follower of golf, Chuck has got everything under his belt. Today we will take a deeper dive into the world of Charles Barkley. We will discuss Charles Barkley's wife, Charles Barkley's daughter, Charles Barkley's net worth, and so much more.

Charles Barkley Personal Life

During his NBA career, Barkley started playing golf and has been a regular competitor at the American Century Championship pro-am tournament. Furthermore, Barkley also participated in Champions of Change alongside Phil Mickelson, wherein he defeated Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry by a score of 4-3.

Barkley dabbled in trying his luck in politics as well, considering running for the governorship of Alabama for the 1998 election. He expressed this same desire once in 2006 and in 2014 as well.

Barkley is also the author of a number of books. In 1991, he collaborated with Roy S. Johnson on the autobiographical work Outrageous. Barkley also wrote the foreword for Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reily's book The Life of Reily. Besides these, Barkley has also worked on books such as I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It and Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?, which consists of a collection of interviews with figures in entertainment, business, sports, and government.

Charles Barkley Parents

Charles Barkley parents are Frank and Charcey Glenn Barkley. At a young age, Barkley experienced his parents separating, and then his mother remarried. At six weeks old, Barkley needed a blood transfusion because he suffered from anemia, which affected his early childhood health.

Racial discrimination in his segregated hometown shaped Barkley’s views about social issues because he had to endure it as a child. His mother, who worked as a domestic worker, had a strong influence on his life by teaching him the values of hard work and resilience. In the face of monetary struggles, she used her limited resources to help him both with school and sports.

Post-divorce, Barkley revealed his father left the family and developed a difficult bond with him. Through public discussions, Barkley has shown the difficulty he experienced in forgiving his father for leaving his life during the crucial developmental years. The early life events formed Barkley’s personality, which later influenced both his professional basketball career and his activism in social justice issues.

Charles Barkley Wife

Charles Barkley wife is Maureen Blumhardt; they have been in a marital union that began in 1989. The couple found each other in the mid-1980s when Maureen was modeling in Phoenix Arizona while Charles played for the Phoenix Suns. The couple stood united through social obstacles triggered by their interracial marriage. Maureen Blumhardt served both as a model and philanthropist during her past career. She dedicates her time to charitable activities by backing the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation which delivers education and necessary resources to women who need help.

Together with her legal assistant work, Maureen remains active in numerous community service activities. Since Charles became Phoenix Suns head coach, Maureen has remained by his side as he built his career through public appearances and joint philanthropic work. Their lengthy partnership as well as their shared dedication to charity has become a prominent feature of their public activities.

Charles Barkley Kids

Charles Barkley daughter is Christiana Barkley, who was born in 1989 and studied at Columbia University before pursuing journalism as her profession at several media organizations. When NBA fans admired Barkley’s skills the athlete did not see similar talents emerge in his daughter who decided to avoid following his basketball career path.

Christiana together with her husband Ilya Hoffman are parents to two children named Henry who was born in 2022 and Charlie Eliza who came into the world in 2023. Barkley deeply treasures his grandfather’s responsibilities and regularly shares light-hearted stories about his grandchildren.
The professional accomplishments of Christiana bring pride to her father. Barkley while he shares how family life offers him lasting personal fulfillment.

Charles Barkley Contract

Charles Barkley contract is currently a 10-year, $210 million contract with TNT Sports as an analyst. He signed this contract in 2022 and is currently one of the active analysts for TNT's superhit NBA show, Inside the NBA. Although not much is known about his contract with TNT, it can be assumed that Charles is enjoying his life and professional career with it.

