Tom Cruise Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Tom Cruise’s Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings?

With a net worth of $600 million, Tom Cruise stands as an iconic American actor and producer, widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars. He ranks among the richest and highest-paid celebrities globally, with his films generating $11.5 billion at the box office worldwide. Notably, for much of his early career, none of Cruise’s films crossed the $1 billion mark in earnings. Until June 2022, his top-grossing film was “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” from 2018, which accrued $800 million worldwide. It wasn’t until late June 2022 that he officially hit the billion-dollar milestone, thanks to the success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” which brought in $1.5 billion around the globe.

Early Life

Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, Tom was the son of an electrical engineer and a special education teacher, and he has three sisters. His cousin William Mapother would also later pursue acting, working alongside Tom in several projects.

As a child, Tom Cruise experienced a nomadic lifestyle, including a short period in Canada when his father worked with the Canadian Armed Forces. He has recounted that his father was abusive towards him and his siblings. Over the span of 14 years, he attended 15 different schools.

Initially, Tom didn’t envision a future in acting. Although he participated in drama classes during middle school, he primarily considered himself an athlete. His shift to acting occurred in high school when a knee injury from wrestling forced him to find a new passion. He quickly became devoted to the drama club, landing the lead role in their production of Guys and Dolls.

Despite receiving positive feedback and validation for his acting talent, Tom remained uninterested for a time. He even attended the St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, aspiring to become a Franciscan priest, but was expelled for drinking.

In 1980, he graduated from Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey.

Early Career

After high school, Cruise moved to New York City to pursue acting, but soon relocated to Los Angeles to audition for television roles.

His film career kicked off in 1981 with a minor role in “Endless Love.” That same year marked his recognition for a significant role in “Taps.” This performance led to him being signed by the prestigious talent agency CAA. Agent Paula Wagner advocated for him directly to CAA’s managing partner, Michael Ovitz. Tom would continue as a lifelong client of CAA and in the early 1990s, teamed up with Paula to establish Cruise/Wagner Productions.

Further accolades came his way with the film “The Outsiders.”

Success

Tom made a lasting impression with the 1983 comedy-drama “Risky Business,” which grossed $64 million against a $6 million budget, creating several cultural milestones. This film cemented his status as a rising star and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.

The exceptional success of “Top Gun” in 1986 catapulted him into global fame, with the film earning $360 million worldwide and becoming the year’s highest-grossing film.

In the same year, he starred alongside Paul Newman in “The Color of Money.”

The following hits included “Cocktail” and “Rain Man,” both released in 1988, with Rain Man winning four Academy Awards. Tom’s first Oscar nomination came in 1989 with “Born on the Fourth of July.”

He continued his success with “Days of Thunder” in 1990, followed by “Far and Away” and “A Few Good Men,” both released in 1992, and in 1993’s…
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Notable works include “The Firm” and the 1994 classic “Interview with the Vampire.” For his role in A Few Good Men, he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

In 1996, Tom Cruise not only produced but also starred in the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible,” which raked in $457 million and led to multiple successful sequels. That same year, he also featured in another cultural landmark, “Jerry Maguire,” which grossed $275 million from a $50 million budget and earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination, while his co-star Cuba Gooding, Jr. took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Over the following decade, Tom continued to deliver successful projects. Some of his additional notable films include:

• Eyes Wide Shut
• Vanilla Sky
• Minority Report
• The Last Samurai
• Collateral
• War of the Worlds
• Valkyrie
• Jack Reacher
• Oblivion
• Edge of Tomorrow
• American Made

Top 6 Highest Grossing Tom Cruise Films

• #5: The Last Samurai (2003) – $456 million ($716 million adjusted for inflation)
• #5: War of the Worlds (2005) – $606 million ($890 million adjusted for inflation)
• #4: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) – $690 million
• #3: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) – $700 million
• #2: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – $800 million
• #1: Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – $1.5 billion

Here are some other significant films featuring Cruise along with their global earnings:

• The Firm (1993) – $158 million ($350 million adjusted for inflation)
• Mission: Impossible II (2000) – $550 million ($923 million adjusted for inflation)
• Mission: Impossible (1996) – $460 million ($850 million adjusted for inflation)
• Rain Man (1988) – $354 million ($865 million adjusted for inflation)
• Top Gun (1986) – $360 million ($445 million adjusted for inflation)

Currently, over twenty of Cruise’s films have exceeded $100 million in global grosses. His cumulative box office total stands at $9.5 billion, not accounting for inflation.

Salary and Earnings Milestones

• For Taps, Tom earned $50,000.
• His earnings for Risky Business amounted to $75,000.
• His salary for the 1985 film Legend increased to $500,000.
• In 1986, with his role in Top Gun, Tom Cruise’s earnings skyrocketed to $2 million.
• He received $3 million for Cocktail.
• His pay for Days of Thunder was $9 million.
• For Far and Away, he earned $13 million.
• His earnings for A Few Good Men reached $12 million.
• Tom made $12 million from The Firm.
• He received $15 million for Interview with the Vampire.

As a producer, Tom earned an impressive $70 million for all credits related to the first Mission Impossible film. For Mission Impossible 3, he made $75 million.

To this day, his highest salaries are from Mission Impossible 2 (2000) and War of the Worlds (2005), where he earned $100 million from each due to lucrative backend points. Notably, Tom Cruise features three times in the listing of the 10 largest acting paychecks ever for a single movie; his previously mentioned $100 million paychecks are among them.

third and fourth largest paydays stand behind Bruce Willis’ $105 million payday from “Sixth Sense” and Keanu Reeves’ $156 million payday from “Matrix.”

