Alex Honnold has described the fee he received for his free-solo ascent of Taipei 101 as an 'embarrassing amount', adding that he would have climbed the 1,667ft skyscraper for free. The American climber made history on Saturday evening by scaling the 101-storey structure in Taiwan's capital without ropes or safety gear, live on Netflix.
Speaking to The New York Times before the event, Honnold revealed that his payment was for the spectacle rather than the climb itself. 'I'm not getting paid to climb the building. I'm getting paid for the spectacle. I'm climbing the building for free,' he said. He declined to disclose the exact figure, but two sources with knowledge of the deal told the publication it was in the mid-six figures.
Honnold dismissed suggestions the sum could be as high as $10m, describing his pay as 'embarrassingly small' compared with mainstream sports contracts. 'Major League Baseball players get like $170m contracts. Like, someone you haven't even heard of and that nobody cares about,' he said.
The climb, originally scheduled for Friday, was postponed due to wet weather in Taipei. Honnold completed the ascent in one hour, 31 minutes and 43 seconds. He said he hopes the feat inspires others to 'pursue their own challenges, their own goals.'
