Rocky Aoki was a Japanese-American wrestler and restaurateur who had a net worth of $40 million. Hiroaki Aoki was born in Tokyo, Japan in October 1938 and died July 10, 2008 in New York, NY. As a child he played bass but later took up wrestling. He qualified for the Summer Olympics in 1960 but did not compete. As an amateur wrestler, Rocky won the United States flyweight title in 1962, 1963, and 1964. In 1995 he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He worked in an ice cream truck in Harlem, NY while he attended New York City Community College and studied restaurant management.
He and his father co-invested in a four table teppanyaki restaurant called Benihana. Benihana is now located in 22 countries around the world and over 100 locations. Aoki got into powerboat racing until he got into a near fatal crash in 1979 under the Golden Gate Bridge. He sued four of his children in 2005 for allegedly attempting to take control of his companies. He was awarded with New York's Award of Excellence before he died of pneumonia. At the time of Rocky's death he suffered from Hepatitis C, diabetes, and cirrhosis of the liver.