From 1983 to 2011, Tom accumulated $445 million in movie salaries. Between 2011 and 2019, it’s estimated that he earned at least another $300 million, bringing his career earnings (salaries and bonuses) from 1983 to 2019 to a remarkable $745 million.

Top Gun Salary/Earnings

Earlier, we noted that Tom Cruise received $2 million for his role in the 1986 film “Top Gun.” When adjusted for inflation, this amounts to approximately $5.4 million in today’s dollars. Surprisingly, that $2 million represented 13% of the film’s total $15 million budget. The salaries of his original co-stars, such as Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, remain unknown but likely were significantly less than his earnings.

While filming “Top Gun,” another Tom Cruise film titled “Legend” underperformed at the box office, leaving producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson quite anxious. Thankfully, “Top Gun” became a phenomenal success, finishing as the highest-grossing movie of 1986 with $360 million in revenue.

Fast forward to 2018/2019, when, after many years of speculation and fan desire, a sequel to “Top Gun” was finally made. This was largely due to producer David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison and founder of Skydance. David, a huge fan of the original movie and a pilot himself, aimed to produce a sequel since founding Skydance in 2006. Once the right conditions surfaced, Skydance allocated 25% of the film’s approximate $200 million budget.

Originally meant to premiere in mid-2020, “Top Gun: Maverick” faced a two-year delay due to COVID. Tom not only starred in but also primarily produced the sequel. His base salary for “Top Gun: Maverick” was $13 million. More notably, as producer, Tom stands to earn 10% to 20% of the film’s “first dollar” gross revenue. This is a deal unmatched by any other star in Hollywood. The first dollar gross is distributed after movie theaters take their 40% share but before any studio costs are deducted, which include marketing and production.

If “Top Gun: Maverick” accumulates $1 billion at the box office and Tom acquires 10% of the first dollar gross, his earnings could be approximately $60 million. Should he secure 20%, he might make around $120 million. When considering streaming sales in the future, it’s quite plausible that he could earn about $200 million, which would be roughly 100 times his original salary from “Top Gun.”

Tom Cruise Height

What is Tom Cruise’s height? Tom Cruise stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall. This makes him three inches shorter than his former wife Nicole Kidman (who measures 5 feet 10) and two inches shorter than his ex-wife Katie Holmes (who is 5 feet 9).

Personal Life

Several marriages mark Tom’s life. From 1987 to 1990, he was wedded to actress Mimi Rogers, who also introduced him to Scientology.

From 1990 until 2001, he was married to Nicole Kidman.

Katie Holmes was his wife from 2006 to 2012.

Katie Holmes Divorce Settlement

One daughter, Suri, resulted from Tom and Katie’s marriage. Entering the union, Tom had a net worth of $250 million, while Katie’s net worth stood at $10 million. To safeguard his assets, Tom insisted on a robust prenuptial agreement. Their divorce stipulated that Tom would pay Katie $400,000 annually in child support for 12 years (up to 2024), equating to $33,000 monthly and totaling $4.8 million overall. Additionally, Tom is responsible for Suri’s medical expenses, education, insurance, and extracurriculars. Katie maintains full custody and has opted to raise Suri without Scientology’s influence. Importantly, Katie did not seek any spousal support or lump sum payment, reportedly for the sake of securing full custody and control over Suri’s upbringing.

Real Estate

Throughout the years, Tom has owned and retains several remarkable properties in the US. In 2013, he sold a 10th-floor condo in New York City’s East Village for $3 million. In September 2015, a multi-residence property in the Hollywood Hills went for $11.4 million, purchased by Eva Longoria. His long-time Beverly Hills estate was sold in May 2016 to billionaire financier Leon Black for $40 million, a property Tom had acquired for $30.5 million in 2006 while still married to Katie Holmes. In 2018, he invested $11.8 million in purchasing multiple units within a condo complex in Clearwater, Florida, situated near the Church of Scientology’s headquarters.

During his marriage to Nicole Kidman in the mid-1990s, Tom developed a sprawling mansion in Telluride, Colorado. This property, sprawling over 320 acres, features a main home of 10,000 square feet with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, horse stables, and a private helipad. He spent years advocating for the local airport’s runway expansion to accommodate larger private jets, a request granted in 2010. In 2016, he listed this property for $59 million but couldn’t find a buyer. He attempted to sell it again in 2018, and once more, he didn’t secure a buyer. The home was subsequently re-listed in March.
“`In May 2021, Tom successfully sold the property for precisely $39.5 million, having originally acquired it for the same amount in 2021. Below is a video tour from an earlier listing:

Cruise/Wagner Productions

One of the key factors contributing to Tom’s transformation into an exceptionally wealthy actor, rather than just a very affluent one, is his involvement in producing many of his own films. Together with Paula Wagner, he co-founded Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993. Their films have since amassed a total of $3 billion globally. For a substantial period, their company maintained an exclusive partnership with Paramount, which came to an end in 2006 following Tom’s controversial remarks about psychiatry and anti-depressants that triggered a stir across the industry. Since then, hedge funds and Dan Snyder, founder of the Washington Redskins, have provided funding. In 2006, Tom and Paula were invited by United Artists to help rejuvenate the underperforming studio. While Paula departed from UA in 2008, she and Tom still retain a 30% ownership stake in the studio today.