Most viewers watching American free climber Alex Honnold’s death-defying climb up one of the world’s tallest buildings would think no amount of money could be worth the risk.

Even with a harness, ropes and safety gear, the 508-metre glass and steel Taipei 101 seems insurmountable – yet Honnold made it to the top unassisted, with his ascent captured live in a Netflix special that is both captivating and terrifying to watch.

And his payday for Skyscraper Live?

Honnold reportedly pocketed around $US500,000 ($A723,000) for the Netflix deal, which some commentators have pointed out pales in comparison to the pay of other professional athletes.

In a post on X that has attracted more than 11,000 likes, film director Joseph Kahn wrote: “Alex Honnold getting paid only $500k to risk his life while producers made more than that is a metaphor.”

American YouTuber and businessman Mr Beast (AKA Jimmy Donaldson), whose YouTube channel has more than 464 million subscribers, responded with: “I would have paid him more to do it on my channel lol.”

Social media users were divided, with some pointing out Honnold would have been happy to do the climb for free, while others suggested the amount was “a joke” in return for risking life and limb.

One fan, who said his hands were still sweaty after watching the livestream, even started a Go Fund Me page for the climber.

Alex Honnold getting paid only $500k to risk his life while producers made more than that is a metaphor. pic.twitter.com/qqrp97mrhU

— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) January 25, 2026

Honnold ­­– who was previously the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo ­– has admitted his fee was less than his agent “aspired to”.

Speaking to the New York Times ahead of the January 25 climb, he didn’t give the exact figure of the Skyscraper Live deal, but said it was in the “mid-six figures”.

“Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount,” Honnold said.

“You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about.”

E! News republished the comments alongside a list of some of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes, who, it must be admitted, most people would have heard of ­– including the likes of footballer Lionel Messi, whose annual average income is said to be around $20 million, and tennis star Naomi Osaka, who reportedly earned almost $13 million in 2024.

Honnold, however, wasn’t really complaining. He said he was getting paid “for the spectacle”, not to climb Taipei 101 ­– which he would indeed have been prepared to do for nothing.

“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to climb a skyscraper,” he said in the trailer for Skyscraper Live.

He also told Variety after the event that he was happy to be able to climb full-time for a living and support his family.

“That’s freaking perfect. I can’t ask for more. This whole project is part of that. I get to climb something that I’m proud of that’s this inspiring. I couldn’t ask for better.”

Honnold is well known for his extreme endeavours, in particular for being the first person to solo climb the 915-metre El Capitan cliff in California’s Yosemite National Park ­– a feat captured in Free Solo. But he hadn’t previously tackled a large man-made structure, never mind one with 101 floors

His ascent up Taiwan’s Taipei 101 was also different in that it was being watched by an audience of thousands who lined the streets around the building and cheered him on, while millions more watched the livestream on Netflix.

“I think I’ve gotten used to fear over the years,” he said ahead of the climb. “It’s just an ever-present part of climbing. No matter how much you prepare, occasionally things just happen.

“If you fall, you’re gonna die.”

Aside from the question of money, Netflix has come in for criticism from some viewers over its handling of the live coverage, which often prioritised the commentary of its trio of exuberant hosts over that of Honnold, who listened to music, smiled and even cracked jokes during his climb.

Nonetheless, it’s nail-biting stuff, even for those watching Skyscraper Live after the event. Knowing that Honnold survived doesn’t lessen the tension of watching him scale the building and navigate his way around its trickier architectural features, sometimes with only a handhold and at one point dangling by his legs.

If Honnold had fallen, Netflix has said a 10-second delay in the livestream would have enabled it to cut away.

Luckily, he reached top of skyscraper unscathed, waving down at onlookers and even taking a selfie to celebrate.

One unfortunate, but perhaps predictable, side-effect of his success is that locals in Taipei are now having a go at climbing up the skyscraper themselves. So far, they haven’t got much higher than three metres.

Locals in Taiwan are trying to climb Taipei 101 after American climber Alex Honnold successfully reached the top.

The highest a local made it was about 10 feet up the 1,667-foot-tall tower.

The Taipei 101 tower is the eleventh-tallest building in the world. From 2004 to 2010,… pic.twitter.com/hf2huzWYEH

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 27, 2026