Arthur William Bell, III was born on the 17th June 1945, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina USA, and is a broadcaster and radio personality, who is probably best known for hosting the radio show “Coast to Coast AM”, a paranormal-themed program. He is also recognized for being an author. His career has been active since the early 1970s.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Art Bell is, as of mid- 2016? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that the total size of Art’s net worth is over $10 million, which has been accumulated through his successful involvement in the entertainment industry not only as a broadcaster, but also as a writer.
Art Bell Net Worth $10 Million
Art Bell is the son of Arthur Bell, Jr., who was a US Marine Corps Captain, and Jane Gumaer Bell, who worked as a Marine drill instructor. During the Vieatnam War, he served in the US Air Force, and parallel with that, in his spare time he worked on a pirate radio station at Amarillo Air Force Base. Upon leaving military service, he lived in Asia, where he worked as a DJ, setting the Guinness World Record by staying on the air for 116 hours and 15 minutes. When he came back to the USA, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, to study Engineering, but he quit education, and began pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
Art’s professional career began during the early 1970s, when he came to work for KIDD 630 AM, in Monterey, California. He was the host of a number radio shows, including the political show “West Coast AM” (1978) which later in 1988 was renamed to “Coast To Coast AM”. The show was focused on various themes, such as gun control, conspiracy theories, paranormal things, the occult, etc. The show became very popular, as it was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations, increasing Art’s image and net worth by a large margin. In his show, he had regular guests, including Terence McKenna, Ed Dames and Robert Bigelow, among others.
Art Bell is also known for his owning the license as an amateur radio operator, which he earned at the age of 13. His first call sign was KN3JOX, and later it became K3JOX. Currently, Art is the owner of an Amateur Extra Class license, which is in the top US Federal Communications Commission license class, and his call sign is W6OBB.
To speak further of his career on the radio, several times he has announced his retirement, but he always returned. Furthermore, he founded his 24/7 online radio network, streaming live from his website, Dark Matter Radio, on which he later created his own show “Midnight In The Desert”, adding a lot to his net worth.
Apart from his career as a radio personality, Art Bell is also a noted author of several books, such as his autobiography “The Quickening: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s World; The Art of Talk”, “The Coming Global Superstorm”, etc; all of which have contributed to his fortune.
Thanks to his accomplishments in the entertainment industry, Art Bell was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2006, and into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2007, he won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the publication Radio & Records.
Speaking about his personal life, Art Bell has been married to Airyn Ruiz since April of 2006; the couple has one child. Previously, he was married three times, firstly to Sachiko Toguchi Bell Pontius (1965-1968), with whom he has a child, then Vickie L. Baker (1981-1991), with whom he also has a child. His third wife was Ramona Lee Hayes (1991-2006).
