Net Worth
The Meaning of Net Worth
Let’s face it. We know better. We know that the true value of our life, or anyone else’s, can’t be measured in dollars and stuff. And we’re right – it can’t. But we still want to know. How much does he have? How much is she worth? How’s this company’s bottom line? Where am I, compared with my neighbors, co-workers, or the rest of my family, in terms of my net worth?
“Net worth” starts with the total value of everything you own – your home, your vehicles, your furnishings, your CD collection (they’re coming back!), all the way down to your shoes and socks, plus the money you have invested or saved. Convert it all to dollars and cents, then subtract everything you owe – on your house, your vehicles, credit cards, student loans, etc. The result is your “net worth.” If it’s a positive number, you have positive net worth. If it’s a negative number…
Well, you get the idea. That’s your basic net worth formula. It’s the same net worth formula for anyone, famous or unknown, powerful or meek, rich or building towards the future. You’ll sometimes here it referred to as your “liquid net worth,” because it’s computed with the assumption that everything of value you own could be easily liquidated – converted to cash in order to more easily do the math.
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Maybe we can’t stop net worth meaning something to us, even though we know better. Perhaps the next best thing is to scratch that itch, amuse ourselves with some insights into a few high net worth individuals (and a few who don’t have the highest net worth despite our expectations), then get back to the things we can control about our own finances.
We may not end up hanging out at the same resorts as the Property Brothers (net worth = $200 million), but we can practice basic money management in our own humble abode. We may not find ourselves dining at the same restaurants as Stephen King (net worth = $450 million), but we can get serious about defining retirement goals and start making better use of some of the intuitive, flexible financial management tools out there for (relatively) normal folks like ourselves.
The richest celebrities have people to take care of their money for them. The richest politicians make the laws that determine how much they’re worth over time. Even for a truly successful entrepreneur net worth can become more of a status marker than a serious consideration before going to the grocery store or buying new tires.
The rest of us have to figure out how to make money to cover two upcoming birthdays in the same month. The rest of us have to sort through ways to invest money all on our own, using whatever financial goal management tools and information are available to us (which fortunately is way more than we’d have had even a few years ago).
That’s OK. As we said above, we know our true value isn’t measured solely by dollars and stuff. That knowledge isn’t always enough, however, to offset net worth concerns or our interest in who has the biggest net worth or – sometimes – who doesn’t.
Highest Net Worth Celebrities and Public Figures
We admit it. We want to know which famous people have a lot, and which ones have it all. The Wealthry blogs are committed to practical advice for financial goal management and tools to help you with online money management. You know, normal people stuff. But we also sometimes are curious which politicians, athletes, entrepreneurs, and actors have the highest net worth. As of mid-2020, here are just a few.
+ Highest Net Worth Actor
Go on, take a guess. Who do you think it’s going to be?
Robert Downy, Jr.? That’s fair – his success as Iron Man certainly counts for something, although it perhaps overshadowed just how good he was as Sherlock Holmes or in that Tropic Thunder silliness. He’s good, and he’s quite well-off financially, but he’s not the highest net worth actor of 2020. At around $300 million, he’s not even in the top ten!
Maybe Tom Hanks? Even better. He’s starred in, well… pretty much every legit and charming movie of the past century, it seems. We loved him as Mr. Rogers and Woody and Forrest Gump and whoever he was when he was trying to save Private Ryan. We’re still so charmed by his performances in Big, Splash, and Sleepless in Seattle that we forget he was even in that horrible Bosom Buddies sitcom. At around $350 million, he’s doing better than Iron Man, but still not top ten.
If you guessed Jack Nicholson, George Clooney, or Tom Cruise, you’re getting much closer. At $400 million, $500 million, and $570 million respectively, they’re all doing quite well for themselves in terms of net worth. They’re also all in the top ten for 2020. But none of them are the highest net worth actor of the year so far.
Have you noticed a theme so far? Here, we’ll give you some hints with some other names from the top twenty: Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Keanu Reeves, Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Brad Pitt… Hollywood is arguably a bit more diverse than it was a generation ago, but the list of top earners is still largely a list of old white guys. In time, the list should diversify based on minor improvements in the way the industry treats a wider variety of talent.
It will still probably be heavy on those middle aged and older, however, because net worth is a function of both making money and managing it over a long period of time. Even among “normal” folks, any chart of net worth by age will show you that folks in their 50s and 60s generally have more than folks in their 30s. Net worth isn’t just about how much you make, although that certainly matters. It’s about what you do with what you make.
They’re not all old white guys. Will Smith is in the mix with a net worth of around $300 million. Jackie Chan is doing alright at $370 million. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan sits at a respectable $400 million or so, safely in the top ten. In second place, just ahead of Tom Cruise, is another star from India – Shah Rukh Khan, the “King of Bollywood.” His net worth is around $600 million.
In first place is the only woman in the top twenty. Her name is…Jami Gertz. You know, from Twister and The Lost Boys. Not to take anything away from her acting chops, but she’s also a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks (as in the NBA team) with her husband Tony Ressler. Again, it’s not always just how much you make – it usually matters very much what you do with what you make.
+ Highest Net Worth Athlete
We can’t talk richest celebrities without talking about the highest net worth athlete as of 2020. We won’t spend as long on this category, since honestly we’d really rather be talking about strengthening YOUR average net worth with a useful budget and some reliable financial management tools, like the amazing new money tracker app we’re about to unveil or this cool download that helps you find the best ways to invest money without you even having to—
OK, we get it. First, those highest net worth athletes we promised. Just a few, though – for the rest, you’ll have to hit the Wealthry blogs. While you’re there, though, check out some of the articles about the best way to manage money when you aren’t sure you have enough money to manage, the importance of defining retirement goals long before it’s time to retire, and the best investment plan for people who never thought they’d be investing in anything. Please?
