How much is Samuel L. Jackson worth?
| Net Worth: | $260 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | December 21, 1948 (age 74) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m) |
About Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson was in his 40s when he appeared in Martin Scorsese‘s Goodfellas. That was one of Jackson’s very first roles in any film, and it was a bit part at best. In fact it wasn’t until he played the role of Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction that his career began to take off. Which is astounding considering today he is one of the most popular actors in the world. He is also the highest-grossing actor of all time. The films Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in have collectively grossed over $28 billion worldwide.
Jackson was born on December 21, 1948, in Washington DC and is the only child of Elizabeth Harriet and Henry Jackson. He grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee while his father lived in Kansas City, Missouri. He was raised by his mother who was a factory worker, and his maternal grandparents as his father died from alcoholism. He partially descends from Gabon according to DNA tests, and in 2019 he became a naturalized citizen of the African country.
He graduated from Riverside High School in Chattanooga, after attending several segregated schools. He was in the school of orchestra between the 3rd and 12th grades. He played the trumpet, piccolo, flute, and French horn. He had a stuttering problem, but he eventually learned how to act like people who didn’t stutter.
He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially intended to pursue a degree in marine biology. He ended up switching his major as he developed an interest in acting after he joined an acting group to earn extra points in class. In 1972 he was the co-founder of Just Us Theater before graduating. He got married to sports channel producer and actress La Tanya Richardson in 1980, and they have a daughter Zoe.
Sam Jackson is a wildly talented actor who has won a number of awards and accolades. He began his rise to success and fame through his role as Stan in the 1973 film Together for Days. Later on, in 1976 he made an appearance in the little known T.V. series Movin’ On.
Jackson finally was rewarded with a career-defining opportunity from his role as Jules Winnfiled, a hitman in the 1994 cult classic American film Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Among the many films in his illustrious career 1990s include Jungle Fever (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Goodfellas (1990), Amos and Andrew (1993), True Romance (1993), and Jurassic Park (1993). Other films include those from his collaboration with the acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino. They included Jackie Brown (1997), Pulp Fiction (1994), Django Unchained (2012), and The Hateful Eight (2015). He also was Academy Award nominated for Best Supporting Actor from his role in the previously referenced film, Pulp Fiction.
After meeting Morgan Freeman in 1981, he was introduced to Spike Lee. Morgan Freeman told him he could become a successful actor. He agreed to collaborate with Spike Lee and appeared in a number of his films including School Daze in 1988. He earned critics attention which earned him fame from the part he played a few years later in Jungle Fever (1991).
Jackson has featured in over 150 successful films. Some of the popular films include A Time to Kill (1996), The Negotiator (1998), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Shaft (2000), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Snakes on a Plane (2006), Unbreakable (2000), as well as the Prequel Star Wars Trilogy that ran between (1999-2005). He has played the popular role of Nick Fury in eleven Marvel Universe Cinematic Films resulting in his most profitable role to date.
He brought popularity to many animated films, video games, and television series by providing his voice. Some of the roles include Lucius Best in The Incredibles and the sequel Incredibles 2 in 2004 and 2018 respectively, the Mace Windu character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), and in the 2004 hit video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Samuel Jackson is well known for being one of the highest-paid actors of all time. His movie roles gathered up more than $7.4 billion in earnings at the box office. This caused him to be a record-breaker in the Guinness Book of World Records, and it also vaulted him to the position of the highest-grossing actor in history. His highest-grossing film currently is Avengers Endgame (2019), it has box office lifetime earnings of $2.798 million dollars.
Another high earning film includes the 2018 hit Avengers Infinity War which has a box office earnings of over $2.048 billion. These earnings are just a part of his career in acting as Jackson and just in the role of Nick Fury, he has several other sources of income as well.
He is a producer and that’s one of the ways he adds to his fortune. He has produced a number of films including Cleaner (2007), Eve’s Bayou (1997), Afro Samurai (2007), and Afro Samurai: Resurrection (2009).
