Share and Follow
In an extraordinary feat, Netflix broadcasted a live event featuring Alex Honnold scaling the world’s 11th-tallest skyscraper without any ropes or safety equipment.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Saturday, renowned rock climber Alex Honnold successfully ascended the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan. The highly anticipated Netflix event, originally scheduled, faced a 24-hour postponement due to inclement weather conditions.
Honnold made history as the first rock climber to conquer this architectural giant unaided by ropes or safety gear.
The thrilling climb, streamed live by Netflix on Saturday night, saw Honnold complete the ascent in precisely 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 35 seconds, tackling a building that once held the title of the world’s tallest.
The question remains: what was the financial reward for undertaking such a perilous challenge?
How much did Alex Honnold get paid to climb a skyscraper for Netflix?
Honnold hasn’t told anyone an exact number, but reports say it’s in the six figures and he called it an “embarrassing amount.”
“If you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount,” he told the New York Times before the climb. “You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts.”
Though the number isn’t in the millions, and was less than his agent aimed for, Honnold said he would have done it for free.
“If there was no TV program and the building gave me permission to go do the thing, I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing,” he said. “Just sitting by yourself on the very top of the spire is insane.”
He said he wasn’t getting paid to climb, he was “getting paid for the spectacle.”
How tall is Taipei 101?
Honnold free climbed Taipei 101, the world’s 11th-tallest skyscraper, in Taiwan.
Taipei 101 is 1,667 feet tall. When it first opened in late 2004, it was the tallest building in the world.
The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors comprising the middle section — the “bamboo boxes” that give the building its signature look. Divided into eight, each segment has eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by a balcony that Honnold can rest on.
At his local gym, Taiwanese rock climber Chin Tzu-hsiang said he’s grown up always looking up at the Taipei 101 and wondering if he could climb it. Honnold is a household name among rock climbers even in Taiwan, and Chin said he has students who have only been climbing for a year or two who are excited to watch. Based on watching Honnold in his other climbs, Chin said he trusts him to prepare for the challenge and not to recklessly take risks.
