Climber Alex Honnold says he was paid 'embarrassing' amount for climbing Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes

American rock climber Alex Honnold, who has grabbed eyeballs for climbing one of the world's tallest skyscrapers in Taiwan without protective gear, has revealed that he was paid an "embarrassing" amount for undertaking the risky feat. In an interview with the New York Post, Honnold stated that his payday was nothing compared to what other professional athletes earn.

“I’m not gonna say. It’s an embarrassing amount,” Honnold said. Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount. You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts.”

“Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about,” he added.

The famous rock climber declined to disclose how much he earned for free-climbing the enormous skyscraper, only mentioning that it was in the “mid-six figures.”

Honnold added that, no matter the compensation, he would have happily undertaken the death-defying challenge for free, provided he had the building’s permission.

“If there was no TV programme and the building gave me permission to go do the thing,” he said.

“I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing," Honnold told Post.

The skyscraper rises 101 floors, with the toughest section spanning the middle 64 floors - referred to as the “bamboo boxes,” which give the structure its distinctive appearance.

The building is divided into eight segments, each containing eight floors of steep, overhanging climbs, interspersed with balconies where Honnold paused briefly before continuing upward.

His free solo ascent of the iconic building in Taiwan’s capital city was shown with a 10-second delay.

Originally planned for Saturday, the climb was pushed back by 24 hours due to rain.

Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, he celebrated at the top by waving his arms back and forth over his head.