Leonardo DiCaprio Net Worth

How much is Leonardo DiCaprio worth?

Net Worth:$255 Million
Profession:Professional Actor
Date of Birth:November 11, 1974 (age 48)
Country:United States of America
Height:
6 ft (1.83 m)

About Leonardo DiCaprio

DiCaprio was named after Leonardo Da Vinci. As the story goes, his mother first felt him kick in the womb when she was viewing Leonardo Da Vinci’s artwork, at the Uffizi Gallery. His father, artist George DiCaprio, found it appropriate. However, when the 10 year old Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to get an agent, the agent didn’t. The agent felt the appropriate name was ‘Lenny Williams’ and in fact stipulated that DiCaprio change his name in order to retain his services. As it turns out Leonardo DiCaprio did choose to retain the right to use his real name in the film credits, instead of changing it to the promoted Lenny Williams name. It must have worked out too, because the name Leonardo DiCaprio had been so successful, that in January 1999, his lawyers filed an application to allow him to copyright it.

American actor, film producer, and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio has an estimated net worth of $255 million dollars, as of 2023. DiCaprio has been included a total of eight times in annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid actors.

Leo’s father, George, is of German and Italian ancestry. He is an artist and the writer, editor and distributor of underground comix. His mother, Irmelin DiCaprio, is of German and Russian ancestry and a former legal secretary. Growing up, DiCaprio’s family was poor. He has talked about how he and his mother lived in neighborhoods in Los Angeles which he describes as having been the “Ghettos of Hollywood”. He attended the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and then went on to attend John Marshall High School in Los Feliz. While DiCaprio dropped out of Marshall High, he later earned his GED. He attended Seeds Elementary School at UCLA where he took summer courses in performance art.

DiCaprio’s first role was at 4 years old, he appeared as ‘Child’ in the children’s television series, Romper Room in 1979. He also appeared as a contestant on a game show called Fun House. At fourteen, he was cast in various commercials such as those for Mattel Matchbox, Kraft Foods, Bubble Yum, and Apple Jacks. He played the role of Garry Buckman on the television series Parenthood (1990), originally played by Joaquin Phoenix in the film. In 1992, after playing a secondary role in the first installment of the Poison Ivy film series, he was handpicked by Robert De Niro himself, out of 400 young actors to play the lead role in This Boy’s Life.

The following year, he co-starred as the mentally disabled brother of Johnny Depp‘s character in What’s eating Gilbert Grape. He said soon after the role as Arnie in the 1993 film that, “it was the most fun I’ve ever had”. His enjoyment in his work and his natural aptitude to entertain paid off. For his performance in the movie, he became the seventh youngest actor ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actor” at 19 years old.

In 1997, at age 23, DiCaprio appeared in what is still perhaps his most iconic and praised role, that of Jack Dawson in Titanic. After the release of the film internationally, he became an immediate worldwide star. While he went through some years of difficulty following his initial blast into stardom, he soon established himself as an incredibly mature actor known for playing complex roles. In 2019, it was reported that DiCaprio’s films had grossed over $7.2 billion worldwide.

That year of 2019, Leonardo DiCaprio thrilled us with his role in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-starring Brad Pitt. His performance in the role of Rick Dalton, as he struggles to recapture fame as Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate move in next door, didn’t go unnoticed. DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Actor”. However this time it was Brad Pitt who would finally receive his first winning nomination in an acting category, taking home “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” for his portrayal of Cliff Booth, while Best Actor in 2020 went to Joaquin Phoenix. Nevertheless, audiences and critics alike agreed that DiCaprio’s performance was one of his best yet.

The first major film Leonardo was featured in was Romeo & Juliet. This opened up many doors for him in Hollywood, and a year later, in arguably his biggest movie ever, he appeared in Titanic. The film earned him a base salary of $2.5 million plus a 1.8% share of the box office gross revenue. It has been speculated that DiCaprio’s earnings may have been close to $40 million, for the single role. It was a major win for Paramount and James Cameron as well, eventually grossing close to $3 billion when including DVD and syndication sales.

After Titanic, Empire (UK) ranked DiCaprio #75 in the magazine’s “Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” 1997 list. He was also soon after chosen by People magazine as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.” All of this success, and new-found fame, brought DiCaprio more coveted roles than almost any other A-list actor in the early 2000s. He was soon after able to command $20 million for The Beach and for various other roles that followed, including his roles in Catch Me if You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, and Blood Diamond.

One of DiCaprio’s first big paydays as a young aspiring star was for his role of Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995). His portrayal of the high school basketball player in Manhattan in the sixties, whose life hits a downward spiral into addiction, homelessness, and crime, was a major success. The movie also had him starring next to another big up and coming actor, Mark Wahlberg, who played the role of reckless Micky. Interestingly, Mark Wahlberg became famous from his role of the pornstar “Dirk Diggler” in Boogie Nights (1997). DiCaprio was actually offered the role first, of course, if he had accepted it… it is unclear how his career as a romantic lead would have worked out. For his role in The Basketball Diaries, Leo earned $1 million dollars, which is around $2 million in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation.

