Charlize Theron Net Worth

How much is Charlize Theron worth?

About Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is a South African-American actress who has become one of the most acclaimed women working in the industry today. The actress has won several awards including the Academy Award for “Best Actress” in 2003 for Monster.

While successfully managing to achieve award winning performances in acclaimed dramas, she has at the same time appeared in leading roles in several action movies. Theron has made a fortune for herself by investing in films, as well. Not to mention, appearing in films that have gone on to make hundreds of millions of dollars and starring in billion dollar franchises such as the Fast & Furious.

While many of the exact paychecks Theron has earned from her movie roles remain undisclosed, she has been earning $10 million dollar paychecks as far back as Æon Flux in 2005. Her breakout role Monster made $64.2 million from a budget of just $8 million dollars with Theron likely earning $5-6 million dollars as a partner in the film. That is, considering Theron was deeply involved in the project, as well as served as producer for the movie, likely resulting in a significant amount of the backend profits.

That same year of 2003, she starred in the remake of The Italian Job with Mark Wahlberg which earned $176.1 million. In terms of producing, she has been producing ever since, notably Atomic Blonde in 2017. A film that grossed a total of $100 million dollars worldwide, and from a $30 million dollar budget.

“How critics will perceive your film or your work, or whether your movie is going to make $100 million at the box office, or whether you are going to be winning any awards – well, you have no control over that,” Theron has said. However it is her clear insight into what audiences want and her talent as both an actress and as a producer, that have earned her a substantial net worth.

It didn’t take long for Theron to start getting major roles in the movie industry. Her two notable roles that set the foundation of her career were in The Devil’s Advocate with Keanu Reeves, in which Theron played Keanu’s wife, and in Mighty Joe Young, wherein Theron plays the best friend of a giant gorilla. From there she would continue to amuse audiences in comedies such as Woody Allen’s Celebrity and Waking Up In Reno, and thrill audiences in crime movies like Reindeer Games, 15 Minutes and Men of Honor, with the latter acting alongside Hollywood heavyweight, Robert De Niro.

“I only worked on Men of Honor for three weeks, but I walked away with so much. Because Bob is the kind of actor who gives you the opportunity to really go there. And we really had to go there. I mean, we were both playing drunks,” Theron has said of her experience working with De Niro.

Early on in her career Theron proved that she could juggle a variety of genres, but nothing would prepare audiences for what was to come next. 2003 was the most important year in her career up to that point. Theron starred in Monster, a biopic about the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who murdered her clients between 1989 and 1990. The movie was one of the most critically acclaimed of the year, and Theron won multiple accolades, including the Academy Award for “Best Actress in a Leading Role”, becoming the first South African to be awarded an Oscar in an acting category.

Not only that, but in the same year the actress hedged her bets by starring in the Mark Wahlberg crime caper, The Italian Job, a remake of the Michael Cane classic. Against all odds, unlike many remakes of classic films, The Italian Job was another critical and commercial success. It was so successful in fact, that a sequel The Brazilian Job, was green lit, though it has yet to enter production.

Since then, the actress has continued to surprise audiences and has shockingly turned in to somewhat of an action hero, starring in Aeon Flux, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Fate of the Furious, and more. Mad Max: Fury Road is a stand out in her tenure as an action star because, though she isn’t the lead, Theron has the most screen time, more lines, and generally more to do than Tom Hardy, who plays Mad Max.

Again, she received praise for the role from critics and the movie outdid tracking numbers, making $375.4 million for a fourth installment of a franchise that hadn’t seen a release in 30 years.

One thing that Theron does that most other actors wouldn’t dare to do, is most of her own stunts. It is one of the many reasons why filmmakers love her because she is prepared to go further than most other actors and puts the movie first, sometimes even before her own safety. While filming Aeon Flux she suffered a herniated disc and had to wear a neck brace for over a month. She even had to wear a thumb brace for six months after a fight choreography went wrong on the set of the Old Guard.

Theron produces her own movies so that she can retain an element of control over the films. Which has been another avenue of success for her. When it comes to producing, Charlize Theron has a great working relationship with Netflix. For the streaming service, she has not only produced the massively successful movies Murder Mystery and The Old Guard, the actress has executive produced the drifting game show Hyperdrive and the true crime thriller Mindhunter, both of which have come to be staples of the streaming service.

