Eddie Murphy Net Worth

How much is Eddie Murphy worth?

About Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy became famous in the ’80s thanks to huge comedy movies and performing record breaking stand-up comedy specials. Murphy is incredibly consistent, having dozens of classics to his name and he managed to keep up this momentum for three full decades. There are few other entertainers in the movie industry that bring the kind of unique energy and character that Murphy brings to his roles.

Even when you can’t see him, Murphy transcends and makes movies far bigger successes. Like in the movie Shrek, Eddie Murphy’s voicing of ‘Donkey’ was key to the movies’ success. Eventually that single Shrek franchise where Murphy played a lead part, grossed over $2.5 billion dollars and earned Murphy income of around $25 million dollars.

Eddie Murphy got his start on Saturday Night Live in which he starred and helped write some of the show’s most well-known and hilarious sketches for four years straight, with 65 episodes. It was after that, that he would go on to perform the world’s most popular stand-up shows in history with Delirious in 1983, in which he wore the now iconic red leather suit.

It was followed up several years later with Raw, the highest grossing stand-up comedy concert film ever released, earning a total of $50.5 million dollars in United States and Canada. After proving his worth and cutting his teeth in the SNL writers’ room and in front of the camera, Murphy starred in his first movie while he was still in his Saturday Night Live residency.

The movie, 48 Hrs., was a bigger hit than the filmmakers could ever have imagined. Starring alongside Nick Nolte, Murphy was loved by audiences and the film went on to earn $78.9 million dollars globally. That was a whole lot of money for 1982, the equivalent of about $242 million dollars today. More than enough money in box office earnings for the studio to green light a sequel, Another 48 Hrs., plus, Murphy was even nominated for a Golden Globe for his part as Reggie Hammond in 48 Hrs. which was his first ever role.

He followed 48hrs with the Christmas movie Trading Places co-starring Dan Aykroyd, but it was his 1984 movie that turned Murphy into a Hollywood star. Beverly Hills Cop made an incredible $316 million from a budget of just $13 million. Off the back of its success the studio quickly fast-tracked a sequel and three years later, this time with the late Tony Scott in the director’s chair, Beverly Hills Cop 2 was just as successful as its predecessor. The actor could do no wrong.

In the 1980s he wasn’t in a single unsuccessful movie. Even in the 90s and 2000s, though his movies didn’t have a 100% success rate, Murphy had a star power and he was more bankable than just about any classically trained actor.

In his first season of Saturday Night Live in 1980, Murphy was getting paid just $4,500 per episode, which is low for somebody who was writing and acting in the sketches, especially for someone who was making Saturday Night Live popular again after the show had seen low ratings. However, Murphy’s second season saw his salary rise more than six times over that of his first, as he received a salary of $30,000 per episode. Though $30,000 for a few sketches every week is nothing to be sniffed at, Murphy would set his sights much higher as he grew more famous.

The actor has consistently earned $10-20 million for every role he has had for most of his career, especially in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. He has starred in several franchises, with six completely original screenplays of which he was the lead, receiving sequels. That is something that just never happens anymore, it was even rare in the 80s.

Murphy is a part of the multibillion dollar franchise, Shrek, which won the Academy Award for “Best Animated Picture” the year it came out and made close to half a billion dollars at the box office. Which was nothing compared to the sequel, Shrek 2 made almost double that, with earnings of $928.7 million dollars globally. The franchise has now made over $2.5 billion. In the series, Murphy plays a donkey, aptly named Donkey, who is energetic and loud but also very dopey.

Starring alongside Michael Myers and Cameron Diaz, Murphy stole the show and set the foundation for the way animals would be cast in future Dreamworks Animation movies. No other animated Dreamworks franchise has reached the critical success of Shrek, not even Kung Fu Panda.

Like many comedians before him, Murphy has signed a deal with Netflix. Murphy’s deal isn’t like many others, then again, he is like almost no other comedian, he will receive $70 million from the streaming titan in return for a series of stand-up specials. How many specials the comedian has agreed to perform is unclear, but this payout is the highest by far, topping Chris Rock’s $40 million for two specials, and Dave Chappelle’s $60 million for three specials.

