Net Worth: $350 Million
Will Smith’s net worth of $350 million is impressive. The fact that he made nearly one-third of his massive fortune from a single series of movies is equally impressive.
In West Philadelphia, he was born and raised (sorry, we had to), and in Hollywood, he became a superstar, first on the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and then in a string of massive Hollywood blockbusters that all started with Independence Day.
While many actors started their careers with small paychecks, sometimes in the hundreds of dollars, Will Smtih has never earned less than $2 million per movie.
Will Smith’s Music Career Earned Him Millions
imagepressagency / Depositphotos.comBefore Will Smith landed his big role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air he was a multi-platinum-selling rapper who, in 1988, won the first Grammy in the newly created rap category for his family-friendly song “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”
According to Pinkvilla, between 1988 and 1990, Smith earned $10 million. Smith quickly burned through that money and it was soon discovered that he was in debt to the IRS for $2.8 million in unpaid taxes. When he started starring in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the IRS took 70% of his salary until the debt plus penalties was fully collected. It took three years for Smith to pay back the IRS.
Smith’s music career also had a renaissance of sorts when he ran up hit songs for the singles “Men in Black,” and “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” which earned Will Smith two consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance.
During his music career with DJ Jazzy Jeff, the duo released five albums and sold millions of records.
Will Smith’s Movie Pay
As previously mentioned, Will Smith has never earned less than $2 million for a film when he starred in the first Bad Boys movie just as his career was really starting to heat up. Since that time his average salary has skyrocketed with Smith earning at least $20 million per month.
When Smith agreed to start in Emancipation he was paid $35 million, still, it was a far cry from the $60 million estimated pay he received for starring in King Richard.
Here’s a look at some of Will Smith’s biggest movie pay milestones.
| Movies | Salary |
|---|---|
| Bad Boys | $2 million |
| Independence Da | $5 million |
| Men In Black | $5 million |
| Enemy of the State | $14 million |
| Wild Wild West | $7 million |
| The Legend of Bagger Vance | $10 million |
| Ali | $20 million |
| Men In Black 2 | $20 million plus 10% of gross |
| Bad Boys 2 | $20 million + 20% of gross |
| I, Robot | $28 million |
| Shark Tale | $15 million |
| Hitch | $20 million |
| Pursuit of Happyness | $10 million + 20% of gross |
| I Am Legend | $25 million |
| Hancock | $20 million + 20% of gross |
| Bright | $20 million |
| Bright 2 | $35 million |
| King Richard | $60 million |
| Emancipation | $35 million |
Will Smith’s net worth is impressive, but what’s even more impressive is that he reportedly earned $100 million for his starring role in Men In Black 3. For that role, Smith received $20 million and then another $80 million on the 10% of the back-end he earned, according to Fandomwire.
It has also been claimed that Will Smith only agreed to his massive Men In Back 3 salary if the studio provided him with a $2 million luxury trailer which included its own movie theater.
The gamble did pay off for the studio when Men In Black 3 earned 654.2 million USD at the box office and then earned another $55 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales.
Will Smith Made $45 Million Without Releasing A New Movie
PopularImages / Depositphotos.comIn 2021 as the world was wading through a global pandemic, Will Smith earned $45 million. What’s most amazing is that the Hollywood A-lister didn’t release a new movie or TV series that year. Instead, Forbes reported that by leveraging his massive social media following, Smith earned $45 million using Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok.
While Will Smith’s net worth is largely tied to his acting career, there’s a good chance he’s earned millions in additional revenue from his social channels that haven’t even been included in his $350 million estimated net worth.
As a leading man, Will Smith’s movies have earned more than $6.5 billion. When combined with ensemble, supporting, and cameo roles, Will Smith has appeared in movies that have grossed over $9.5 billion.
Will Smith’s net worth is growing by more than $40 million per year; if that continues, he will surpass the half-a-billion dollar milestone in the next four years.