Charles Barkley Salary

The exact total of Charles Barkley contract details is not known. However, as per sources, Barkley earns around $21 million per year under his contract with TNT. He has remained loyal to the network all throughout and has even turned down a $100 million offer from a rival network. Charles Barkley salary is as follows:

Charles Barkley Net Worth

Charles Barkley net worth is estimated to be $80 million, and his salary is $10 million in 2025, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Barkley draws $5 to $10 million in revenue through business partnerships he has forged with Nike, Capital One, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Right Guard, and T-Mobile. Through his investments in NeuroVice and the Redmont Distilling Company, Barkley added more value to his financial assets. He dedicates his support to three main causes through his contributions to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, LIVESTRONG, and the United Services Organization. Barkley demonstrates his commitment to philanthropy through several entrepreneurial activities that diversify his sources of income.

Charles Barkley Career

The forward player Charles Barkley started his 16-year NBA career playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and then later joined the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. Before his retirement in 2000, Barkley achieved multiple All-Star honors while winning the 1993 MVP award during his NBA Finals participation period.

Charles Barkley High School Career

Charles Barkley attended Leeds High School. He faced weight problems, which led to the varsity basketball team administrators cutting him from their roster. A rapid growth phase took him to 6’4″ during his senior year, after which he started as center and averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game. His outstanding senior-year performance in the state semi-finals earned him recognition from recruiters, but they failed to notice him before this big game, where he defeated top recruit Bobby Lee Hurt.

An outstanding performance earned him the attention of Auburn University assistant coach Sonny Smith, who then recruited him to be a Tiger athlete. Smith guided Barkley’s development at Auburn after his enrollment in business management, before Barkley became an NBA standout. The table below shows Charles Barkley stats for high school.

Charles Barkley College Career

Charles Barkley played three successful years at Auburn University from 1981 to 1984. He averaged 14.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in his three seasons with the Tigers, where he shot an incredible 62.6% from the field. Known as "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley used his quickness and physicality to overpower opponents' length, despite being just 6'6". Barkley averaged 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds in his junior year and was named 1984 SEC Player of the Year. Although Auburn would not advance very far in the NCAA Tournament, Barkley's electrifying play and his statistics raised his status as a college basketball legend.

Charles Barkley Professional Career

The Philadelphia 76ers chose Charles Barkley as their fifth overall draft selection in 1984 after the star college athlete graduated from Auburn University. Starting his NBA career as a top draft choice in 1984 led to immediate success for Barkley when he led the league with 14.6 rebounds each game in 1986–87 and received his first All-Rookie First Team recognition during his first season in 1985. After spending eight seasons with the 76ers between 1984–1992, he achieved eleven All-Star calls along with induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Barkley moved to the Phoenix Suns in 1992, as they won the MVP trophy in 1993 while competing at the NBA Finals. In 1996, Barkley moved to the Houston Rockets after a trade that brought Sam Cassell and Robert Horry with the intention of playing with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler for another championship title. The Hall of Fame career of Barkley ended in 2000 after the season when he chose retirement despite receiving multiple team offers. According to ESPN, his professional record shows the following summary:

Charles Barkley Shoes

Charles Barkley shoes are an interesting topic as the NBA legend has signed a shoe deal with Nike and has been associated with the brand for the past 40 years. Barkley continues to be an ambassador for the brand and has signed multiple sneaker deals with Nike throughout his playing career. Barkley's signature line with Nike is the Nike Air Max CB 94, which still continues to be in popular demand today.

Charles Barkley Jersey

Charles Barkley used to wear the jersey numbers 34, 32, and 4 throughout his career playing in the NBA. The #34 jersey was retired by the Philadelphia 76ers in his honor on March 20, 2001, after Barkley played eight seasons with the team. Chuck's former team, the Phoenix Suns, also retired the #34 in his honor.

Charles Barkley Awards and Achievements

Charles Barkley collected many achievements through his 16 years as an NBA player. History records Barkley as the fourth basketball player ever to achieve the triple milestone of 20000 points, and 10000 rebounds together with 4000 assists. In 1996 Barkley received recognition as part of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team and he reappeared again in the 75th Anniversary Team selection in 2021. These awards serve to recognize the substantial effects he has made on basketball as a sport.