That year he also starred in The Quick and the Dead (1995). His paycheck for the role is estimated to have been somewhere around $500,000, it was unlikely much more, considering Sharon Stone was the one who paid it. She later wrote in her memoir, “this kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition. In my opinion he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene.” The studio, TriStar Pictures, initially resisted, telling Sharon “Why an unknown, Sharon, why are you always shooting yourself in the foot?”
“The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary,” she concluded. “So I did.”

Romeo + Juliet was another big picture. Its $147.6 million at the global box office was not close to what would come next, but it was a much awaited feature especially amount the romantic period drama audiences. Romeo + Juliet gave audiences and directors alike, an idea of what to expect with DiCaprio as the romantic lead. When he was cast in Titanic, DiCaprio’s net worth was likely around the $5 million dollar mark (likely less). However, that was all about to change. After the release of the picture, DiCaprio may have been worth closer to $25 million.

The Beach (2000) was another major financial success for the young, but world known, actor. The role of Richard, a young man in Thailand searching for a paradise island, was originally thought to be going to Ewan McGregor. After all, McGregor had been Danny Boyle’s lead man in Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996) and A Life Less Ordinary (1997). It made sense and many, including Ewan, were shocked when eventually the role went to DiCaprio. It was for $20 million dollars, no less.

With a $50 million budget, The Beach earned almost three times that amount, and the release of the film and DiCaprio’s performance in it, put him on the radar of another major director. This time, it was Martin Scorsese. Scorsese cast DiCaprio for the lead in what was to become one of the most iconic movies of all time, Gangs of New York (2002). This put him next to one of the greatest actors of all time, as well. Daniel Day-Lewis played the role of Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, and together with Scorsese at the helm, and the epic screenplay of Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, the tension had audiences shifting in their seats.

For his role in the movie, DiCaprio earned $10 million. Not as much as in some of his other roles, but Scorsese movies generally don’t pay actors as much. They are not big blockbuster movies after all, but rather arthouse films that perform well at the box office.

Then in 2002, DiCaprio was being chased by Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can, the true tale about the life and crimes of Frank Abagnale. A notable success, earning $352.1 million at the global box office. Plus, $20 million for DiCaprio’s role as the lead character in it. At that time, he was also being considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man (2002). However it eventually went to one of his childhood friends, Tobey Maguire.

A year later, DiCaprio was shooting another Scorsese movie. This time about the real life of record-setting pilot and business magnate, Howard Hughes. The Aviator (2004) demonstrated DiCaprio’s flexibility as an actor, as he portrayed Hughes going through life-changing and traumatic events. DiCaprio was praised for his onscreen struggles with mental illness and his near-fatal crash in an XF-11 aircraft in 1946. He earned $20 million for the part.

DiCaprio is no stranger to portraying real life historic characters. In fact, he may be the only actor to have played a historical character in almost every decade spanning the last 165 years. Another major hit of his, in this category, was his portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover. When DiCaprio takes on these roles he goes deep into their characters. While not a method actor, as he has said that he doesn’t take the role home with him, in the past it has caused him reported troubles. He mentioned in an interview with Katie Couric, that while resurrecting the character of Howard Hughes he experienced “obsessive-compulsive disorder” which he has said that he had as a child.

After a little time off, Scorsese cast DiCaprio for a third time. He was to play a street-smart undercover agent from a family of criminals, Billy Costigan, sent to infiltrate the Irish Mob in Boston. In an epic tale of deception, a spy in the special detectives unit of the Boston police department, Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon, counter-attacks. The two go head on head as they struggle to keep their true identities hidden. DiCaprio was paid another $20 million for his role in the picture.

Then in Blood Diamond (2006) despite what many would consider to be a poor South African accent, DiCaprio was paid another $20 million for his role. This time as Danny Archer, a diamond dealer who has a change of conscience. His appearance in the film proceeded his fourth collaboration with Martin Scorsese, for which DiCaprio earned another tidy sum, likely $15-20 million, for playing the lead in Shutter Island (2010).

For Django Unchained (2012) he was hired by another top tier director and filmmaker, this time Quentin Tarantino. Initially Tarantino had considered DiCaprio for the role that eventually went to Christoph Waltz, SS Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009). However he later cast DiCaprio alongside Waltz in the Jamie Foxx led Western in 2012. While he may have only been paid $4-5 million for his supporting role of Calvin Candie, a year later, in 2013, DiCaprio was paid a reported $20 million for his role in The Great Gatsby. Also that year he eventually earned a reported $25 million for his role as Jordan Belfort in, The Wolf of Wall Street.

However, while the film made headlines for being the highest-grossing Scorsese picture, other not so pleasant headlines began appearing some time after. As it turns out, the company that financed the film, Red Granite Pictures, was connected to the 1MDB scandal, and DiCaprio was voluntarily surrendering several artworks allegedly worth millions that he had been given by Jho Low.

In 2015, after having been nominated for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” four times, and “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” once, he won the “Best Actor” nomination in 2015 for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant. The event was so big that it made internet history, as well. It became the most-tweeted moment of an Oscars telecast ever, surpassing Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie from the 2014 ceremony.

