Will Smith is one of the highest paid actors in the world. His films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood’s most bankable movie stars in history.
In this piece, we take a look at Will Smith’s net worth, his career over the years as well as his Oscar controversy and how it affected his reputation. Let’s dive in:
Before I start…
If you’re tired of scams and want a real solution for making money online check out my no.1 recommendation.
It’s helped me earn over $300,000 in the last 12 months alone:
Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
(This is a 100% free training)
Will Smith Net Worth 2023
RECOMMENDED: Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
Who is Will Smith?
Will Smith is a famous American actor, rapper, and songwriter. He has been one of the most famous celebrities in the world for decades.
Will Smith has had the tag of “highest paid actor” a couple of times in a career that began in 1992. He also has the record for the most consecutive movies that have reached $100-million at the US box office.
Will Smith starred in the movie Bright in 2017 and broke the record back then for the most-viewed Netflix film ever in its first week. Bright was the first major Hollywood film to launch directly on a streaming platform rather than at theatres.
His portrayal of Agent J in Men in Black 3 in 2012 was, at the time, the highest-paid movie role of all time. He reportedly made $100 million.
Will Smith has secured massive paydays in other roles such as starring in King Richard, a movie about the rise of Serena and Venus Williams. Emancipation, for which he won an Oscar, sold to Apple Studios for $120 million making it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history. Will Smith reportedly made $35 million.
RECOMMENDED: Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
Will Smith Net Worth in 2023
Will Smith has a net worth of $375 million as of 2023 and about 80% of this comes from the earnings of his film career.
The other 20% comes from his other investments in various ventures.
Will Smith’s real estate portfolio is worth around $125 million. The house Will Smith lives in is currently worth around $45 million.
On top of that, Will Smith has about 20 cars and combined, these cars are worth at least $10 million.
Another major source of income for Will Smith has been social media both directly and indirectly. In 2017, he decided to venture into social media where he’s grown in stature and now collects millions through Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
He is particularly huge on YouTube where he has close to 10 million subscribers. In 2018, he even featured in the YouTube Rewind video for that year. YouTube Rewind is a since discontinued annual video series posted by YouTube that was an overview and a recap of the year’s viral videos, trends, and music.
In the 2018 edition, Will Smith appeared alongside other major YouTubers like Marques Brownlee, Lele Pons, Shane Dawson, MrBeast, PewDiePie, KSI, and Logan Paul.
His social media profile has been a boon for him professionally as it has boosted his already marketable brand and could have helped him secure eight-figure paydays such as the one he got for film “King Richard.”
Will Smith signed a deal with Snapchat for lockdown series “Will from Home” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Will Smith’s Early Life
Will Smith was born on 25 September 1968 in Weinfield, Pennsylvania. His actual name is Willard Carroll Smith II. His mother, Caroline (née Bright), was a school board administrator, and his Willard Carroll Smith Sr. a US Air Force veteran and refrigeration engineer. His father and mother separated when he was 13.
Will Smith grew up in West Philadelphia and was raised Baptist. He had one older sister and two younger siblings who were twins.
He attended a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia called Our Lady of Lourdes and Overbrook High School.
RECOMMENDED: Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
Will Smith’s Music Career
Although Will Smith is passionate about acting, his first major success was as a rapper. He became a famous rapper by the age of 18.
Smith began his music career as an MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. His friend, Jeffrey “DJ Jazzy Jeff” Townes, was the producer.
The duo worked on some singles and one called Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble became a hit a month before Smith graduated from high school. This caught the attention of Jive Records and Russell Simmons.
Will Smith and Townes received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” They got their second Grammy for their successful single, “Summertime” (1991). It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1997, Smith began his solo music career with the release of the movie “Men in Black.” He released the theme song for the film and it topped singles charts around the world.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Smith was signed by the NBC television network to build a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, based on him.
