Here's How Much Eddie Murphy Is Really Worth
Eddie Murphy is an iconic comedian and actor who has earned himself an estimated net worth of $200 million. Yes, he's made quite a name for himself ever since his rise to fame in the early '80s on "Saturday Night Live." He went on to star in comedies like "The Nutty Professor" and "Norbit," and he became known for portraying multiple characters at once. (Murphy played a total of seven characters in 1996's "The Nutty Professor," including Professor Sherman Klump, Buddy Love, and most of the Klump family — both male and female roles).
He also has notable performances in a number of blockbuster movies, including "Dr. Dolittle," "Beverly Hills Cops," "Shrek," "Daddy Day Care," and more. Simply put, Murphy is one of a kind. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he is "one of the highest grossing actors in film history," with the website reporting his movies have grossed over $7 billion at the worldwide box office. That's a whole lot of money.
Murphy, himself, is also worth a lot, and he added to that net worth in 2021 when he starred alongside his daughter Bella in "Coming 2 America," which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in March 2021. Keep scrolling to find out how the whopping salary he reportedly earns per film and just how he spends his money.
What Eddie Murphy's early years were like
Even when he was a teenager, Eddie Murphy knew he was going to be famous one day. He told Parade, "Around 15, I started saying, 'When I'm 18, I'm gonna get famous.'" He wasn't far off, since, as Parade noted, Murphy ended up on "Saturday Night Live" at the age of 19. But Murphy's childhood wasn't lavish by any means.
According to Biography, he lived in the projects of Bushwick, New York, with his dad Charles, mom Lillian, and brother Charles. Murphy was just three years old when his parents divorced (per Parade) and eight years old when his dad was murdered.
Still, Biography noted that, from a young age, Murphy was doing character impressions from the tons of TV he consumed. Hardships aside, Murphy still sees his childhood as a good one. "I had a great upbringing," he told Parade. "Most of my childhood memories are fond. It was pretty normal kid stuff."
He got his start doing stand-up
Eddie Murphy didn't start doing stand-up comedy the way most folks do. At just 15 years old, he started doing a mix of his own comedy hot takes and impressions. It seems the funny bone was just a part of Murphy's DNA. Even as a kid he was cracking jokes. "I was always funny," he told Parade. "I grew up around a bunch of funny people." He even told the outlet that his first audience at eight years old was a bus full of strangers on the way home from the public pool.
He has even talked about returning to his stand-up roots after the shake-up of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The whole time last year I would have been out working on my act, trying to get my sh*t right, and then the whole thing shut down," Murphy told CNN.
The outlet added that Murphy's 1987 standup routine, "Raw," is still one of the top-grossing stand-up comedy films of all time and has earned over $50 million since its release.
He found fame on SNL
At just 19-years-old, Eddie Murphy made his "Saturday Night Live" debut, and his time on "SNL" may have, in fact, saved the show in a lot of ways, according to a writer who spoke to Yahoo! Entertainment in 2020. David Sheffield's working relationship with Murphy is still so great that he even co-wrote "Coming 2 America" (and the original film), "The Nutty Professor," and "Boomerang," which all starred Murphy.
"One night, Barry [W. Blaustein, another 'SNL' writer] and I were hanging out with some other writers, and Eddie came in and started riffing as this character he did called Raheem Abdul Mohammad," Sheffield told Yahoo! Entertainment. "Raheem was a film critic, and the joke was that he would always go to the multiplex and see the wrong movie. He would say things like, 'I went to see "On Golden Pond" and Goldie Hawn wasn't even in it!' It was so damn funny, and Barry said, 'We're going to work with this guy.'"
Murphy's connection to "SNL" continues, as he hosted his third Christmas episode in 2019. He was on the series as a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984, according to IndieWire, though we can't blame him from moving on from his rising star days at "SNL." According to Celebrity Net Worth, he was making $4,500 per episode on "SNL" in 1981 and made $30,000 per episode by 1982 — though his first huge payday came with his $1 million salary for making "Best Defense."
Eddie Murphy earns millions for each movie he makes
That first $1 million paycheck Eddie Murphy got for making "Best Defense" in 1984 was far from the last time he'd see a cool million for his work. Per Celebrity Net Worth, he made $14 million for "Beverly Hills Cop," $16 million for "The Nutty Professor," $17.5 million for "Doctor Dolittle," and $3 million for voicing Donkey in "Shrek," as just a few examples of his big paydays. Though his biggest paycheck by far, per the outlet, was the $60 million he made off of "Nutty Professor II."
