Steve Irwin’s legacy: Inside the Irwin family’s empire

Zookeeper and presenter Robert Irwin is carrying on the environmental legacy crafted by his late father as well as forging his own path. Here’s how.

Not since Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee heyday has anything signified Australia to the rest of the world more than the Irwin family.

Yep, Steve (who died in 2006 after his chest was pierced by a stingray barb), Terri, Bindi and Robert have taken our wondrous native animals and conservation (not to mention the word “crikey!”) global.

Despite the tragedy of Steve’s death, the family (along with Bindi’s American husband, Chandler Powell, and the couple’s daughter, Grace) have successfully carried on the environmental legacy crafted by the man famously known globally as the “Crocodile Hunter”.

Robert Irwin attends the TV WEEK Logie Awards nominations announcement in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

And they are never far from the headlines. In a major career win, Robert, 20, was nominated for a coveted Gold Logie on Sunday after debuting as host of I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! alongside Julia Morris.

If the young zookeeper and presenter takes out the top gong on August 18, he will become the second youngest personality to win the prize after a 19-year-old Kylie Minogue won the Gold Logie in 1988.

It comes after Robert threatened to sue One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for defamation over her latest Please Explain video, featuring him in a Queensland tourism campaign with cartoon icon Bluey.

Here, we take a look at how the Irwins – through various TV projects, endorsement deals, and the family’s beloved Australia Zoo – have built their very own conservation empire.

Chandler Powell, little Grace, Bindi Irwin, Robert Irwin and Terri Irwin are the faces of Australia’s most famous family. Picture: @roberterwinphotography

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Terri, who took sole ownership of Australia Zoo after Steve’s death in 2006, is said to be worth $A15 million while Bindi and Robert Irwin each have their own personal wealth, estimated to be at $A4.5 million each.

The family are passionate wildlife advocates and support numerous charities and causes.

AUSTRALIA ZOO

Australia Zoo (previously known as Beerwah Reptile Park) was founded by Steve’s parents, Bob and Lynn in 1970. After they retired, Steve took control of the park with Terri and renamed it Australia Zoo.

The zoo’s revenue is thought to be around $A60 million per year, according to GrowJo.com, but its overheads are high.

And there have been financial struggles. When Australia Zoo was forced to shut its doors for 11 weeks in 2020-21 due to the Covid pandemic, the Irwins were still on the hook for $80,000 a week to feed the zoo’s animals.

Thankfully, the zoo survived and continues to flourish.

Steve Irwin sadly passed away in 2006. Picture: Supplied

In 2022, the Irwins opened the Crocodile Hunter Lodge, which features eight cabins, as well as a two-room accessible cabin, in an area that’s a habitat for kangaroos, emus, and koalas.

The area also includes a new home for the zoo’s southern koalas, who were victims of the 2020 bushfires, where they live alongside echidnas.

ENDORSEMENT DEALS

Not surprisingly, the always exuberant Irwins are an attractive package for advertisers and brands. (Steve famously spruiked everything from Toyota utes, Subway sandwiches, US postal carrier FedEx, and even a controversial quarantine ad for the Australian government.)

The rest of the Irwins haven’t been quite as prolific but Robert, in particular, has become more of a commercial presence in recent years.

Terri, Bindi and Robert appeared alongside Paris Hilton for an Uber Eats campaign. Picture: Supplied/Uber Eats

In 2022, the family starred alongside Paris Hilton in a famed “birds and the bees” Uber Eats ad while, the following year, Robert was named as the face of iconic Aussie workwear brand Hard Yakka.

This year, the youngest Irwin joined forces with his fellow Aussie icon Bluey to be the face of a special campaign for Tourism and Events Queensland, which aims to bring over one million tourists into the state, and will be aired internationally in many countries, including the US, Japan, United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Robert Irwin was the face of Hard Yakka. Picture: Supplied

Rob Irwin featured in an ad for Twisties. Picture: Supplied

Robert, who was most recently linked with the late Heath Ledger’s niece Rorie Buckey before they split earlier this year, has also been part of an ad campaign for the Google app and Google phones.

He also controversially appeared alongside Aussie musician G-Flip in an ad for Twisties (for the record, Robert was “Team Chicken”, and slammed by the public as a “hypocrite” for supporting a meat-based product despite being an animal activist). According to reports, he was paid an eye-watering $A200,000 for the 48-second ad.

TV PROJECTS

Thanks to Steve’s wildly successful television career (he became a major star in the US thanks to his breakout show, The Crocodile Hunter, which drove hordes of US tourists Down Under), the younger Irwins have followed suit.

Indeed, Bindi Irwin has racked up a serious on screen resume. She made her first television appearance at the age of two on her dad’s show Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and has been hosting shows since 2007, when she was just nine years old appearing in Between My Daddy, Steve Irwin; Bindi The Jungle Girl; Bindi’s Bootcamp; and even the movie Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove.

Bindi Irwin in Bindi The Jungle Girl.

Bindi won in the US version of Dancing with the Stars. Picture: Supplied

And the family’s Animal Planet reality series, Crikey! It’s the Irwins ran for four seasons until 2022. It has not been officially cancelled but a fifth season has yet to be confirmed.

In 2015, Bindi was said to have received $A540,000 for appearing on the US version of Dancing with the Stars, where she took out the title.

Last year, Robert replaced Dr Chris Brown as the host of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, for which he was said to have been paid $A430,000. Despite reports he wouldn’t return to the jungle, Robert will be back to host the show in 2025.

Robert with his I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! co-host Julia Morris. Picture: Network 10

REAL ESTATE

At the time of Steve Irwin’s death in 2006, the Irwins had a real estate portfolio in the region of $A20 million. But, throughout the years, Terri sold off a lot of their land to help expand and invest in Australia Zoo.

After Steve’s death, the Australian Government purchased the Bertiehaugh Cattle Station as a living memorial, in honour of the late Queenslander’s commitment to conservation. The Irwin family and Australia Zoo took on the role of management of the reserve under the Australian Government’s National Reserves System.

Originally published as Steve Irwin’s legacy: Inside the Irwin family’s empire