The show was successful and it also launched his acting career. Smith decided that he wanted to become “the biggest movie star in the world” and to achieve that goal, he studied the characteristics of the biggest stars to find out what made them successful.
Will Smith’s Film Career
Smith began his acting career with major roles in films like Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Bad Boys (1995). He starred alongside Martin Lawrence and the film was a commercial success, grossing $141.4 million worldwide.
He was cast in Independence Day and the film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history back then. It established Smith as a prime box office draw.
He starred together with Tommy Lee Jones in the hit Men in Black. The film was a commercial success grossing over $589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. It became the third highest-grossing film that year. Critics praised the humor, as well as Jones’s and Smith’s chemistry.
In 1999, Smith turned down the leading role of Neo in The Matrix to be in another movie, Wild Wild West that wound up not doing well at the Box Office. Smith has said that he does not regret the decision because he thinks that Keanu Reeves delivered a far better performance as Neo than he could have achieved.
In 2002, he played the great Mohammad Ali in a movie titled Ali. For his performance, Will Smith was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2007, he was once again nominated for the Oscar award for his starring role in The Pursuit of Happyness.
Smith has been in other films such as the sequels Bad Boys II (2003) and Bad Boys for Life (2020), sequels Men in Black II and Men in Black 3, I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, I Am Legend, Hancock, Seven Pounds, Suicide Squad, and Aladdin.
RECOMMENDED: Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
Some Unknown Facts about Will Smith
It is well known that Will Smith, unlike other rappers, doesn’t use curse words in his music.
It’s all due to something that happened when he was still very young. You see, Will Smith started writing rap lyrics at the age of 12.
When his grandma found a notebook with his rap lyrics, it was full of profanity. She wrote him a note saying, “Dear Willard, truly intelligent people do not have to use words like this to express themselves. Please show the world that you’re as smart as we think you are.” After that, Smith vowed never to use profanity in his music.
Will Smith and Chris Rock Slap Incident at The Oscars
In early 2022 at the 94th Oscar Awards Ceremony, Chris Rock (a famous American comedian), was on stage doing his monologue when he did a bit about Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith being bald.
After initially appearing to be okay with the joke, Will Smith got up from his seat, went on stage and smacked Chris Rock. Will Smith then went on to verbally tell Chris Rock to not talk about his wife.
Pinkett Smith, who had her head shaved, had been struggling with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair loss. The joke did not go down well with her as she rolled her eyes, prompting Will Smith to react.
Will Smith later returned to the stage to accept the Oscar for best actor. He apologized for the incident as he accepted the award for playing Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in the film “King Richard.”
Three months later, Smith released an apology video on all his social media accounts.
Smith resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending all Academy functions, including the Oscars, for ten years.
RECOMMENDED: Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
Personal Life
Will Smith has married twice. He married his first wife, Sheree Zampino, in 1992 and had a son, Willard Carroll “Trey” Smith III. They separated in 1995.
Will Smith has been married to actress Jada Pinkett Smith since 1997. They co-founded the Will and Jada Smith family foundation to invest in initiatives that focus on deepening individual and collective empowerment.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have two kids, Jaden Smith and Willow Smith. Jaden Smith has co-starred with his father in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth and Willow has appeared with her dad in I Am Legend.
Smith and his wife Jada have admitted to having extramarital relationships. Smith at one time wanted a polyamorous relationship with other people but chose not to pursue that after therapy.
Conclusion
The Will Smith biography is lengthy as he has been a big name in music, film, and TV. He is one of the highest earning actors ever and is considered one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Before you leave
If you’re tired of scams and want a real solution for making money online check out my no.1 recommendation.
It’s helped me earn over $300,000 in the last 12 months alone:
Go here to see my no.1 recommendation for making money online
(This is a 100% free training)
David Fortune has been the editor NoBSIMReviews.com since 2019. He is an expert at writing content on stock advisory services, side hustles, reviewing online business opportunities and many more topics. You can learn more about David on our about us page.