Information | Category |
$600 Million | Net Worth |
$50 Million Per Year | Salary |
Jul 3, 1962 (61 years old) | Birthdate |
Syracuse | Birthplace |
Male | Gender |
5 ft 7 in (1.71 m) | Height |
Actor, Film Producer, Screenwriter, Television Director | Profession |
United States of America | Nationality |
Tom Cruise’s Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings
Tom Cruise, an American actor and producer, boasts a net worth of $600 million. Widely regarded as one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood history, he is among the highest-paid and wealthiest celebrities globally. To date, Tom Cruise’s movies have amassed $11.5 billion at the worldwide box office. Interestingly, for the majority of his career, none of his films surpassed the $1 billion mark. Before June 2022, his top-grossing film was 2018’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” with a global take of $800 million. Cruise finally entered the billion-dollar club in late June 2022 with “Top Gun: Maverick,” which ultimately grossed $1.5 billion worldwide.
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Early Life
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, known as Tom Cruise, was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. His father, who shared his name, worked as an electrical engineer, while his mother was a special education teacher. Tom has three sisters. His first cousin, William Mapother, also pursued acting and has collaborated with Tom on several projects.
During his childhood, Tom moved frequently across the United States, including a brief period in Canada when his father took a job with the Canadian Armed Forces. Tom later described his father as a bully who physically abused him and his siblings. Over 14 years, Tom attended 15 different schools.
Initially, Tom didn’t aspire to be an actor. Although he took drama classes in middle school, he was more inclined towards sports. It wasn’t until a knee injury sidelined him from the wrestling team in high school that he turned his focus to acting. He dedicated himself to the drama club and soon landed the lead role in their production of “Guys and Dolls.”
Despite receiving praise and encouragement for his acting abilities, Tom wasn’t initially committed to an acting career. He even spent some time at St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati with the intention of becoming a Franciscan priest, but was expelled for drinking.
Tom graduated from Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey in 1980.
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Early Career
After finishing high school, Cruise initially relocated to New York City with aspirations of becoming an actor. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue television roles.
In 1981, Tom made his film debut with a minor role in “Endless Love.” That same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in “Taps.” This role led to Tom being signed by the influential talent agency CAA. A CAA agent named Paula Wagner advocated for Tom directly to the agency’s managing partner, Michael Ovitz. Tom not only became a lifelong client of CAA, but in the early 1990s, he and Paula formed a production company called Cruise/Wagner Productions.
Tom gained further recognition with “The Outsiders.”
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Success
In 1983, Tom Cruise delivered a breakout performance in the comedy-drama “Risky Business.” The film was a financial success, grossing $64 million against a modest $6 million budget and becoming a cultural landmark. This role solidified Cruise’s status as a rising star and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.
Cruise’s ascent to global stardom was cemented with the massive success of 1986’s “Top Gun.” The film earned $360 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing movie of the year.
That same year, Cruise co-starred with Paul Newman in “The Color of Money.”
Cruise continued his streak of hits with “Cocktail” and “Rain Man,” both released in 1988. “Rain Man” won four Academy Awards. Cruise received his first Oscar nomination the following year for his role in “Born on the Fourth of July.”
He followed up with roles in 1990’s “Days of Thunder,” 1992’s “Far and Away,” 1992’s “A Few Good Men,” 1993’s “The Firm,” and 1994’s “Interview with the Vampire.” His performance in “A Few Good Men” earned him another Golden Globe nomination.
In 1996, Cruise both starred in and produced the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible,” which grossed $457 million and spawned several successful sequels. That same year, he starred in another hit, “Jerry Maguire,” which grossed $275 million on a $50 million budget and earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. His co-star, Cuba Gooding Jr., won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Over the next decade and beyond, Cruise continued to deliver box office hits. Some of his additional notable projects 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
- #6: The Last Samurai (2003) – $456 million ($716 million with inflation)
- #5: War of the Worlds (2005) – $606 million ($890 million with 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
Other notable Cruise films and global grosses:
- The Firm (1993) – $158 million ($350 million with inflation)
- Mission: Impossible II (2000) – $550 million ($923 million with inflation)
- Mission: Impossible (1996) – $460 million ($850 million with inflation)
- Rain Man (1988) – $354 million ($865 million with inflation)
- Top Gun (1986) – $360 million ($445 million with inflation)
To date, more than twenty of Cruise’s films have earned well over $100 million each in global revenue. His total worldwide box office earnings amount to $9.5 billion, without accounting for inflation.
Salary and Earnings Milestones
- Tom earned $50,000 for Taps
- Tom earned $75,000 for Risky Business
- For 1985’s Legend, his pay was bumped to $500,000
- In 1986, Tom Cruise earned $2 million to star in Top Gun. From that point on, his career earnings skyrocketed.
- He earned $3 million for Cocktail
- $9 million for Days of Thunder
- $13 million for Far and Away
- $12 million for A Few Good Me
- $12 million for The Firm
- $15 million for Interview with the Vampire
Tom earned a total of $70 million for all his credits on the first Mission Impossible, thanks to his producer credit. For Mission Impossible 3, he made $75 million.
