How much is Jack Black worth?
| Net Worth: | $55 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | August 28, 1969 (age 53) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
About Jack Black
Most well known for his leading roles in the 2000s in movies like Shallow Hal, Year One and School of Rock, Jack is now best known for starring in the Jumanji remake and its sequel. He is a big part in not one, but two billion dollar franchises, and is probably the only man in the world who can claim to have been nominated for a Kids’ Choice award and be the guitarist and lead singer of a heavy metal band.
Black became a star thanks to his many supporting roles in the late 90s and early 2000s, but there was one that can be attributed to his breakout role more than any other. In 2000, he scored a supporting role in High Fidelity where he acted alongside John Cusack. He then went on to lead several movies more catered to families, such as Nacho Libre, Shallow Hal, Goosebumps, and the Kung Fu Panda series.
Musically, he is known for his work with bandmate Kyle Gass for their heavy metal music under the name of Tenacious D. They even went on to bizarrely adapt the debut album in to a theatrical movie, which featured the lead singer of Foo Fighters and guitarist of Nirvana, Dave Grohl, as the devil. Though the movie might not have been a huge box office success, it was certainly one of the greatest and most expensive commercials ever, as it introduced millions of people to the band’s music.
In recent years, he has become a prominent figure on YouTube and currently has 4.6 million subscribers as Jablinski Games, a project that was originally intended to be a way of bonding with his son who serves as editor of the channel. The channel has since turned in to a lucrative project as each upload tends to amass over one million views.
Jack Black made an estimated $5 million for the 2017 remake of the Robin Williams classic, Jumanji. This time set in a video game world, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was a massive success thanks to Black and co-stars Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. The movie went on to gross $962.5 million dollars at the box office, which is a huge return on investment as the movie’s budget is estimated to be as little as $65 million.
The sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, was subsequently fast-tracked based on the predecessor’s success, and though it wasn’t as profitable as the first movie, they upped the budget big time. It came in at an estimated $130 million to make the movie. And the creators, producers and actors who were cut in on the take were no doubt still content with the $800 million in global box officer earnings.
Based on the original’s profit it only makes sense that Black would have negotiated his way in to a much bigger salary than the one he got for the original. Likely banking an estimated $12 million to $20 million from this one movie alone.
Black is also the voice of the titular character in the animated movie franchise, Kung Fu Panda, which has spawned three movies, five short films, and two animated television shows. The movies themselves have made more than $1.8 billion and has sparked five video games too.
Though the third movie is over four years old and there has been no announcement of a sequel, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of Dreamworks Animation, is on record saying that he would like to see three more sequels after Kung Fu Panda 3.
The movies have a great CinemaScore and they do fairly well with critics along with being commercial hits. There is no reason not to make more, and it’d line Black’s pockets even more. It hasn’t been reported what Black made for any of the Kung Fu Panda movies, but his fee per movie is usually around $8 million, and it’s likely that with each successful entry in the franchise, his salary has gotten bigger and bigger.
Kung Fu Panda is currently the tenth highest-grossing animated franchise and the third highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation’s franchise behind Madagascar & Shrek.
Thanks to his excitable and distinctive voice, not only did Black score the role of Kung-Fu Panda, but he has also lent his voice to Shark Tale and Ice Age too.
It’s easy to understand why Black has gotten the work he has as soon as you see his theatric mannerism or hear his eccentric voice. There’s a reason he makes great kids’ movies, which makes sense once you’ve watched School of Rock, which sees Black lead an ensemble cast of children who break out of their uptight private school personas and become fun loving musicians. The movie was a commercial and critical success as the film as it made a ton at the box office and is one of the few musical movies of the 2000s to have a great story and heart.
Music is the underlining of most of Jack Black vehicles, especially during his climb to stardom. His first big role in a movie, High Fidelity, is about a record store owner who ranks his love life like he would his favorite records. Then, of course, you’ve got School of Rock, and, finally, Jack Black’s baby, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.
Black walks a tight rope between starring in child-friendly movies, more often than not alongside children too, and taking roles that are completely too grown up for children, such as playing the owner of the adult website YouPorn in the Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel movie Sex Tape, or playing a drug addicted movie star in the now comedy classic, Tropic Thunder. The most spectacular thing is, he approaches both sides with the exact same mindset and mannerisms. He is always the same slapstick-y, silly Jack Black.
Black’s Total Net Worth
Jack Black originally started earning salaries of around $1-2 million dollars per movie in the early 2000s. Like the $2 million dollar paycheck he earned for Shallow Hal in 2001. Since then he has earned far more with salaries as high as $8-10 million dollars for a handful of movies.
Still, in total Jack Black has earned around $85 million dollars in career earnings. That is, considering the sheer volume of movies and TV series that he has appeared in. As well as adding to his earnings through his producing, writing and behind the scenes work. He has also earned a small sum from his music and appearances that he has made as himself.
Of that amount, $8-9 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $76.5 million, will have been taxed at a rate of around 48% as Black has been residing in the state of California and given the years that he has been active. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $39.78 million dollars, having paid $36.72 million dollars in taxes.
Jack Black married Tanya Haden in 2006 and they remain together. They have two children together, Samuel Jason and Thomas David Black. In his home and personal life it seems that Black is one not to rock the boat, in his youth he struggled with substance abuse, including the use of cocaine. Having since left that world completely behind him, he enjoys to work on his music, his writing and preparing for his various acting parts.
In terms of where he has invested his career earnings, it is likely that he has made some investments into securities and not just real estate. It was made public that in 2010 Black purchased a property from guitarist Flea in Los Feliz, Los Angeles for $6 million. He also owns a Beverly Hills property which he bought for $3 million in 2005.
Overall from his real estate appreciation and, far more so, from his other investments. It is estimated that Jack Black is up $18-22 million dollars after deducting likely fees, losses and the principle. That is, considering the market has performed so well during his career but also it is unlikely that Black will have been in a position to fully capitalize on it.
It is also likely that Black will have spent $6-7 million dollars on himself and his family, including miscellaneous and required payments. However he also likely possesses assets valued at around $3-4 million. Overall, that makes Jack Black’s net worth a rounded down $55 million dollars.
Summing-Up
Jack Black has earned more than enough money for him to do whatever he wants, including starting his own production company, Electric Dynamite Productions. However, the reason the company hasn’t been mentioned until now is because it isn’t very successful; every movie the company produces tends to under-perform or even flop miserably. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Black, as he uses the company to fund his own passion projects. In the future, there aren’t any announced projects on Black’s slate, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t working anything. Don’t be surprised if you see the third installment of Jumanji next year or another Kung Fu Panda, or even another Goosebumps.
