Brad Pitt’s Net Worth Shows He’s a True Movie Star
AP Photo
With a $400 million net worth, Brad Pitt is one of Hollywood’s last true movie stars. While he’s talked of retirement, he currently has a slate of projects before him that will undoubtedly add to his already massive bank account.
His next film comes from Apple Studios. This yet-to-be titled movie is about a Formula One race car driver who comes out of retirement to mentor someone younger. It will only add to an already extensive list of films that continue to make Brad Pitt one of the most bankable stars in the industry.
Pitt’s Early Life in Missouri
Brad Pitt was born into an upper-middle-class family on Dec. 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, but spent his childhood in Springfield, Missouri. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri with the intention of working in advertising, but he couldn’t ignore his love of film.
With just two credits left for a college degree, he decided to leave Missouri for good and took a chance on Hollywood.
Working in Hollywood … as a Chicken
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Pitt didn’t exactly take the industry by storm. In fact, he paid his dues in a chicken suit.
During an interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Pitt revealed that he dressed as the El Pollo Loco chicken mascot for the restaurant chain’s store opening on Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood. He said that he felt “no shame” in wearing the costume because “a man’s gotta eat.”
As the Pollo Loco chicken, he had to wave to passers-by and admitted that he was “flipped off a lot.”
‘Thelma and Louise’ Was His First Big Break
In the late 1980s, Pitt took blink-and-you’ll-miss-them film roles and guest spots on TV shows, just to get his foot in the door. “I landed [in L.A.] and went straight to McDonald’s. I got a newspaper. I had $275 to my name, and I saw in the paper that you could sign up for work as an extra, so I signed up for three places.”
It was his seven minutes of screen time in “Thelma and Louise” in 1991 that gave him his first big break. Even though he made only $6,000 for the performance, it cemented his star power in Hollywood. When he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2020 for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” he thanked his “Thelma and Louise” co-star Geena Davis.
A String of Hit Moves in the 1990s and 2000s Added to His Wallet
After “Thelma and Louise,” Pitt’s rise to the top was a meteoric trajectory. He earned $4 million for “Se7en” in 1995, and a year later, he got a $10 million paycheck for “Sleepers.” By the end of the decade, Pitt was raking in about $18 million per picture.
And by the time the early 2000s arrived, Pitt’s fee jumped up to at least $20 million per role. In 2022, he’s one of a few stars that commands about $25 million per role.