Michael Douglas' Net Worth Is Wall Street Worthy
Hitting it big in Hollywood usually catapults one's earning power and sets an actor or actress on track to accumulate a massive fortune. The wealthiest actors out there can actually make a small fortune from just starring in one film alone. Over an entire career, Hollywood superstars can accumulate net worths that compete with earnings from many of the most prominent power players on Wall Street.
One superstar actor out there with a net worth that's clearly Wall Street worthy is Michael Douglas. As of 2023, Michael Douglas boasts a net worth of around $350 million. Douglas has achieved two Academy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards throughout his career. However, perhaps his most impressive achievement is his massive wealth. His wealth has come from numerous blockbuster films that he has acted in and/or produced since acting in his first breakthrough television role in "The Experiment" in 1969.
Some issues that have detracted from Douglas’ net worth and earnings potential through the years have included his divorce in 1995 and a case of cancer that may have prevented him from taking on some acting roles for a couple of years. Douglas divorced his wife Diandra Luker in the mid-90's and was required to pay out $45 million dollars for his settlement with Luker. In 2010, Douglas announced that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. The cancer was at an advanced stage at the time of his diagnosis. However, in January of 2011 Douglas announced that he had gotten rid of the tumor. However, his illness caused Douglas to lose a total of 32 pounds.
15 Facts You Didn’t Know About Michael Douglas
His Beginnings And Career Prospects As an Actor
Michael Douglas enjoyed something of a head start in terms of his acting career and his wealth thanks to the fact that he was born to two successful actors. He was born in 1944 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill. At the time Douglas was born, his father Kirk Douglas was already an established actor. Kirk Douglas was nominated for an Academy Award only five years after Douglas was born in 1949.
Though he may have gotten a head start from father Kirk Douglas, the net worth of Michael Douglas significantly surpasses the net worth that his father achieved. Kirk Douglas recently passed away at the age of 103 in February of 2020. At the time of his death, Kirk Douglas was worth about $60 million.
Some of the most successful and widely known film roles that Douglas has starred in are The China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Wonder Boys. Douglas has also been successful as a television actor. In the 1970's, Douglas acted in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco. In this series, Douglas played Inspector Steve Keller.
Earnings As a Producer
Michael Douglas has earned a significant amount of money from producing films in addition to acting. Films that he has earned money from producing have included One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Starman, Flatliners, Double Impact, Face/Off, and The Rainmaker. In fact, one of his two Academy Awards come from his role as a producer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Real Estate Investments
In addition to making money by acting, Douglas has also greatly increased his wealth through real estate investment. His portfolio includes real estate assets from all over the world. Among Douglas' most valuable real estate assets are a 250-acre estate in Spain that he purchased for $3.5 million in 1990 that he later listed for sale for $32 million.
The Early Career Of Michael Douglas
For his education, Michael Douglas attended schools including New York City's The Allen-Stevenson School and Eaglebrooke School in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He pursued university studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama in 1968.
Upon completing his university studies, Douglas began to pursue roles in film and on television. He was initially billed as "M.K. Douglas" in his first role. The first films that he appeared in included Hail, Hero! and Summertree. Although these early films were not widely recognized or enormously successful, Douglas did receive a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Most Promising Male Newcomer for his role in Hail, Hero!
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One early event in Douglas' life that helped him in his career was receiving the rights to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest from his father. Douglas didn't act in this film, but his work as a producer on the film helped to spread recognition of his name in Hollywood.
Other roles that came not long after Douglas' work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest were Coma in 1978, Running in 1979, and The China Syndrome in 1979. Douglas both starred in and produced The China Syndrome. In this film, Douglas starred alongside actress Jane Fonda.
Romancing the Stone
Another film that really helped Douglas to achieve stardom was Romancing the Stone. This was a romantic adventure comedy film that came out in 1984. The film earned $115.1 million at the box office and had a budget of only $10 million, so it was wildly successful financially. Michael Douglas starred in this film along with Kathleen Turner. Danny DeVito was also in the film. There was a sequel that followed up on the success of Romancing the Stone that was entitled The Jewel of the Nile.
Success As a Leading Man
The next big film that Michael Douglas was involved in was Fatal Attraction. This was a thriller that Douglas acted in with Glenn Close. Fatal Attraction came out in 1987. The film was even more of a financial success than Romancing the Stone had been. Against a budget of $14 million, Fatal Attraction brought in a whopping $320.1 million at the box office.
Douglas would also star in the film The War of the Roses. Like Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses starred Kathleen Turner alongside Douglas as the leading man. In the same year, Douglas was also the star in Black Rain. Black Rain was a crime drama that was filmed in Japan.
Douglas played alongside Sharon Stone in the controversial film Basic Instinct. This thriller made even more money at the box office than Fatal Attraction had made. Basic Instinct brought in $352.9 million at the box office. This film came out in 1992.
Throughout the nineties, Douglas would star in numerous successful films. By this time, Douglas was a household name, a Hollywood star, and a highly paid actor. With each film, Douglas added significant amounts to his growing net worth. He starred alongside Demi Moore in Disclosure in 1994. He also played in Falling Down and The Ghost and the Darkness. He played the leading male roll in The American President. Other films he starred in during this time included The Game, The Ghost and the Darkness, and Dial M for Murder.
In 2000, Douglas was in the film Traffic. He acted in this film with Catherine Zeta-Jones, who he would eventually marry. Another film role from this time in Douglas' career was Wonder Boys. However, Wonder Boys was a financial failure. The film brought in $33.4 million at the box office against a budget of $55 million.
Later Career
Since 2001, Douglas has taken on some acting roles but been generally less prolific as an actor than he had been previously. He starred in Don't Say a Word in 2001 and It Runs in the Family in 2003. His father and son Cameron both acted alongside him in the film It Runs in the Family. In 2006, he starred in an action film called The Sentinel.
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At this time, Douglas also took on some guest appearance roles. He appeared on an episode of the television sitcom Will & Grace. He received an Emmy Award for this appearance for the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Show category.
Douglas took on a role as the announcer for the NBC Nightly News in 2007. He also played along with Matt Damon in the 2013 film Behind the Candelabra. This role garnered Douglas another Emmy Award. One of his most recent roles has been on a web television series in The Kominsky Method. Douglas acted in this series along with Alan Arkin. This role earned Douglas a Golden Globe Award.
Diversity Of Roles
Throughout his career, Douglas has shown himself to be a highly versatile actor. This has contributed to his success in Hollywood both in terms of receiving a long list of awards and becoming a big earner among Hollywood stars.
One particular type of role that Douglas became associated with was the victimized male. He played this type of role in Fatal Attraction. He also played a victimized male role in Basic Instinct and War of the Roses.
At the same time, Douglas has succeeded in playing powerful and even cruel roles as well. One of his most widely recognized roles was as Gordon Gekko in the Wall Street films. In this film, he portrayed a greedy role. He also played a greedy role in The Star Chamber and in the film Black Rain.
Final Thoughts
Michael Douglas may not be the absolute wealthiest actor in all of Hollywood. He is listed at having a net worth of $350 million, and this is more than most of us will manage to make in our lives. Yet actors including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Cruise are worth significantly more than Michael Douglas. However, Douglas is the highest net worth actor and has a net worth that is clearly Wall Street worthy.
Michael Douglas has a net worth that makes him among the wealthiest figures in Hollywood. However, there are many other actors and actresses out there who boast Wall Street worthy net worths. If you’re interested in how the net worth of Michael Douglas compares with the net worths of some of the richest celebrities in Hollywood these days, find more below.