What was Wally Amos's Net Worth?
Wally Amos was an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author who had a net worth of $20 thousand at the time of his death. Wally Amos began his career as a talent agent at William Morris Agency, where he worked with notable artists like Simon & Garfunkel. In 1975, Amos raised $25,000 from his Hollywood friends to launch a cookie business using a modified family recipe. The brand, "Famous Amos," quickly gained popularity, becoming a household name.
However, financial difficulties led to Amos losing control of the Famous Amos company in the 1980s. Undeterred, he ventured into new business opportunities, including "The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company" (later "Uncle Wally's Muffin Company").
Amos has also been an advocate for literacy, writing books and participating in reading programs. He's known for his colorful shirts and hat, which became part of his iconic image. Despite ups and downs in his business career, Wally Amos remains a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance in American business history.
Financial Problems
In March 2017, Wally launched a GoFundMe to raise money to help him get back on track financially. According to the video included on the page, his most recent business venture, The Cookie Kahuna, left him flat broke. He explained that he needs money to simply pay rent and afford food. The GoFundMe's goal was to raise $50,000.
Early Life
Wally Amos was born Wallace Amos Jr. on July 1, 1936, in Tallahassee, Florida. He was raised there until he was 12, and after his parent's divorce, he moved to New York City with his aunt Della Bryan. Wally started cooking at a young age and developed his chocolate chip cookie recipe from his Aunt Della. He joined the United States Air Force after dropping out of high school. Amos served from 1954 to 1957 at the Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he also earned his GED before he was honorably discharged from military service.
Famous Amos
After graduating from college, Amos returned to New York City and, after starting with a job in the mailroom, became the first African American talent agent for the William Morris Agency, where he represented Diana Ross and The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and Simon & Garfunkel. Wally began to attract new talent and clients by sending them his homemade chocolate cookies, along with an invitation for a meeting with him.
Amos set up a store in 1975 to sell his cookies in Los Angeles, California. His business got started thanks to a $25,000 loan from Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. The first-ever Famous Amos cookie store opened in Los Angeles in March 1975. The cookie store, along with Wally himself, gained nearly instant notoriety and increased rapidly in popularity in a short five years. In 1981, Amos was so well known that he appeared as himself in an episode of the TV series "Taxi" called "Latka's Cookies." In its first year as a company, Famous Amos generated $300,000 in revenue. By 1982, Famous Amos was generating $12 million in annual revenue. That's the same as $40 million today.
Unfortunately, this would prove to be the peak of the company's success. Within a few years, sales declined and the company actually lost money. Wally sold off stakes at various times in an attempt to keep the company afloat. In 1988 he sold the remainder of the company to a private equity firm for $3 million. That's the same as around $8 million today. He stayed with the company for a year as a paid spokesman but left to pursue other endeavors.
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Other Ventures
Along with writing books, at this time, Amos was also being hired all around the nation to give motivational speeches. In 1994, he started a new company with Lou Avigonne called The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company, which later became Uncle Wally's Muffin Company in 1999. The fat-free muffins are sold nationwide in more than 3,500 stores.
Amos resurrected his cookie company in 2014 in the form of an unfortunately short-lived business called The Cookie Kahuna, based in Hawaii, where Amos lived at the time. The cookies were available in the original flavor of chocolate chip as well as a chocolate chip version with pecans and macadamia nuts. Amos was called "The King of Cookies" by Las Vegas's NBC affiliate KSNV-TV in 2019. In 2020, a documentary by Jeff MacIntyre was released on the life of Amos called "The Great Cookie Comeback: reBaking Wally Amos."
Wally's longtime friend and publicist, John Rosica, introduced Wally to the organization Literacy Volunteers of America. Amos has since been an advocate for adult literacy, and through volunteer work, he has helped thousands of adults learn how to read. In 1987, he began hosting a TV series called "Learn to Read," produced by Kentucky Education Television, with the goal of teaching other adults how to read.
Personal Life & Death
Wally was married four times and had four children: Michael, Gregory, Sarah, and Shawn Amos, the latter of whom is an accomplished blues musician. He mostly lived in Hawaii from 1977 until the time of his death.
Wally Amos died on August 13, 2024, at the age of 88.
