What is Tom Cruise's Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings?
Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who has a net worth of $600 million. Tom Cruise is generally considered one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history. He is also one of the highest-paid and richest celebrities in the world. As of this writing, Tom Cruise movies have earned $11.5 billion at the global box office. Interestingly, though, for most of his career, none of Tom's films ever grossed over $1 billion. Prior to June 2022, his highest-grossing movie of all time was 2018's "Mission: Impossible – Fallout," which made $800 million globally. Tom finally hit the billion-dollar mark in late June 2022, thanks to "Top Gun: Maverick," which ultimately went on to earn $1.5 billion globally.
Early Life
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. His father and namesake was an electrical engineer, his mother was a special ed teacher. Tom has three sisters. His first cousin William Mapother, would later also become an actor and has appeared alongside Tom in a number of projects.
Tom Cruise spent his early years moving around the country, with a brief stint in Canada after his father landed a job with the Canadian Armed Forces. Tom would later claim that his father was a bully who beat Tom and his siblings. He attended 15 schools in 14 years.
Tom didn't always dream of pursuing an acting career. Though he did take drama classes in middle school, he was more of a jock in middle school. He pivoted to acting in high school after a knee injury forced him off the wrestling team. Cruise devoted himself to the drama club and quickly won the lead role in their production of Guys and Dolls.
Despite receiving positive reviews and encouragement of his acting chops, Tom still wasn't interested. He actually spent a period at the St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, hoping to become a Franciscan priest. He was expelled from seminary school for drinking.
Tom graduated from Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey in 1980.
Early Career
After high school, Cruise initially moved to New York City to become an actor. He soon moved to Los Angeles to try out for television roles.
In 1981, Tom made his film debut with a small part in "Endless Love." That same year, he earned critical praise for his role in "Taps." That role also led Tom to being signed by the powerhouse talent agency CAA. A CAA agent named Paula Wagner made the case for Tom directly to the agency's managing partner, Michael Ovitz. Not only would Tom go on to be a lifelong CAA client, but in the early 1990s, Tom and Paula would form a production company called Cruise/Wagner Productions.
Tom earned further acclaim with "The Outsiders."
Success
In 1983, Tom had a star-making performance in the comedy/drama "Risky Business." Risky Business earned $64 million on a budget of $6 million and spawned a number of cultural touchstones. The movie secured Cruise as an up-and-coming star and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.
Tom Cruise became one of the most famous actors on the planet with the enormous success of 1986's "Top Gun." Top Gun grossed $360 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing film of the year.
That same year, he appeared alongside Paul Newman in "The Color of Money."
The hits kept coming with "Cocktail" and "Rainman," both of which were released in 1988. Rain Man won four Academy Awards. Cruise's first Oscar nomination came a year later with"Born on the Fourth of July."
He followed with 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." For A Few Good Men, he received a Golden Globe nomination.
In 1996, Tom Cruise simultaneously starred in and produced the blockbuster hit "Mission: Impossible," which grossed $457 million and produced several successful sequels. This same year, Tom starred in another cultural phenomenon, "Jerry Maguire," which earned $275 million on a $50 million budget and resulted in a Best Actor Oscar nomination. His co-star Cuba Gooding, Jr. won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Tom continued to pump out hits over the next decade+. Some additional notable Tom 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
- #5: 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, over twenty of Cruise's films have grossed well over $100 million worldwide. His global box office total is $9.5 billion without adjusting for inflation.
(Photo by Shannon Finney/Getty Images)
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 Men
- $12 million for The Firm
- $15 million for Interview with the Vampire
Thanks to his producer credit, Tom earned a full $70 million for all his credits on the first Mission Impossible. He earned $75 million for Mission Impossible 3.
Tom's two highest-paid movies to date are 2000's Mission Impossible 2 and 2005's War of the Worlds. He earned $100 million from EACH movie thanks to lucrative backend points. When you look at a list of the 10 largest acting paychecks of all time (for a single movie), Tom Cruise ranks three times. His previously mentioned $100 million paydays are the third and fourth largest paydays behind Bruce Willis' $105 million Sixth Sense payday and Keanu Reeves' $156 million Matrix payday.
Between 1983 and 2011, Tom earned $445 million in movie salaries. Between 2011 and 2019, he likely earned at least another $300 million, bringing his total career earnings (salary and bonuses) between 1983 and 2019 to $745 million.
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Top Gun Salary/Earnings
As we mentioned a moment ago, Tom Cruise's salary for 1986's "Top Gun" was $2 million. After adjusting for inflation, that's the same as around $5.4 million today. Believe it or not, $2 million was 13% of Top Gun's entire $15 million budget. We do not know how much his original co-stars, such as Kelly Mcgillis and Val Kilmer earned. Presumably a lot less than $2 million.
