Dustin Johnson will aim to win the U.S. Open for a second time this week, but he is not the only sports star in his family, as his wife is Wayne Gretzky’s daughter
Former U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson has earned huge money through his golf career, but his wife is also set to inherit a fortune.
Former world No.1 Johnson has won two major championships, clinching the U.S. Open in 2016 and triumphing at the Masters in 2020. The 40-year-old will hope to win the U.S. Open for a second time this week, with the tournament set to get underway at the Oakmont Country Club on Thursday.
According to National Club Golfer, Johnson, who was crowned LIV Golf Individual Champion in 2022, has earned $57.7 million since joining the breakaway league in 2022. This does not include the $75.5M that Johnson has made on the PGA Tour. However, his wife Paulina, who posed for a photoshoot with Johnson ahead of the U.S. Open, was already familiar with sporting riches as the daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky.
Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky’s relationship
Although the couple originally met in 2009, they did not begin dating until four years later. They subsequently engaged just seven months into the relationship, but waited until April 2022 to officially tie the knot at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.
Johnson and Gretzky, 36, share two sons together. Their eldest son Tatum was born in 2015, followed by their second son River, two years later.
Paulina is one of five children born to her NHL legend dad Wayne and actress mother Janet Jones. While her husband has amassed a nine-figure fortune on the golf course, Johnson’s net worth is estimated to be less than half of his father-in-law’s.
What is Wayne Gretzky’s net worth?
Gretzky, nicknamed ‘The Great One’ is widely regarded as one of the best ice hockey players in the sport’s history. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his wealth to be around $250M, while Johnson’s net worth is placed at $100M.
The 64-year-old’s playing career spanned 20 years in the NHL from 1979 to 1999. He remains the all-time leading points scorer and assist provider in the league and held 61 records at the time of his retirement.
Since the end of his playing career, Gretzky has been involved in team ownership and various other business ventures. As one of his five kids, Paulina could inherit a portion of Gretzky’s vast fortune in the future.
How many houses does Wayne Gretzky own?
The family connection between Gretzky and Johnson was clear when the golf star sold his North Palm Beach mansion to the hockey icon in March 2022. The 7,169 sqft property was described as a five-bedroom canal-side house near the Harbor Isles community, coming complete with six bathrooms, an elevator, swimming pool and private dock.
The South Florida Business Journal reported that Gretzky bought the house for $4.5M, giving his son-in-law, Johnson, a $1.6M profit from what he had paid in 2015. The Gretzkys own another home in Palm Beach County, Florida, having bought an Alton Community townhouse for $1.58M in October 2021.
Raised in Brantford, Ontario, Sportskeeda stated that Gretzky also owns his childhood home. In 2012, Gretzky and his wife also bought a home in the Frontenac neighbourhood of St Louis, Missouri, to help take care of relatives on Jones’ side of the family. The fifth property in Gretzky’s portfolio is a lakehouse in McCall, Idaho, which boasts its own private dock and mountain views.
However, he no longer owns the luxury home in Thousand Oaks, California that was once known as ‘Gretzky Mansion’. Built by the NHL star in 2002, he sold it five years later for $18.5M, only to re-purchase the house in 2013 for $13.5M. Gretzky put the house up for sale for the second time in 2020 and it was eventually sold for $17.6M in 2021, per Bleacher Report.
Wayne Gretzky’s custom boat
Aside from her father’s collection of houses, Paulina may come to inherit the custom-built Steinway 340 HT powerboat that her parents bought in September 2021. The 34-foot mahogany vessel can go up to 50mph and was bought while Gretzky was staying in their Idaho lakehouse.
The Steinway was hand-built by Couer Custom from sapele hardwood. It can seat up to 12 people and has loungers situated in the open-bow area. The large main cockpit includes sofas for relaxation and has an upholstered sunpad at the stern. For those that want to stay in the shade, the hardtop features an electric bimini.
Essentially Sports claimed Gretzky paid $900k to have Couer Customs design the boat, which features a Canadian flag at the back.
“We literally had a couple of days enjoying the boat before we left town. But we’re heading back next week, the boat goes back in the water, and then we’ll have the entire summer on the lake to have fun,” Gretzky told Robb Report in June 2022.
“The boatyard told me it would go fast, but to tell you the truth, I’m not too bothered about that,” says Gretzsky. “I was relatively fast when I skated, but these days I drive my car slow. I’m happy to drive my boat slow. I’ll take comfort over speed any day.”
However, Gretzky credited his wife with helping to design the boat: “She’s the creative one in the family; the only thing I asked for was to have a Canadian flag at the back,” he said.
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