Will Smith Once Earned $100 Million for *ONE* Movie and Now His Net Worth Is Astronomical
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Will Smith is currently in a healthy and committed entanglement with his bank account, and by that, I mean…the man is wildly rich. Like, one-of-the-richest-people-in-Hollywood rich. Will Smith’s net worth is mostly thanks to his success as an actor (cast him in a movie and it’s pretty much guaranteed to kill it at the box office), and he also has tons of fancy real estate holdings. Let’s break down all his dollars, but first…anyone want to guess how much is lurking in Will’s bank account?
He Earned $44.5 Million in the First Half of 2020 Alone
That’s right, friends. Forbes reported that Will earned almost $45 million in the middle of a global pandemic, thanks to his A+ content on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, as well as his Snapchat lockdown series, "Will from Home." Honestly, would love a Red Table Talk episode devoted entirely to how he did this because I need tips.
He Also Casually Wrote a Book
Back in October 2018, it was announced that Will was going to pen a memoir with Mark Manson, entitled Will, and now it's set to be released by Penguin Press in November 2021. Though the advance amount has been kept hush-hush, Publisher's Weekly reported that the deal was "rumored to be a seven-figure acquisition," so while the book probs didn't majorly inflate his net worth, it's still worth mentioning.
Remember Netflix’s Bright? Yeah. $20 Million
In case you forgot, Bright is that (kinda terrible) fantasy movie you watched while you were tipsy off boxed wine a few years ago. Not only did Netflix pay Will $20 million for his starring role, but it’s also agreed to shell out $35 million to him for the sequel, per Variety. My eyeballs literally just turned into dollar signs.
Pls note that Bright 2 is just one of Will’s upcoming projects. Bad Boys 4 is also in the works, and considering Will reportedly earned $17 million for Bad Boys for Life, he'll probs earn even more this time around. His upcoming runaway slave movie Emancipation sold to Apple Studios for $120 million in June 2020, making it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history. And while it's not clear how much he's earning from that one, the answer is probably: a lot.
And let's not forget that—according to Variety—he earned a cool $40 million (!!) to play Serena and Venus Williams’ dad in Warner Brothers’ upcoming King Richard, which is set to hit theaters and HBO Max in November 2021. (Side note: If you haven't watched the trailer yet, it looks good.)
Other forthcoming movies for Will include two more Netflix flicks: Fast & Loose and The Council, which undoubtedly both earned him big bucks. Oh, and did we mention there are rumors of a live-action Aladdin sequel? When does this man sleep??
He Earned a Ton of $$$ From Music in the ’90s
Celebrity Net Worth reports that Will raked in $10 million between 1988 and 1990, but, uh, apparently, he didn’t pay taxes, and the IRS took 70 percent of his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air salary until the debt was paid off. 😬
The good news is that Will’s pivot to film made him an absolute fortune. According to Complex, he earned $2 million for Bad Boys in 1995 and $5 million for Independence Day in 1996. After the success of Men in Black in 1997, his salary skyrocketed and he made $14 million for Enemy of the State in 1998. Just six years later, he doubled that and raked in $28 million (yeah, you read that right) for I, Robot in 2004.
Fun Fact: He Got More Than $100 Million for Men in Black 3
I repeat: more than $100 million.
Speechless? Same. Here’s how it worked: On top of the money Will got up front, he earned $100 million of the film’s $624 million gross. I MEANNNNN!
He Apparently Has More Than $100 Million in Real Estate
Mostly thanks to a Malibu property he and Jada Pinkett Smith bought in 1999, which is worth somewhere around $70 million today, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Will and Jada also made around $30 million from selling properties in Hawaii and have several other homes around the country—you know, as one does.
So, What’s His Total Net Worth?
$350 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. If you’re surprised it’s not more, that’s because taxes and expenses take out a pretty huge slice of that pie. Either way, CONGRATS, WILL SMITH, YOU’RE DOING AMAZING.
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