How much is Vin Diesel worth?
| Net Worth: | $165 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | July 18, 1967 (age 55) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.82 m) |
About Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is an action movie star, one of the few remaining true action heroes left. He is most well known for producing and playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise alongside an ensemble cast, most of whom owe their career to the success of the Fast & Furious movies, including Diesel’s production skills. His other acting credits include the successful franchises Riddick, xXx, and as “Groot” in Guardians of the Galaxy. It is also a little known fact that Vin Diesel produced many of the movies that he starred in, including three of the xXx films and six of the Fast & Furious movies.
Diesel scored his breakout role in Steven Spielberg led Saving Private Ryan after being impressed by the short film Multi-Facial, in which Diesel starred in, wrote, and directed all within a budget of $3,000. After Saving Private Ryan’s massive $482.3 million box office success, Diesel went on to play the main role in the animated movie The Iron Giant, and though it was universally acclaimed by critics, it was a complete financial flop. With a $48 million dollar budget it netted only $31.3 million at the box office.
It wouldn’t be until two years later when Diesel would be recognized nationwide and even worldwide. In 2001 he took on the role of con man Dominic Toretto alongside Paul Walker in an updated version of Point Break, only with cars instead of surfboards, which was The Fast and the Furious.
That movie went on to become the first major achievement of Diesel’s career, it grossed $207.3 million in the box office and kickstarted a franchise that would gross over $6 billion. The first movie received mixed reviews but there was one common theme that all critics liked, which was Vin Diesel’s character “Dom,” along with Brian, and a relationship that was key to beginnings of the franchise.
After The Fast And The Furious’ success, in a shock to all Hollywood reporters, Diesel turned down returning for the sequel, and to his credit, for good reason. Though the sequel surely would have been a cash cow for Diesel, he didn’t think the story was good enough, and he instead invested his efforts into other movies that would all spawn franchises, including The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) (a sequel to the sleeper hit Pitch Black ) and earlier xXx (2002).
Though these franchises aren’t of the caliber of the Fast & Furious, they are still extremely lucrative for the actor. Leaving The Fast and the Furious was a smart business decision too, as xXx went on to gross $41 million more than the crime sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious. The Action/Adventure xXx grossed $277.4 million at the global box office, while 2 Fast 2 Furious grossed just $236.4 million
Diesel eventually did return to the Fast & Furious franchise, but not properly until eight years later in 2009, though he did have a small cameo in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He returned at the right time, but this time he was a producer too. That’s when the franchise first became serialized where each movie served a bigger overarching story. Not long after that, not only did the franchise surpass the billion dollar mark, but it now makes around $1 billion per movie.
The Fate of the Furious released in 2017, earned $1.239 billion at the box office. Their latest release F9 could almost be considered a flop for them, even when it earned $726.2 million. With a budget though of $200–225 million, the creators, producers and actors who were cut in on the take, still had a pile of $500 million to portion out between them.
Vin Diesel knows exactly what audiences crave, and he serves them an Italian pizza-sized portion of it. The Fast & Furious franchise has bigger set pieces and more high concepts with each passing film. The spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw featured an antagonist that had outright superpowers, which is a far cry from the franchise’s roots of being an on the ground, street racing crime drama. With the movies getting crazier, so have Diesel’s paychecks, as he now makes over $20 million per movie, and that doesn’t include his salary as a producer either.
Despite spearheading the franchise and the name Vin Diesel being synonymous with Dominic Toretto, it may come as a surprise that none of the F&F movies paid him his biggest salary. In 2017, the actor was paid a gobsmacking $54 million for voicing Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. $54 million for saying three words, “i am groot” imagine that!
Diesel has used his voice for video-game adaptations of his on-screen work, such as The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, and Fast & Furious Crossroads, which features a brand new story line created exclusively for the game.
The actor has a lot of clout even in the gaming industry; in 2009, Wheelman was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, which was built completely around Vin Diesel’s participation and interest in producing a video-game.
At times however, allegedly Diesel has cross horns with Dwayne Johnson which apparently is why there had been a longer wait between Fast & Furious movies. Diesel and co-star Johnson don’t get along and it apparently states in both of their contracts that they are not allowed to lose a fight to each other. This led to Johnson starring in his own spin-off movie without Diesel, in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Besides the outlandish set pieces, a big part of the reason the Fast & Furious franchise is so successful is due to the on-screen relationship between Vin Diesel and former co-star Paul Walker. The dynamic between them was so heartfelt and true to their real off-screen friendship, as they were always close and Diesel is even godfather to Walker’s daughter. Unfortunately of course Paul Walker was killed in a motor accident involving a Porsche Carrera GT driven by his friend Roger Rodas in 2013. The closing scene of Furious 7 is dedicated to him with an epic playing of Wiz Khalifa‘s track “See You Again”.
