Robert Irwin's DWTS US Salary Highlights Contrast with Modest Inheritance
The 21-year-old earns six-figure sums on Dancing With The Stars US even as his late father Steve Irwin's estate included a relatively small life-insurance payout, reshaping public perception of the family's finances.
Robert Irwin, 21, has drawn praise across the United States for his performances on Dancing With The Stars US, including a sultry tango with partner Witney Carson that judges applauded this week. Variety reports that each celebrity competing this season has pocketed around US$125,000 for the rehearsal period and the first two weeks on the show, with additional weekly bonuses possible if they stay longer in the competition. The program’s top-end earnings have been described differently over time: Variety in 2019 cited a maximum of US$295,000, while Good Housekeeping has reported earlier this year that the ceiling could reach about US$360,000. Irwin’s early weeks have already fed chatter about his potential to advance further on the series.
Sportsbet lists Irwin and Carson among the favorites to win, with odds around $2.37. The current spotlight on high earnings on DWTS US sits alongside broader questions about the Irwin family’s finances, given the late Steve Irwin’s estate. Realestate.com.au reports that Steve Irwin left his wife, Terri, and their children with a life-insurance policy totaling just US$200,000. Terri Irwin told the Australian Financial Review in 2024 that Steve’s passing left the family financially precarious, and that most of his earnings were reinvested into conservation work at Australia Zoo. She added that Steve had set a 10-year business plan and maintained an ironclad will to protect the family’s assets, noting that the life-insurance payout did not cover half of one week’s payroll. Everything was reinvested into conservation work, Terri said, and the couple’s finances were managed with a long-term plan in mind.
The family’s public narrative, however, centers on stewardship and sustainability. Robert’s progress on DWTS US comes as the Irwins continue to expand their conservation footprint and public profile. Terri has emphasized that the Australia Zoo business and related conservation initiatives were built on a deliberate, long-range plan, not on sudden wealth. The Irwins have long maintained that Steve reinvested earnings into the zoo and conservation projects, a philosophy that continues to guide their operations today. Steve Irwin died on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef with Philippe Cousteau Jr. The tragedy thrust the family into a different financial reality, one that Terri said relied heavily on ongoing conservation funding and careful asset management rather than windfalls.
While the DWTS US payday has been a source of public fascination, the Irwins’ broader financial story underscores a different kind of currency: the ongoing investment in wildlife conservation and an enterprise intended to sustain Australia Zoo for generations. Robert’s rising profile on the show—paired with the public’s familiarity with his family’s conservation work—continues to shape a narrative in which popularity on screen intersects with a legacy built on long-term stewardship rather than rapid wealth.