What Is Michio Kaku's Net Worth?
Michio Kaku is an American futurist, physicist, and best-selling science writer who has a net worth of $5 million. Michio Kaku is best known for co-founding the string theory – a continuation of Albert Einstein's attempt to unite the four basic forces of nature into a single theory, and for his best-selling books concerning scientific understanding.
Early Years
Michio Kaku was born on January 24, 1947, in San Jose, California. His grandparents came to America from Japan, and during World War II, his parents were incarcerated at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California – one of ten such camps constructed by the United States government in 1942 for the containment of Japanese-Americans.
As a young man, Michio discovered that theoretical physicist Albert Einstein had never completed his unified field theory and became fascinated by the subject. He decided to continue Einstein's research into the theory and base his future career on proving the theory.
As a teenager, Kaku took part in the National Science Fair. His entry was a particle accelerating device he constructed out of scrap metal and wire in his parents' garage, which produced antimatter – like that which occurs during cosmic ray collisions – and generated a magnetic field 20,000 stronger than that of the earth. The entry was of great interest to Hungarian theoretical physicist Edward Teller who awarded Michio Kaku the Hertz Engineering Scholarship.
In 1968, Michio graduated summa cum laude and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he ranked as first in his physics class. He then attended Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of Berkeley, California – a federally funded research and development center in Berkeley from which he received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree. In 1972, he held a lectureship at Princeton University – a private, Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey.
Military History
During the Vietnam War, Michio joined the United States Army, serving from 1968 until 1970. He obtained his basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and his infantry training at Fort Lewis, Washington.
String Theory
In 1974, Kaku and Japanese theoretical physicist Keiji Kikkawa co-authored their initial documentation concerning the string field theory—a theory in which the dynamics of relativistic strings are reformulated in the language of quantum field theory. Kaku and Kikkawa provided a detailed description of the second quantization of the light cone string field theory.
The lifetime goal of Michio is to devise a simple equation that would provide an answer to every single question that a human mind could conceive of. The subject was regarded as "the theory of everything" by English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Extraterrestrial Research
Kaku believes that quantum computers may one day be utilized to examine data for signs of intelligent life in space, making it possible for us to identify and categorize extraterrestrial civilizations.
Teaching
Michio is a professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York and holds the Henry Semat Chair at the City University of New York.
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Books
Kaku is the author of several books including four best sellers – "Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation and Time Travel" (2008), "Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2011" (2011), "The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance and Empower the Mind" (2014), and "The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything" (2021).
Kaku's doctorate-level physics textbooks are required reading for several of the world's leading physics laboratories.
Radio
Kaku has hosted several radio programs, such as "Exploration," broadcast by WBAI in New York, and "Science Fantastic."
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Television
Kaku has hosted several television specials for the British Broadcasting Corporation, including the four-part 2006 documentary "Tome," which he wrote and produced, and the 2008 three-hour documentary "Visions of the Future."
Michio has hosted numerous American television shows, including the Disney Channel's "2057" in 2007 and the 12-episide Science Channel series "Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible" in 2009. He has also appeared in several episodes of the History Channel series "Ancient Aliens," on the PBS series "NOVA," and as a guest on American television shows such as "60 Minutes" and "Good Morning America."
Film
Kaku has appeared in dozens of films, such as "Stephen Hawking's Universe" in 1997, "Through the Wormhole" in 2011, and "Year Million" in 2017.
Michio is one of the seven top scientists featured in the award-winning 1999 documentary "Me & Isaac Newton," directed by Michael Apted and produced by Vulcan Productions.
Boards
Kaku has served on the boards of Peace Action—an organization that strives to prevent the deployment of nuclear weapons into space—and Curiosity Stream, an American media company and video streaming service.
Michio has been a featured columnist for numerous magazines, such as "Popular Mechanics," "Newsweek," and "COSMOS."
Awards
Kaku was awarded the 2021 Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award, an annual British award given in recognition of notable contributions to space exploration.
Michio was awarded the 2008 Klopsteg Memorial Award, an annual award given to a notable physicist.
Personal Life
Michio is married to Shizue Kaku, and they have two daughters.