Unlike many actors, Diesel puts 100% effort into every project he works on. Being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he puts the most amount of effort possible when voicing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. Groot may only have the same line over and over, “I am Groot,” but Diesel reportedly read the line in all the necessary different tones, and in 15 different languages. Meaning that it is Vin Diesel voicing Groot in most countries instead of there being any foreign over-dubs.
Diesel’s Total Net Worth
Vin Diesel has earned substantial sums in recent years. His earnings have been over $50 million in a single year and he periodically has had years where he has earned over $25 million. Diesel was the third highest paid actor of 2015 with earnings of $47 million dollars. In 2016 he was the seventh highest paid actor with earnings of $35 million. Then in 2017, he was again the third highest paid with earnings of $54.3 million.
All told, from his involvement in the entertainment business in general. Including from his endorsement from the automobile company Dodge, and all of the other appearances that he has made as himself. As well as from his earnings from producing, directing and writing, and of course the over 50 films and TV series that he has appeared in. It is estimated that Vin Diesel has had total career earnings of some $275 million.
A lot of credit is owed to his smooth baritone voice, which has awarded him several iconic animated roles. As well as Groot and The Iron Giant, he was also offered a role in the Wreck-It-Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks The Internet. He declined the part however, it seems that Diesel is very concerned about his overall body of work, it was the reason he initially backed out of The Fast and the Furious. Longterm an approach like Diesel’s ought to pay off, both financially and likely more importantly for him at this point, critically and among audiences.
Of his $275 million dollars income, $22-27 million is expected to have been paid in business related costs. The remainder, $250.5 million, will have been taxed at around 50% as Diesel has been residing in the state of California and earned high sums during a time when state tax rates have been over 13%. After tax, it is estimated that his career earnings are at around $125.25 million dollars, having paid the same amount in taxes.
Vin Diesel has been partnered with Paloma Jiménez since 2007 and they have three children together, Hania Riley, Vincent and Pauline Sinclair. Regarding his private life, Diesel has said that he comes from the “code of silence” old guard of actors and doesn’t speak much about his personal life at all. Which has likely allowed him a lot peace considering he hasn’t been highlighted negatively, either.
In his investments he has purchased some properties in California but no big purchases leading many to suspect that he is investing his capital elsewhere. He likely has quite some of his money in securities, however he also purchased the rights of the xXx film franchise in 2018. It has been reported that he has been involved in filming xXx 4, however the franchise has not released a film since xXx: Return of Xander Cage was released in 2017. A film that grossed $346.1 million at the box office.
Diesel has also spent money on his private car collection. Some of his vehicles will have cost him money that cannot be recuperated via resale, however other vehicles will have held their value. For example, the classics, many of which may have even appreciated.
He is reported to have a Mazda RX-7 (1993), Toyota Supra (1994), Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Grand Sport (1963), Pontiac Bonneville (1966), Rolls-Royce Sprinter Van, Subaru Impreza WRX STI (2009), Dodge Charger R/T (1970), BMW E60 M5 (2010), and a Lykan Hypersport (2014) that reportedly cost over $3 million dollars alone.
In his personal life Vin Diesel has likely spent $8-9 million dollars of his career earnings but also probably possesses assets valued at around $4-5 million, not including investment assets. In his investments, he may have earned investment returns of $40-50 million dollars. That is, considering it is so much easier to invest large chunks into the stock market when one’s earnings are so high. Therefore, it is estimated that Vin Diesel has a net worth of above $165 million dollars. If everything goes right with xXx 4, we could see that figure rise precipitously.
Summing-Up
Vin Diesel is one of the highest paid actors year-in, year-out, making anywhere from $25 million to $50 million per year. He is a bankable star with a lovable personality, and though he has never been nominated for any prestigious awards, his action hero perception is solidified through being nominated for several People’s Choice and Teen Choice awards.
The tenth installment Fast & Furious 10 is in production and set to be released in 2023. Vin Diesel cleared his throat and once again to voice Groot in the fourth Thor movie, Thor: Love and Thunder which was released in 2022. The actor also reportedly has a big part in James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, as well.
