If you watch any reality shows about flipping houses or you’ve ever tried it yourself, you probably know the name Tarek El Moussa. His show about his SoCal real estate business, “Flip or Flop,” has been running for nine years, and it’s been the key to a wealthy life for the real estate mogul. As of 2022, Tarek El Moussa’s estimated net worth is 15 million
His backstory is fairly simple, and doubtless familiar to his many fans and followers. He was born in 1981 in California, and as his name implies, his Moroccan heritage on his father’s side.
El Moussa got his real estate license at the tender age of 21, and he quickly began flipping houses, capitalizing on the fact that California has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. His first flip netted him a profit of just under $20K, but these days he flips for a lot more cash than that.
He began flipping houses in Orange County, and in 2011 he recorded an audition tape that was sent to HGTV. HGTV signed him and his wife, Christina, to do a show the following year and that was the beginning of his journey to fame and fortune.
The first episode aired in 2013, and they also formed a real estate agency called the El Moussa Group. His process basically consists of buying homes at auction, then renovating them and selling at a profit. It’s obviously a risky strategy, but El Moussa definitely has a knack for it.
His show is what’s separated him from the house-flipping herd, though. If you believe the rumors, Tarek and Christina made around $10K per episode when they first started together, and the ever-present rumors have that rising to the current level of $40-50K per. He also runs Next Level Property Investments LLC and the Agency, so it’s hard to question his energy level or his ambition.
But houses aren’t the only thing El Moussa has flipped in his life. While he tied the knot with Christina in 2009, he actually divorced her a few years back, but she’s somehow still involved in the show. Awkward!
The flip came when Moussa found a new real estate babe – Heather Rae Young, the hot blonde who stars in “Selling Sunset.” El Moussa definitely decided to go big when he married her. Their wedding featured a veritable wall of champagne, along with floral arches and a black wedding cake that was adorned with white orchids and sheets of edible gold.
The other flip in El Moussa’s life has also been volatile, but thankfully it came with a positive outcome. Several years ago a fan with a medical background spotted a lump on his neck, which turned into the beginning of a bout with both thyroid and testicular cancer.
El Moussa is healthy and in remission now, but he attributes the cancer to the travails he associates with his hellish divorce, which was apparently somewhat less amicable than he initially led fans to believe.
As for the future, it seems safe to assume that El Moussa will continue to keep flipping houses successfully as long as he can keep his love life stable. Fans can only hope he’s able to steer clear from other flips in his love life and health, for those kinds of flips tend to come with far more ominous flops.
