Daniel Ruettiger, popularly known by his nickname “Rudy,” is an America motivational speaker and author who has achieved much in his lifetime. Ruettiger’s story is also told in the “Rudy” 1993 film that starred Sean Astin and that’s how many people came to learn about who Daniel Ruettiger is.
From the movie, you will learn facts such as how Daniel became a student at Notre Dame in his hope of joining the football team. It is after his Notre Dame years that he became a motivational speaker. He focused on giving school-age children advises alongside university students and professional athletes.
Early Life of Rudy Ruettiger
Although his nickname is Rudy, his birth name is Daniel Eugene Ruettiger. Rudy was born in Joliet, Illinois on August 23, 1948. He was raised in a German-American family alongside his 13 siblings.
However, Daniel suffered dyslexia and this disadvantaged him as it affected his academic excellence. Daniel was a student at Joliet catholic High School and was a member of the football team playing under coach Gordie Gillespie.
After Daniel graduated from high school, he enlisted in the United State Navy when he spent two yeas on a communications command ship as a yeoman. He then worked in a power plant after which he applied to the University of Notre Dame in Indian but his application didn’t go through due to his low grades.
However, he attended Holy Cross College for two years and then applied to Notre Dame for his fourth time and got accepted in 1974. It was during his school years at Holy Cross College that he learnt about his dyslexia.
Rudy Ruettiger’s College Life
Upon joining college, Rudy didn’t allow his height of 5 ft 6 from preventing him to join the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scout team. Although he didn’t get many chances, new coach Dan Devin put him as a defensive end during a home game against Georgia Tech.
Much of the details about his college life is detailed in the “Rudy” film which gives more insights of how Rudy was presented in the film. Notably, he played alongside future NFL Hall of Famer, Joe Montana.
Rudy Ruettiger’s Personal Life
At one point, Daniel Ruettiger was the Chairman of Rudy Beverage and the position led to him getting charged in 2011 for securities fraud. According to the government, they alleged that Rudy was involved in a pump-and-dump scheme. The allegations made Rudy to pay $382,866 in fines.
Rudy even talks about the incident in his book “Rudy: My Story” talking about how he felt into the trap and laments on how he shouldn’t have been chasing the money that time as it was the cause of his problems.
How Much is Rudy Ruettiger’s Net Worth?
Rudy Ruettiger’s life has centred around him being an American motivational speaker and an author. It is through these careers that Rudy has managed to earn enough to sustain his life and live a good life. Talking about the numbers, his net worth is $500 thousand.
