What is Coby Brooks' net worth?
Coby Brooks is an American businessman and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $20 million. Coby Brooks is best known as the former president and CEO of the Hooters restaurant chain and the condiment manufacturer Naturally Fresh. He took over the companies in 2003 from his father, Robert H. Brooks, who purchased the former and founded the latter. Brooks eventually left Hooters after the company was sold in 2011. Robert H. Brooks passed away in 2006. Upon Robert's death, Coby gained a controlling interest and became chairman of his father's estate. A dispute occurred between Coby and his father's widow Tami. Tami was granted $1 million a year for 20 years but sued the estate. The two settled for an undisclosed amount in 2009. In February 2010 Coby appeared on an episode of the CBS reality show Undercover Boss. He sold Hooters and left the company in 2011. He is now a franchisee of another breastaurant chain, Twin Peaks.
Coby Brooks Salary: $1 million
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Early Life and Education
Coby Brooks was born on May 17, 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was Robert H. Brooks, who founded the condiment manufacturer Eastern Foods (later renamed Naturally Fresh) in 1966. Coby Brooks has a younger half-sister named Boni. For his higher education, he went to Clemson University in South Carolina.
Business Career
Upon the retirement of his father in 2003, Brooks took over as the president and CEO of both of his father's companies, Hooters and Naturally Fresh. The latter produces sauces, marinades, salad dressings, dips, and various oils, providing them to such restaurants as Hooters, which Brooks's father purchased in 1984. Under his leadership, the brand expanded to over 425 stores worldwide over the decades. He bought majority control and became chairman of the company in 2002.
After his father passed away in 2006, Brooks gained a controlling interest in both Hooters and Naturally Fresh. He left Hooters after selling the company to a private equity firm in 2011. The chain later became a franchisee of Twin Peaks. Brooks operates a handful of Twin Peaks restaurants via his holding and management company La Cima Restaurants. Meanwhile, in 2013, Naturally Fresh was purchased by TreeHouse Foods.
Estate Legal Dispute
After his father's passing, Brooks became embroiled in a legal dispute with his father's widow Tami. The dispute had to do with the distribution of his father's estate, as 30% of the estate was left to Coby, 30% to Coby's underage half-sister Boni, 30% to other family members, and 10% to Clemson University. Although Tami was bequeathed with $1 million per year for 20 years, she failed to receive her 30% share of the estate that was due to her under South Carolina's elective share law. Tami and Coby ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount, with Coby seeking outside investors to foot the bill.
Undercover Boss
In early 2010, Brooks appeared in an episode of the CBS reality television series "Undercover Boss." The episode featured him working in the Naturally Fresh factory in Atlanta, where one of the employees told him that the company had gone downhill since the passing of his father. Because Brooks was "undercover," the employee simply spoke their mind without knowing to whom they were speaking.
800 Acre Ranch
In addition to the 30% share he received of his late father's estate, Brooks had a home on a hunting preserve straddling the border of Georgia and Florida. Spanning roughly 790 acres, the main house is a 2,605-square-foot abode with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two bunk rooms. The residence is flanked by a fishing pond and covered deck. In 2022, Brooks listed the property for just over $4 million.