It's worth noting that, just like with actors or musicians or politicians, there’s an important distinction between the highest paid and the highest net worth. Net worth is about earnings plus management over time. With that in mind, several of the top five won’t be a surprise.
Michael Schumacher, the Formula One race car guy from Germany, has an estimated net worth of around $600 million – higher than any of the old white guy movie types listed above. Just above him is Tiger Woods. Whatever his personal drama, Woods has managed to maintain an impressive balance of athletic ability (and yes, we’re counting golfers as “athletes” here – that’s an argument for another time) and being an interesting personality. Half the world loves to watch him win while the other half will gladly pay to watch him lose. I’d take that trade for a net worth of around $740 million.
Michael Jordan is no surprise at a net worth of around $1.9 billion. In terms of athletes whose primary source of income is, well… doing athletic stuff, he’s the highest net worth athlete in history. If we include those who’ve catapulted themselves into management and ownership as a result of their athletic careers, the game gets more complicated. Ion Tiriac, a former hockey and tennis player from Romania, is currently worth around $2 billion – a fortune founded on his professional career but including subsequent ventures related to those sports. At an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion is… Vince McMahon, who began his career as a professional wrestler and who now ruins – excuse us, runs – the WWE and its various offshoots. We leave it entirely up to you whether or not that technically puts him above Jordan as the highest net worth athlete of all time.
+ Highest Net Worth Musicians, Entrepreneurs, and Politicians
Can you handle some tough love for a moment? Reading up on America’s richest politicians (most of whom made their money before entering politics) is fun and perhaps enlightening (it suddenly makes sense why everything they do seems designed to help one specific group of people), but it won’t help us with basic money management or work out the best investment plan for our personal household budget. Looking at entrepreneur net worth and how they got there might give us some insight on how to make money, but it won’t tell those of us with a very average net worth the best way to manage money in our income range or improve our own humble financial goal management.
There’s nothing wrong with the stories of high net worth individuals, but it’s like eating Twinkies and bacon – a little is fun and tasty and causes no real harm. Too much, however, and we’re in danger of overlooking the essentials – the protein and veggies and such. It’s fine wondering why professional wrestling brings in so much more money than real sports or wondering who the next Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates might be. Then we need to get serious about an effective household budget. We need to get real about our own personal credit card debt. We should pay attention to that money tracker app mentioned above and the other next-generation financial management tools being revealed in coming months. At the very least, we should familiarize ourselves with existing online money management tools and the informational blogs about our personal finances to at least partially offset net worth dreams of being the next Warren Buffet or Madonna.
+ The Biggest Net Worth Reality Ever
You remember above when we cautioned that while financial planning and personal responsibility are important, we don’t want to give net worth meaning beyond what it literally carries. It’s a dollars and cents summary of what you have minus what you owe – that’s all. It’s not about whether or not you’re a good person, or a smart person, or a good parent, or a hard worker. In fact, here’s something you may not expect to hear from a site devoted to helping individuals take more effective control of their personal and small business finances:
Money isn’t everything. It’s not even the most important thing – at least not usually.
But there’s a reason we still talk about the best way to manage money and the importance of meaningful budgets you actually use. There’s a reason we’re excited about the potential of technology to support your efforts to save and invest and make better financial decisions. Money isn’t usually the most important thing, but almost everything that is important to you is impacted by money.
Your ability to care for your family is largely shaped by your financial resources (or lack thereof). Your access to art, entertainment, music, travel, books, or gaming is impacted by your ability to pay for those interests. Your health care, for better or worse, is largely a product of what you can afford. Your education is impacted by your income level as well, despite the noble efforts of so many educators to make it less of a factor. Your ability to choose a career you love over one that pays better is based on your financial circumstances. The possibility of buying a house that can truly become a home for you and yours is dramatically influenced by how much money you have and how well you’ve handled your money in the past.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
So money matters. But there’s good news that goes with that. You live in a time in which you have more access to financial information and insights than ever before. There are reputable sites like this one which break down almost every conceivable financial mechanism or money-related issue into plain, simple English. There are tools and articles here and on our sister sites that will help you get started with a meaningful budget, make better decisions about when to borrow and how to save, help you sort out good debt from bad debt, talk you through tax season, make sense of the real estate market, or even guide you through the insane process of buying or refinancing a home.
You’re in a time that categorizing your spending can be as simple as checking social media for new cat videos. Comparing prices or real estate or mortgage lenders can be as easy as clearing the bars on your fitness tracker or posting a photo of your lunch. The best technology doesn’t make decisions for you, but it brings the relevant information together when you most need it in the format you choose, and on almost any connected device. If knowledge is power, you live in times that can offer you an enormous amount of personal financial power but remain as easy to figure out as those games on your phone you keep playing when you think no one’s watching at work.
Keep your eyes here for more details. We have a guiding philosophy here at Wealthry and across the Goalry family that most of us are perfectly capable of taking better control of our finances if only offered the right information, the right connections, and the right tools and opportunities. We’re already going strong with those first two. We can’t wait to show you the third.
In the meantime, look around. You have more power than you know already, no matter what your current net worth. Let us know how we can help.
