How much is Tom Cruise worth?
| Net Worth: | $600 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | July 3, 1962 (age 60) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) |
About Tom Cruise
It’s hard to believe that one of the biggest stars of all time, and an outspoken advocate of Scientology, once had aspirations of becoming a Catholic priest. But Tom Cruise entered into a seminary when he was 14 to pursue a future that probably wouldn’t have included a storied film career and three high-profile marriages. It was a short-lived jaunt on his road to superstardom and, looking back, he’s probably jumping on the couch over making the decision he did.
Cruise grew up in Syracuse, New York in near poverty, along with his three sisters. His mother, Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), was a special education teacher and his father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. Tom would later describe his father as “a merchant of chaos, a bully and a coward”. Tom and his sisters were allegedly beaten and for a time, it seems that becoming a priest was a clear and easy option out. The church was a place where he could take solace, and Tom genuinely liked helping others.
Cruise first became interested in acting when he was in the fourth grade. As he got older, he starred in several school productions, though he was forced to change schools often because of family complications. He graduated high school and moved to New York City when he was eighteen years old to pursue a career in acting. He then went to Los Angeles to audition for roles in television, and signed with the Creative Artists Agency, also known as the CAA, which is considered one of the dominant companies in the talent agency business.
In his early career Tom filled roles in movies such as Taps and Endless Love. However, he quickly rose to prominence with his acting talent and good looks. Eventually managing to achieve stardom through two performances, which are considered his career making roles. His roles in the 1983 film Risky Business and the 1986 film Top Gun were the foundations of his future career. He was launched into stardom by Risky Business, and Top Gun solidified and built upon the fame he had achieved.
Cruise also notably appeared in Scorsese’s The Color of Money the same year as Top Gun was released. Two years later, opposite Dustin Hoffman, he played the role of Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man (1988). By the 1990s he was one of the highest-paid actors in the world earning an average $15 million dollars a picture. He appeared in the blockbuster hits Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996), for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for “Best Actor”.
The Mission Impossible franchise, turned out to be one of the most profitable of all time. To date, between the six films, the franchise has earned $3.57 billion from an $828 million dollar budget. What is more, unlike many other movie stars who are paid a simple upfront payment and share in no part of the profits. Cruise has been majorly involved in many of the core movies of his career, working as a producer, and as a partner, as well as a lead actor.
In the year 1990, Tom Cruise renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church of Scientology. There are many actors and members of Hollywood who are also part of the church, and while its history is replete with rumors, it has at least seemed to do Cruise some good. He is known for his generosity, including giving donations and being in support of charities such as the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, H.E.L.P. and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. He also co-founded and raised donations for Downtown Medical to offer New York City 9/11 rescue workers detoxification therapy, apparently, based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard.
Cruise’s Total Net Worth
Cruise is considered to be one of the best actors of our time, as well as one of the most influential celebrities in the world. Thanks to his critically acclaimed performances, which have allowed his films to gross billions of dollars worldwide, he is also one of the highest paid actors in the film industry. Despite many considering Cruise’s career to have peaked in the ’90s and 2000s, to this day, he continues to boggle minds with his talent and his profitability. Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2022, earned almost ten times its budget. Plus, its total $1.677 billion box office gross makes it one of the highest-grossing action drama films of all time.
The immense profit of the film series he is best known for, the Mission Impossible franchise, as well as the profit that has come from roles like The Last Samurai, for which he earned $25 million, have caused Cruise to be one of the richest actors the world has ever seen. He may have earned over $200 million between the six Mission Impossible films. In total, he may have earned total career income of $850 million dollars.
Of that amount, around $40-50 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $805 million, will have been taxed at a rate of around 47% as Cruise has primarily been residing between the states of California and New York and earned through some lower tax years during the 2000s. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $426.65 million dollars, having paid $378.35 million dollars in taxes.
Tom Cruise has married and divorced three times. His first marriage to Mimi Rogers, is somewhat inconsequential to this net worth calculation. The numbers that Cruise has earned, spent and the value of assets transferred are so flabbergasting that nobody knows his exact net worth. What is known, is that after his divorce from Nicole Kidman in 2001, Cruise left the marriage about $40-50 million dollar lighter. He also paid his third wife, Katie Holmes a reported $9.8 million in 2012, after their six year marriage.
In his personal life, Cruise may have spent $17-23 million dollars of his career earnings, including his donations, but also probably possesses assets valued at around $8-12 million, not including investment assets. In his investments, Cruise’s returns will have been vast. Somewhere in the region of $250 million dollars. Therefore, it is estimated that Tom Cruise has a net worth of over $600 million dollars.
Summing-Up
Tom Cruise’s success can truly only be attributed to his own talent in acting and film production. He worked his way up, filling small roles until he got his big break. He rose to prominence quickly, his good looks and charming personality caused him to become loved by audiences around the world, and his acting talents caused him to fill challenging roles throughout his career. He has also notably been one of the most together actors in Hollywood. Cruise has said, “I have gotten very good at scheduling my life, scheduling the scene and preparing myself; saving the energy, consuming the energy, knowing when to go for it and having the available reserves to be able to do that. You have to think about that, because it’s endurance.”