Rare for a comedian, he has been nominated for an Academy Award, which was for “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in Dreamgirls in 2007. It was argued that Murphy should be nominated for his recent role in the Netflix original movie, Dolemite Is My Name, and it was massively disputed when he wasn’t nominated.

Eddie Murphy’s movies have grossed close to $4 billion at the U.S. box office alone, which has been predominantly built off animated movies, buddy movies, and sequels. Murphy has created some of the most iconic characters in cinema history, such as Axel Foley, Dr. John Doolittle, Donkey, Prince Akeem, Billy Ray Valentine, and perhaps most impressively, almost every character from The Nutty Professor.

Murphy’s Total Net Worth

Eddie Murphy was earning $20 million dollar movie paychecks not long after Jim Carrey, who was the first recorded actor to be paid such a high amount. Murphy was paid a reported $14 million for Beverly Hills Cop in 1984 and while mostly earned via a backend percentage, he was paid $60 million dollars for Nutty Professor II (2000). He was also paid $15-18 million for Doctor Dolittle 2 and earned a reported $10 million dollar paycheck for Shrek 2.

Murphy’s career earnings increased further in 2019 when he was hired by Netflix to record a series of comedy specials, for a paycheck of $70 million dollars. All told, from his acting work, as well as from his producing and writing, combined with all of the appearances that he has made as himself. It is estimated that Eddie Murphy has had career earnings of $325 million dollars.

Of that amount, $16-29 million will have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $302.5 million, will have been taxed at around 49% as Murphy has been residing between the states of Los Angeles and New York, but mostly in California during his highest earning years. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $154.27 million dollars, having paid $148.23 million dollars in taxes.

Eddie Murphy married Nicole Mitchell Murphy in 1993 and they later divorced thirteen years later, in 2006. As there were children involved and the years that they were married were high earning years for Murphy. Nicole walked away with a $15 million dollar divorce settlement. Murphy has since partnered with Paige Butcher, in total, he has ten children.

In his personal life, Murphy has mostly kept it cool. He was baptized Catholic but told Rolling Stone in 2011,”But I don’t want to have no religion. I have Christian-based values and beliefs.” There was that one time in 1997, when Murphy was stopped by police in Santa Monica, California with a trans prostitute in his car. His publicist, Paul Block, later denied that Murphy had intended to pay her for sex, rather stating that Murphy was “only giving her a ride home”.

In the 1990s, Eddie Murphy was one of the very richest actors in the world. He lived in Granite Bay, California which is on Folsom lake near Sacramento. There, he had built a mansion in a gated community worth an estimated $5-6 million dollars at the time. He later moved to Beverly Hills investing $10 million dollars on an undeveloped lot of a little under 4-acres and had another mansion custom built costing millions more. That area, near Beverly Park, is where a lot of actors live including Denzel Washington and Sylvester Stallone. Today, Murphy’s property may be worth as much as $35 million dollars.

He has also invested in a number of smaller properties in California, he listed a property he bought in Beverly Hills in the 1980s for $85 million dollars in 2016. It is unclear however if the property is worth that much. Eddie Murphy also owns real estate internationally, he bought a private island in the Bahamas called Rooster Cay, in 2007. The 15-acre property was purchased for $15 million dollars at the time.

Outside of his real estate deals, on which it is safe to say that Murphy has done well. He will have also earned stacks of cash from the stock market and other securities. Essentially every star and high net worth individual was piling their money into property and stocks in the 90s because inflation had been so high. No doubt, knowing Murphy’s way with money he did the same. Overall, from his investments, including his real estate appreciation and lease earnings. It is estimated that Eddie Murphy has earned around $100 million dollars. That is, even after deducting the costs, losses and expenses.

Murphy will have likely spent quite some money in his life as well. It is estimated that he may have $18-22 million but also probably possesses assets valued at around $9-12 million, not including investment assets. Therefore, it is estimated that Eddie Murphy has a net worth of about $230 million dollars.

Summing-Up

Thanks to his phenomenal comedy with perfect timing and bringing already brilliant screenplays to life. Murphy’s amazing performances will go down in the movie history books and have earned him a net worth of $230 million. His recent movie, Dolemite Is My Name, seems to have awoken him, as after having taken a few years off, he’s back with several new projects. Perhaps most exciting among them, is his reprising the role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop 4 which is currently in pre-production.