During the filming of Top Gun, a Tom Cruise-starring movie called "Legend" bombed at the box office, rendering producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson terrified. Fortunately, Top Gun was a smash-hit and went on to be the highest-grossing movie of 1986, with $360 million in revenue.
Fast forward three decades to 2018/2019. After many years of whispers, rumors, and hopes from fans, a Top Gun sequel was finally produced thanks largely to producer David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison and founder of Skydance. When David Ellison, a huge childhood fan of Top Gun and a pilot himself, founded Skydance in 2006, the FIRST movie he wanted to make was a Top Gun sequel. When the stars finally aligned, Skydance committed 25% of the film's roughly $200 million budget.
"Top Gun: Maverick" was initially supposed to be released in the middle of 2020 but had to be delayed for two years due to COVID. Tom is both the star and primary producer of the sequel. His base salary for Top Gun: Maverick was $13 million. More importantly, as producer, Tom is entitled to 10 – 20% of the film's "first dollar" gross revenue. That's a deal no other star in Hollywood can secure. First dollar gross is paid out after movie theaters, known as exhibitors, take 40% of receipts, but before all other studio costs, including marketing and production.
If Top Gun: Maverick grosses $1 billion at the box office and Tom owns 10% of first dollar gross, he'll earn around $60 million. If he has 20%, he'll make around $120 million. If he has 20% and when you include streaming sales down the road, it is very possible that Tom will earn around $200 million which would be approximately 100x his original Top Gun salary.
Tom Cruise Height
How tall is Tom Cruise? Tom Cruise is 5 foot 7 inches tall. He is three inches shorter than his ex-wife Nicole Kidman (who is 5 foot 10) and two inches shorter than his ex-wife Katie Holmes (who is 5 foot 9).
(Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Tom has been married several times. He was married to actress Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990. It was Mimi who actually introduced Tom to Scientology.
Tom was married to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001.
He was married to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012.
Katie Holmes Divorce Settlement
Tom and Katie's union produced one daughter, Suri. Tom went into the marriage with a net worth of $250 million, while Katie's net worth was $10 million. With much more to protect, Tom insisted on having a rock-solid prenuptial agreement. The terms of their divorce required Tom to pay Katie $400,000 per year in child support for 12 years (until the year 2024). That's $33,000 per month, a total of $4.8 million when it's all said and done. Tom also must pay for Suri's medical expenses, education, insurance, and extracurricular activities. Katie has full custody of Suri and has chosen not to raise their daughter with Scientology. Katie did NOT receive any form of spousal support or lump sum cash payment. It has been reported that Katie opted not to seek a dime in spousal support in order to receive full custody and control of Suri's upbringing.
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Real Estate
Tom owns and has owned a number of extremely impressive properties around the US over the years. In 2013, Tom sold a 10th-floor condo in New York City's East Village for $3 million. In September 2015, he sold a multi-residence property in the Hollywood Hills for $11.4 million. The buyer was Eva Longoria. In May 2016, Tom sold his longtime Beverly Hills estate to billionaire financier Leon Black for $40 million. He purchased the house for $30.5 million in 2006 when he was still married to Katie Holmes. In 2018, he spent $11.8 million buying multiple units in a condo complex in Clearwater, Florida, near the world headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
In the mid-1990s, when he was married to Nicole Kidman, Tom built a large mansion in Telluride, Colorado. His Telluride property spans 320 acres. The main home is 10,000 square feet with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, horse stables, and a private helipad. He spent years lobbying the local airport to expand its runway so larger private jets could arrive. His runway wish was granted in 2010. In 2016, he listed this home for $59 million but ultimately did not find a buyer. He listed the home again in 2018 and again did not find a buyer. He re-listed the home in March 2021 for $39.5 million. Tom finally sold the property in May 2021 for exactly $39.5 million. Here is a video tour from a prior listing:
Cruise/Wagner Productions
A major reason Tom has become an extraordinarily wealthy actor, as opposed to a merely very rich actor, is that he has produced many of his own films. In 1993, he and Paula Wagner co-founded Cruise/Wagner Productions. To date, their films have produced $3 billion worldwide. For many years, their company had an exclusive deal with Paramount. That deal dissolved in 2006 after Tom's controversial statements about psychiatry and anti-depressants went viral and ruffled feathers around the industry. Funding ever since has been provided by hedge funds and Washington Redskins founder Dan Snyder. In 2006, Paula and Tom were recruited by United Artists to revive the struggling studio. Though Paula left UA in 2008, today, she and Tom still own 30% of the studio.