He also earns some of his wealth from endorsement deals with various products and services. He has partnerships with Apple and Capital One. Voice-overs are another source of income for Samuel Jackson, for example his work in movies such as the Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child and The Proud Family have added to his net worth as well.
Samuel L. Jackson have grossed about $17 billion dollars, as of 2023. Making him one of the highest grossing movie stars of all time.
By 2011, all the films that Jackson appeared in either as a leading role or supporting actor managed to gross between an estimated $2.81 and $4.91 billion. His great skills in the cinematic world earned him the position as the seventh highest-grossing lead actor and the second highest-grossing actor. Despite having stutter problems he didn’t stop chasing his dreams of becoming a successful individual. His work ethic has made him a very productive actor.
He always has been known for being a very hard-working actor. In the 90s Jackson faced drug addiction problems but always showed up to the theater every day no matter what. According to Wikipedia, “Having overdosed on heroin several times, he gave up the drug in favor of cocaine”. Fortunately, his family entered him into a New York rehabilitation clinic and it appears he came out a new man.
Samuel L. Jackson has the ability to adapt to different situations and he proved this through his different roles. For example starring as a crack addict in Jungle Fever, immediately after coming out from rehab. He also surrounds himself among the right people that shared his values and goals.
Jackson’s Total Net Worth
As Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Samuel L. Jackson is paid a base of $4 million every time he shows up. He can walk away with as much as $6-7 million depending on the overall movies performance and between other bonuses.
There was a time when Jackson was earning peanuts for appearing in movies like Goodfellas in 1990. In 1992, it was reported that he earned $75,000 for his role as Greg Meeker in White Sands. A film which Jackson was one of the lead characters in. Nowadays things have changed for Samuel L. Jackson and he has routinely been paid between $10-20 million per lead movie part. He earned $7 million way back for his role as Elijah Price in Unbreakable, he also earned $10 million that same year of 2000 for Shaft.
In total, from all of his appearances in over 200 films and TV series, as well as from his producing and soundtrack work, and all of the appearances that he has made as himself, including in advertising. Samuel L. Jackson has had career earnings of an estimated $400 million dollars.
After tax, it is estimated that Jackson’s career earnings are at around $204 million, having paid $196 million dollars (49%) in taxes.
Samuel L. Jackson married LaTanya Richardson Jackson in 1980 and they remain together. They have one child together, Zoe Jackson, and they have enjoyed a peaceful homelife for over 40 years. In his personal life, Jackson has been calm and collected. He participated in the 2008 election campaign for President Obama, saying “Barack Obama represents everything I was told I could be growing up.” He has also raised money to fight Alzheimer’s disease and made donations to various causes. Samuel L. Jackson is a vegan and attributed a 40 lb weight loss to his diet.
In his investments, Jackson has put some of his money into real estate including paying $8.35 million to Roseanne Barr in 2000 for a 12,000 square-foot mansion in Beverly Park. That same property may be worth as much as $25 million dollars today following a period of epic property appreciation in that area for the last two decades. Jackson also owns property on the East coast as well, in 2005 he paid $4.8 million for a multi-unit apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Considering the sheer volume of money that was coming in from Jackson’s acting work, it is more than likely that large amounts of that money has been invested into stocks and bonds, as well as safe holds like gold and other precious metals. When subtracting some $10-15 million dollars that Jackson has likely spent in his life, including his donations, and adding the $60-70 million that he has likely earned in his investment gains. Overall, it is likely that Samuel L. Jackson’s total net worth is about $260 million dollars.
Summing-Up
From his humble start in life, Samuel Jackson rose to fame and became one of the top actors ever while also becoming one of the top-grossing actors as well. Jackson has a much-deserved legacy of excellence through the cinematic world. Nowadays he is most famous among youth for playing Nick Fury in the Marvel movies, yet it was really his performances in Quentin Tarantino’s movies that etched his name on every movie buffs brain for decades.