Since then, DiCaprio has continued to remain as bankable as ever, earning $10-30 million per movie role. For the Netflix Comedy/Disaster movie released in 2021, Don’t Look Up, DiCaprio earned a record breaking $30 million upfront payment. He starred alongside many other A-listers, including Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett and, his personal favorite actress, Meryl Streep.

Business and Investments

DiCaprio hasn’t only earned from his work as an actor, but also from his endorsements and investments. He has been the face of Tag Heuer watches for many years and has also endorsed various brands overseas. Including Jim Bean in Japan and a Japanese credit card company that paid him an estimated $5-10 million. In 2017 he became the brand ambassador for BYD, a Chinese electric car company and was also an early investor in Beyond Meat which went public with a $4 billion valuation.

Beef production carries an enormous environmental footprint, contributing to land and water degradation, deforestation, acid rain, biodiversity loss, and even the degeneration of coral reef, according to Food Unfolded.

Real Estate

The Hollywood star currently resides in The Bird Streets neighborhood of Los Angeles, but owns properties across California. He started investing in real estate early on in his career. In 1998, he purchased an oceanfront Malibu house for $1.6 million dollars. It has been lucrative, he leased it out for an estimated $20-45,000/month over a period of twenty years. He initially tried to sell the property listing it for $11 million in 2015 and eventually sold it in 2021 for $10.3 million.

DiCaprio is said to own as many as fourteen homes in Southern California. He paid $5.2 million for Dinah Shore’s former mansion in Palm Springs. In 2021, he paid $13.8 million for a mansion on a bluff looking out onto the ocean in Malibu. DiCaprio also owns in New York. At least two apartments, one that he acquired in 2014 for $10 million; a two bedroom bachelor pad. The other is a duplex, two apartments merged into one, which cost a total of $12 million. In Las Vegas, DiCaprio paid $1.5 million in 2004 for two adjacent two-bedroom units at Las Vegas’ Panorama Towers.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s real estate portfolio is estimated to be worth upwards of $100 million. It earns millions of dollars in annual revenues.

In 2005, he purchased a 104-acre island off the coast of Belize. The price for the island, Blackadore Caye, was estimated to be $1.75 million. DiCaprio plans to use the space for generating renewable energy.

Philanthropy

DiCaprio is a staunch liberal Democrat. He has personally and financially supported the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama. He is also perhaps the most prominent celebrity in leading the way to how we as a planet tackle climate change. His production company, Appian Way Productions, mainly focuses on documentary series that promote environmental awareness.

After earning a substantial amount of money from his role in Titanic (1997), he founded the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, a non-profit that is mostly focused on environmental issues. In 2020 alone, at a single gala, DiCaprio raised $45 million. It is estimated that he has raised almost $80 million dollars for various causes and charities since he started his philanthropic work. He previously hosted a gala by the Foundation in Saint-Tropez, France in 2014 and raised $25 million to help protect animals and plants from extinction. Guests at his galas have included Marion Cotillard, Jared Leto and Bono.

DiCaprio has personally donated $1 million to the Haiti relief efforts and another $1 million to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. He has also donated $1 million to WWF for urgent tiger conservation efforts through his Fund at the California Community Foundation. As well as donated a Banksy painting from his art collection for the amfAR Gala charity auction in Cannes. The painting was introduced by Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender and sold for $1 million.

DiCaprio donated a substantial, but undisclosed amount, to the Australian Bushfire Appeal in 2020. He was one of the first celebrities to do so after Russell Crowe‘s efforts to raise awareness.

DiCaprio’s Total Net Worth

Not only has DiCaprio been cast in multiple roles that earned him $20 million dollars or more. He has been cast in over twenty roles that have paid him $10-15 million dollars. He has also been cast in very few roles that earned him $4-5 million dollars, his role as Calvin Candie in Django Unchained (2012) is one example, however DiCaprio chose early on in his career to focus exclusively on lead roles.

DiCaprio has also earned from his producing. He is currently working on four or five projects at a time, including a biographical drama about President Theodore Roosevelt, in collaboration with Martin Scorsese. Outside of his work in the entertainment business, DiCaprio has earned large sums from his endorsing of Armani, Beam Inc, Fisker Automotive, Mobli, among others. In total, when combining his earnings from the entertainment business, with his earnings from his endorsements, Leonardo DiCaprio has earned estimated total career income of around $400 million.

Of that amount, $29-48 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $361.5 million, will have been taxed at a rate of around 48% as DiCaprio has been residing in the state of California and earned through some lower income tax years. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $187.98 million dollars, having paid $173.52 million dollars in taxes.

In his personal life, it is estimated that Leonardo DiCaprio may have spent $9-14 million dollars of his career earnings, including his donations, but also probably possesses assets valued at around $3-4 million, not including investment assets. In his investments, he may have earned investment returns of $69-85 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Leonardo DiCaprio has a net worth of around $255 million dollars.

Summing-Up

DiCaprio is among the most dedicated actors of this century, as well as a smart businessman and a philanthropy. He has consistently been one of the highest-earning actors in Hollywood for more than two decades, and keeps surprising us with movie roles like Hugh Glass in The Revenant and Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

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