You’ve seen Chip Foose coming up with some of the most gorgeous, innovative car designs of our time, while keeping his business and an internationally-known TV show afloat. However, you most-likely don’t know much about what’s behind the “Overhaulin’” star, especially when it comes to his personal finances and businesses.
So how rich is Chip Foose? Does he have any investments outside of his company Foose Design? What about the price of his car designs, and how he rose to the top of the customized car industry for the last two decades? Keep watching to learn more about the always incredibly talented Chip Foose!
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How Rich Is Chip Foose?
For a man with so many years experience in the automotive world, and who’s fame has incredibly expanded incredibly thanks to his TV appearances and business excellence, it’s unsurprising that Chip Foose has built a fortune through his career. According to online reports, he has a net worth of $18.5 million, as of 2024.
It’s safe to assume that most of Chip’s fortune comes from his business of more than 20 years, Foose Design. However, before that, he worked with Boyd Coddington, the now-disappeared but once-giant custom car builder, who revolutionized the industry in the late 1900s.
Chip has also collaborated with impressive names outside of the car world, such as Disney, Oakley, and the industry security tools maker 3M, just to name a few. On top of that, Chip’s TV shows “Overhaulin’” and “Rides” have brought him more than just massive fame but financial gain as well.
Chip’s fortune is considerable, but simply the result of having such a brilliant career.
Business
Chip Foose is a man deeply passionate about design and automotive, and Foose Design is the place where all of that adds together to create greatness. The company was founded in 1999, right after Chip stopped working with Boyd Coddington after the latter’s company filed for bankruptcy.
Up until then, Chip had acquired lots of experience and knowledge to make it big in the business. Just as he confessed in an interview with Petrolicious, there was never a moment when Chip was ‘introduced to cars’ because he was ‘born into it’, as his father Sam Foose was a famed car fabricator and designer. Before Chip was old enough to know it, he was already spending time in his father’s work garage, and discovered that his passion wasn’t only cars but the design behind each of them. Several years later, Chip attended ArtCenter College of Design but dropped out before graduating, passing then to work for his father before collaborating with the National Football League (NFL) and doing some design projects for Ford and Volkswagen. Chip was also professionally involved with the automotive fabrication company Stehrenberger Clenet, with which he worked before returning to ArtCenter, graduating in 1990.
Since the foundation of Foose Design in 1999, Chip and his team have worked hard to bring the business to the top of the industry. His studio’s excellent craftsmanship and creative authenticity landed him a place on TV, and the respect and recognition of the industry to a worldwide level.
Collaborations
Foose Design has collaborated with several brands throughout the years, the first being with a speaker and amplifier-maker company named Precision Power, Inc. in 1999. This deal gave Foose Design its first push forward at a time when he was still dealing with the negative consequences that Boyd Coddington’s bankruptcy caused in his personal finances.
Seeing how important these types of deals were for a company, Chip has collaborated with several other brands in the industry. One of these is Disney, for which Chip worked as an art consultant for the animated movie “Cars”, and even launched a toy and art collection with the franchise.
Other important collaborations include launching an automotive product line with the Canadian security company 3M, the tire manufacturer Pirelli, and Oakley, with which he designed and launched a sunglasses collection.
However, not every partnership turns out well, even for a man as renowned as Chip. In 2007, he severed ties with the Dallas-based Unique Performance, a custom automotive fabrication company which licensed some of Foose Designs’ works. The business breakup 0ccured after the company came under fire for allegedly not delivering the commissioned cars to their customers, and being accused of involvement in illegal activities. As Chip later told Car and Driver Magazine, the experience was a nightmare, and had him spending most of his “Overhaulin’” earnings on the legal battle he fought to protect the reputation of his company.
Car Collection
Chip Foose is a gearhead through and through, evident enough by looking at his extensive and excellent career in the automotive world. He also has a gorgeous and undoubtedly expensive car collection, proving how passionate he is about this lifestyle.
Some of his favorite cars are stored at his Huntington Beach-based Foose Design headquarters, as seen in a video by Collision Hub. One of the most important cars in the designer’s collection is a shiny black 1956 Ford Pickup which belonged to his father and gave Chip some of his ‘priceless memories’. This car is Chip’s favorite, which he plans to pass down to his son Brock.
One rare opportunity to see Chip’s personal collection happened in February 2024, when the Atlanta-based Savoy Automobile Museum opened the “What’s Chip’s Garage?” exhibition. Some of the cars exhibited included three Ford Models from 1932, a 1968 330 Ferrari GTC, and the green Hemisfear, which is one of the most famous automobiles created by Chip, who came up with the concept for his final project at ArtCenter.
While it’s unclear how much Chip’s collection is valued at, or how extensive it is, it’s evident that many of his cars are more than just four-wheeled pieces, but represent his hard work too.
Does He Own Real Estate?
So far, we’ve seen that Chip Foose has built a successful and outstanding career as an automotive designer, gaining more than fame in the process. However, details about any real estate investments on his part are mostly unclear.
A rare glimpse of Chip’s California family house was featured in a brief by the Canadian company 3M, with which Chip collaborated in 2017. However, it’s unclear if Chip or his family still reside on this property, as he and his now-former wife Lynne divorced in 2020. On top of that, a 2021 post by a California-based real estate agent showed that not only was Chip looking for properties in the Orange County area, but also fell in love with the woman who was selling the house, which was taken off the market when the couple got together.
While Chip’s current romantic situation isn’t very clear or relevant to this video, it’s fair to assume that he owns one property, at least. If you add that to his marvelous car collection and prosperous career as a designer and TV star, it isn’t hard to see how much of an icon Chip Foose has become.