Arguably the most financially successful aspect of Theron is her choice of jumping on board of already well established franchises. Eight movies in, Theron joined the ensemble cast of the Fast & Furious franchise, which had already grossed billions of dollars. Partially thanks to Theron’s performance as the villainous Cypher, The Fate of the Furious made more than $1.2 billion alone. Theron also stars in The Huntsman series, and those two movies have also been a notable success.

Theron’s Total Net Worth

While Theron has produced for three separate TV series in her career for multiple episodes, Girlboss, Mindhunter and Hyperdrive, it has been her film acting work that has by far contributed the most to her net worth. She earns between $8-15 million dollars a starring role and in recent years, she has been earning around $20 million dollars per year from her acting work alone. Roles like Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde and Megyn Kelly in Bombshell have majorly added to her career earnings.

Overall, from her work as an actress and as a producer, as well as all of the appearances that she has made as herself, not including in advertising, it is estimated that Theron has earned $220 million dollars. Another major source of income for Theron, is her endorsements. Her 11 year contract with Dior is considered to be one of the largest endorsements of all time, out of any entertainer. The total contract size is reportedly $55 million dollars, and she has earned at least another $15 million more.

In total, Theron’s career earnings are estimated to have been $290 million, not including earnings from her investments. Of that amount, $20-34 million will have been paid in business related costs. Despite being born in South Africa, Theron has emigrated to the United States and become an American citizen. Therefore the remainder, $263 million, will have been taxed at around 49% as she has been residing in the state of California. After tax, it is estimated that her career earnings are at around $134.13 million dollars, having paid $128.87 million dollars in taxes.

Even after experiencing massive success in the movie business, Theron hasn’t had much time to rest on her laurels. She has said “you can never get to a place of comfort in this business. As soon as you hit that little cushy spot, somebody’s gonna kick you out. So I have a constant need to do it better.” This ultra competitive side of Hollywood helps actresses like Theron thrive, while others don’t survive. With someone like Theron, she is deeply involved in every aspect of delivering the perfect performances. She has said “when I’m working I don’t have room to think about myself and my own issues. It’s really freeing.” Theron has noted that her minor troubles and silly issues have tended to drop away as her efforts are being invested in projects that are bigger than herself.

It also seems that she has managed to find a balance between her work and her personal life, saying “I’ve always been very aware of balance and, even before I had a child, my life always takes priority to my work.” Charlize Theron has never married, she has however adopted two children. It seems that she is very strict with herself and likely has her accounts in order. In terms of managing her wealth, she has made investments that have been reported, various properties that she has acquired and it is speculated that quite some of her fortune is invested in stocks and bonds.

In 1998, she purchased a mansion in the Hollywood Hills for $1.65 million. She followed her first property purchase up with what appears to have either been an investment acquisition or simply a move of house for herself. It was a $3 million dollar property in the Hollywood Hills, in the year 2000. Then in 2005 and 2007 she acquired more properties in Hollywood, including a $2.75 million dollar penthouse apartment in the Broadway Hollywood Lofts building.

While her property purchases may have earned her some money, and a few seem be related to her investments. She has also been reported to have sold properties at a loss over the years. Overall, it is far more likely that she has been optimizing her own living and lifestyle, and that her real money has been invested elsewhere. Her known purchasing habits, small sums for properties for example, relative to her income, point to her living with little money in the bank and likely with a lot more invested in diversified securities.

In her personal life she has likely spent $9-10 million dollars of her career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $3-4 million, not including investment assets. In her investments, she may have earned investment returns of $39-50 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Charlize Theron has a net worth of about $175 million dollars.

“I like what I do, and I’m very fortunate now to be in a very nice place. Which is that I don’t have to work anymore. So the work that I do now is purely because I really want to.” Charlize Theron

Summing-Up

With diverse acting skills Theron has been able to diversify her career by starring in action movies, comedies, and award winning dramas. Thanks to her ability to skillfully produce many of her own movies she is able to make more money than she would as just an actor, one of the many reasons why the actress and producer now sits on a net worth of $175 million.