Tom’s two highest-paid films to date are “Mission Impossible 2” from 2000 and “War of the Worlds” from 2005. He earned $100 million from each film due to lucrative backend deals. When reviewing the list of the 10 largest acting paychecks ever for a single movie, Tom Cruise appears three times. His $100 million earnings for the aforementioned films are the third and fourth largest paydays, behind Bruce Willis’ $105 million for “The Sixth Sense” and Keanu Reeves’ $156 million for “The Matrix.”
From 1983 to 2011, Tom earned $445 million from movie salaries. Between 2011 and 2019, he likely earned at least another $300 million, bringing his total career earnings (including salary and bonuses) between 1983 and 2019 to $745 million.
Top Gun Salary/Earnings
Tom Cruise earned a salary of $2 million for the 1986 film “Top Gun.” Adjusted for inflation, that amount is equivalent to about $5.4 million today. Surprisingly, his $2 million paycheck accounted for 13% of the movie’s entire $15 million budget. The earnings of his co-stars, including Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, remain unknown but were likely much lower than $2 million.
During the production of Top Gun, Tom Cruise’s other movie “Legend” flopped at the box office, leaving producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson extremely anxious. Luckily, Top Gun became a major success, ending up as the highest-grossing film of 1986, earning $360 million.
Fast forward to 2018/2019, over thirty years later. After years of speculation, fan rumors, and hopeful anticipation, a sequel to Top Gun was finally created, primarily due to the efforts of producer David Ellison. Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison and founder of Skydance, was a passionate fan of Top Gun and a pilot himself. When he established Skydance in 2006, his first goal was to produce a Top Gun sequel. Once everything fell into place, Skydance dedicated 25% of the movie’s approximately $200 million budget.
“Top Gun: Maverick” was originally scheduled for a mid-2020 release but had to be postponed for two years due to the COVID pandemic. Tom Cruise not only stars in the sequel but also serves as its main producer. His base pay for the movie was $13 million. However, what sets his deal apart is his entitlement to 10-20% of the film’s total revenue from the first ticket sold, known as “first dollar” gross.
This arrangement is unique in Hollywood. After movie theaters take their cut (usually 40% of the revenue), but before any other studio costs like marketing and production are deducted, Tom Cruise gets his share. If “Top Gun: Maverick” hits $1 billion in box office sales and Tom Cruise has 10% of the first dollar gross, he stands to earn around $60 million. With a 20% share, he could make around $120 million. Considering additional earnings from streaming sales, it’s estimated that Tom could potentially earn around $200 million, which is about 100 times more than his original salary for the first “Top Gun” movie.
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 ex-wife Nicole Kidman, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, and two inches shorter than his ex-wife Katie Holmes, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall.
Personal Life
Tom has had multiple marriages. He wed actress Mimi Rogers in 1987, and their marriage lasted until 1990. Interestingly, Mimi introduced Tom to Scientology.
Following his marriage to Mimi, Tom married Nicole Kidman in 1990, and they were together until 2001.
Later, Tom married Katie Holmes in 2006, and their marriage lasted until 2012.
Katie Holmes Divorce Settlement
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had one daughter together, named Suri. When they got married, Tom’s net worth was $250 million, much higher than Katie’s $10 million. To safeguard his assets, Tom insisted on a strong prenuptial agreement.
Their divorce settlement stipulated that Tom would pay Katie $400,000 annually in child support for 12 years, totaling $4.8 million by 2024. This breaks down to $33,000 each month. Additionally, Tom is responsible for covering Suri’s medical bills, education costs, insurance, and extracurricular activities.
Katie was granted full custody of Suri and decided to raise her without Scientology. Interestingly, Katie did not request any spousal support or a lump sum payment in the divorce agreement, reportedly choosing full custody of Suri over any financial compensation.
Real Estate
Tom has owned several impressive properties across the United States over the years. In 2013, he sold a condo on the 10th floor in New York City’s East Village for $3 million. He also sold a multi-residence property in the Hollywood Hills for $11.4 million in September 2015, with the buyer being Eva Longoria. In May 2016, Tom sold his long-held estate in Beverly Hills to billionaire financier Leon Black for $40 million. He originally purchased this house for $30.5 million in 2006 when he was married to Katie Holmes. In 2018, Tom bought multiple units in a condo complex in Clearwater, Florida, near the world headquarters of the Church of Scientology, spending $11.8 million.
During his marriage to Nicole Kidman in the mid-1990s, Tom Cruise constructed a sprawling mansion in Telluride, Colorado, spanning 320 acres. The main residence, totaling 10,000 square feet, boasts seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, horse stables, and a private helipad. Cruise dedicated considerable effort to persuade the local airport to expand its runway to accommodate larger private jets, a request granted in 2010. Despite listing the property for $59 million in 2016 and again in 2018, he struggled to find a buyer. Eventually, in March 2021, Cruise re-listed the home for $39.5 million, finally selling it for the same price in May 2021.
Cruise/Wagner Productions
Tom Cruise has amassed immense wealth in his acting career, largely due to his involvement in producing many of his own films. In 1993, he partnered with Paula Wagner to establish Cruise/Wagner Productions. Their films have collectively earned $3 billion globally. Initially, they had an exclusive agreement with Paramount, which ended in 2006 following controversy sparked by Tom’s comments on psychiatry and anti-depressants. Since then, funding has been sourced from hedge funds and Dan Snyder, the founder of the Washington Redskins. In 2006, they were brought on board by United Artists to rejuvenate the struggling studio. While Paula departed UA in 2008, she and Tom still hold a 30% stake in the studio.