Mel Fisher was born on the 21st August 1922, in Indiana, USA, and was a treasure hunter, best known to the world for finding the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, among other ship wreck finds. He passed away in December 1998.
Have you ever wondered how rich Mel Fisher was? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Fisher`s net worth was as high as $100 million, an amount earned through his successful career as a treasure hunter, in particular as a deep-sea diver.
Mel Fisher Net Worth $100 Million
Before Mel became a successful treasure hunter, he attended Purdue University, and also worked on a chicken farm in his hometown. However, after a while he became bored with his everyday job, and moved to California where he opened the first diving shop in the state. Little by little his business grew, and he also became interested in sunken ships, and began the search for the lost treasures, by starting the Salvors, Inc. company, Unfortunately, during one of the treasure hunts, his oldest son Dirk and his wife died when his boat sank.
Nevertheless, Mel continued with his career, but went through many lean years before, in 1985, finding what would be the discovery of a lifetime, the sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, on the 20th July, and subsequently recovering treasure worth around $450 million, which included 40 tons of gold and silver, Columbian emeralds from the Muzo Mine, renowned for their color. Mel received 75% of the goods value in money, which considerably increased his net worth by a large margin, while the artifacts were donated to the USA, and are on display in museums all over the country.
Apart from finding the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, Mel and his crew also found other notable shipwrecks, including the Santa Margarita, which is a sister ship to his greatest discovery, and also finding the remains of the slave ship Henrietta Marie, which was lost in 1700, both in waters off Florida, increasing further his net worth.
He also contributed significantly to the preservation of underwater artifacts, and was the leader in UNESCO`s adoption of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, active since 2001, being implemented two years after his death.
Regarding his personal life, Mel was married to Dolores Horton from 1953, and the couple had five children; his oldest son Dirk died in the aforementioned boat accident in 1975. His wife Dolores, became the first women to stay underwater for 50 hours, having been among the first women to learn how to dive. She remained his business partner until his death on the 19th December 1998, after which she took over the firm, and after her death in 2009, the company has been still operating, on behalf of their children.