Despite what seems like small potatoes in salary, the "Shrek" franchise ended up being a big part of Murphy's life. In fact, his asking price was a pivotal part of "Shrek II" getting off the ground back in 2001, according to Variety.
Now with the proliferation of streaming services, Netflix specials are the huge moneymakers — especially for comics like Murphy. Rumor had it in 2019 that he was being offered $70 million by Netflix for a new special. Serendipitous timing for Murphy, who was planning on returning to his standup comedic roots anyway.
Divorce cost him big time
Getting married ended up being a costly endeavor for Eddie Murphy, who ended up divorced from his wife, Nicole Murphy, in 2006. As part of their divorce settlement, Eddie handed over $15 million to his ex-wife, the equivalent of $22 million in 2022.
That hefty sum seems to have dissuaded Eddie from tying the knot ever again, as he's had relationships, but hasn't yet married any of the other women he's been with, per Parade. While he has proposed to his current, long-time partner, they've been engaged since 2018 and have yet to tie the knot, so marriage may really be something Eddie's shying away from. And we can't blame him, considering how much his divorce cost him!
Additionally, the money he did end up giving Nicole was essentially lost by her. According to Money Inc., conman Troy Stratos (a childhood friend of Nicole's) conned her out of at least $7 million of her divorce settlement, by telling her that he and an unknown royal from abroad had created a fortune together by being early investors in AOL. The over three decades of trust Stratos had with Nicole allowed him to mismanage her money to create a lavish lifestyle for himself. Although Stratos finally went on trial for his crimes in 2016, Eddie was probably far from pleased that his money went to such an unscrupulous source.
Eddie Murphy has fathered 10 kids
Eddie Murphy has ten kids — six daughters and four sons. Per Parade, his kids come from previous relationships with five different women. His children are Eric, Christian, Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, Bella, Angel, Izzy, and Max. Their birth years range from 1989 to 2018, and he's even become a grandfather. It's safe to say Murphy is one proud dad.
He told People in 2016 how happy he was with his kids: "I really got lucky with my kids. There really isn't a bad one in the bunch, everyone turned out to be really good people." (And that was even before he had Max)! Having so many kids though, especially ones under 18, gets complicated when ex-partners are involved. Murphy once faced a lengthy court battle over child support with Spice Girl Mel B, for example.
According to Us Weekly, Mel B wanted to amend their child support agreement over her own reduced income. Originally, Murphy agreed to pay $25,000 a month for support in addition to covering insurance and health-related expenses for his daughter, Angel. Mel B's lawyer claimed Murphy didn't uphold his end of the health-related payments. Showbiz CheatSheet reported that the new child support amounts to over $50,000 a month for Murphy.
He's lived in some lavish homes
Celebrity Net Worth reported that Eddie Murphy has had quite a hearty relationship with real estate in his life. The outlet stated that Murphy lived in a mansion in a gated community in Granite Bay, California for a time in the 1990s, before taking up residence in a $10 million home in Beverly Hills. He then built a brand new mansion with 32 rooms for himself, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
All that said, he hasn't lost sight of where he came from. Hello! equated Murphy's mansion to a town in its own right, because it has a pool, a cinema, and a bowling alley, in addition to 10 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms.
"I've always been aware that I have a charmed life. I'm from the Tilden Projects of Brooklyn. This is all gravy," he once said (per the New York Post). The Post further reported that the Tilden Projects Murphy mentioned are part of the Brownsville public housing.
He owns his own island in the Bahamas
It's true, Eddie Murphy bought himself a 15 acre private island called Rooster Cay for $15 million in 2007, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Forbes reported that Rooster Cay wasn't even Murphy's first private island. He reportedly formerly owned another Bahamian island, known as Pearl Island. The outlet also added that Rooster Cay is off the coast of Nassau.
Considering that folks have long teased Murphy for his reclusive lifestyle, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he uses his fortune to pick up houses or even islands. As he told Rolling Stone in 2011, he absolutely is a homebody.
"I'm grown, and where else am I supposed to be? I'm supposed to be home," he told the outlet. "When you go out now, as soon as you leave that driveway you're in the world. It's all this stuff that you have to deal with now, like the camera phone — this sh*t destroyed the world. Now wherever you go, they're taking your f***ing picture. If I were out in the clubs every night, they'd be saying, 'That's a shame, look at him, 50 years old, he's still out at these clubs.' Recluses are nasty, with long nails, don't wash their a** ... I'm too vain to be a recluse. But homebody, absolutely. I'm 50 years old, beautiful house, I'm supposed to be home, chilling."