How Much Is Gene Hackman Really Worth?
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Gene Hackman is a legendary American actor known for his iconic roles in films like "Bonnie and Clyde," "Superman," "The Royal Tenenbaums," and "Hoosiers." After a decades-long career in Hollywood, he retired from the business at the age of 74 — but only after stacking up a comfortable salary. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Hackman's net worth is estimated to be $80 million.
While he sure seems to be beyond financially comfortable nowadays, that was not always the case. Born in Southern California in 1930, Hackman's family struggled with money, moving around a few times before ultimately settling in Illinois. As he recounted to The New York Times Magazine, "My dad never made enough money to buy a house of our own, or even rent one, so we were living with my grandmother." The idea of becoming a movie star might've seemed like pie in the sky for a kid growing up in the Midwest during the Great Depression, but he did what he had to do to make that dream come true.
Hackman's won Academy Awards, landed some of the most coveted movie roles in Hollywood, and raked in a serious amount of cash. Here's how the venerated film star has earned money over the course of his storied career.
Gene Hackman pursued other paths first
Though he did not come from a well-to-do Hollywood family, Gene Hackman dreamed of breaking into show business from a young age. "Acting was something I wanted to do since I was 10 and saw my first movie," he recalled to Connoisseur (via Deseret News). "I was so captured by the action guys. Jimmy Cagney was my favorite."
However, the path he took to get to the Hollywood A-list took some twists and turns. According to Independent, he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the military following "a furious row with his basketball coach." As he recalled to Time, "I left home when I was 16 because I was looking for adventure." Per Military.com, he was able to join the Marines by lying about his age and ended up using G.I. Bill funding to pursue a college education. The California native decided to study journalism and TV production at the University of Illinois, per Independent. He left the school after a few months. According to Military.com, he then attended the School of Radio Technique in New York.
He worked odd jobs to get by
After using his military benefits to fund his education, Gene Hackman took on a varied assortment of jobs to make ends meet. According to Independent, Hackman went to New York to make a career for himself, but he would not find success in show business until his 30s. Before he got his big break, Hackman lived at a local YMCA and seemingly worked every job under the sun, including driving trucks, selling shoes, and hocking candy. "The worst job I ever had was working nights in the Chrysler Building," he recalled to Time. "I was part of a team of about five guys, and we polished the leather furniture. ... I wasn't very good at it." He also landed industry gigs, too: Per The New York Times Magazine, he logged hours in TV production in the Big Apple, Florida, and Illinois. "I wanted to be an actor, but I was not willing to commit to it,” he told the outlet.
It took a life-changing moment for the former Marine to refocus on his goal of becoming an actor. He ran into his former drill instructor while working as a doorman, and he was not shy about his disappointment. "He never looked at me but muttered, 'Hackman, you're a sorry son of a b***h'," Hackman told David Letterman, per Independent. Soon after that interaction, the star went on to land Broadway roles that paid enough to line his pockets prior to breaking into Tinseltown.
He cut his teeth on Broadway
At the start of his career, Gene Hackman struggled to break into acting. As he recalled to Connoisseur (via Deseret News), he and classmate Dustin Hoffman were named "least likely to succeed" when they were taking classes at California's Pasadena Playhouse. It seems his potential was overlooked, to say the least. "I was not considered one of their most promising students," he recalled. It wasn't until Hackman started landed stage roles that his career trajectory — and financial situation — began to change. Still, the actor's theatre success was not immediate. He had to work his way up like any other aspiring Broadway star. "No one starts at the top in the theatre, and the bottom is a very ugly place," he told Vanity Fair. Comparing those early rejections to "psychological warfare," he said, "I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job. It was like me against them, and in some way, unfortunately, I still feel that way."
Hackman's first Broadway show was "Children From Their Games." At the time, Hackman likely had no idea that this would eventually lead to him being discovered by director Robert Rossen, who cast the actor in the 1964 film "Lilith." Hackman met actor and director Warren Beatty on the set of that film, and went on to land his iconic supporting role in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" as a result. That proved to be a career-defining film for the actor.
Bonnie and Clyde catapulted Gene Hackman's career
"Bonnie and Clyde," a bona fide Hollywood classic, features Gene Hackman as Buck Barrow. This was Hackman's breakthrough role, his first glimpse of movie star fame and fortune. The Academy Award-winning film earned Hackman an Oscar nomination, and it also brought in over $22 million dollars following its premiere, per Entertainment Weekly. These earnings signified a successful debut during that time period.
The recognition Hackman gained from starring in such a successful film helped him land role after role. Following "Bonnie and Clyde," the actor took on a part in "I Never Sang For My Father." This film helped Hackman keep up his streak of Academy Award considerations, as he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance. "Bonnie and Clyde" seemingly made wealth possible for Hackman, as the film helped the star build a portfolio of Oscar-nominated roles in blockbuster films. From there, his household name status was set in stone.
Gene Hackman became a Hollywood stalwart
Over the course of his career, Gene Hackman established himself as a Hollywood veteran and an incredibly wealthy actor. After "Bonnie and Clyde" and "I Never Sang For My Father," Hackman earned a role in what would later become one of the greatest American movies of all time, as ranked by the American Film Institute.
When "The French Connection" premiered in 1971, Hackman's performance as New York detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle generated a great deal of praise. He earned his first Oscar for his performance, taking home a golden trophy for the category of Best Actor in a Leading Role. "Filmmaking has always been risky — both physically and emotionally — but I do choose to consider that film a moment in a checkered career of hits and misses," Hackman told the New York Post in 2021.
Following "The French Connection," he went on to take on huge roles in films like 1978's "Superman," "Superman II," "Unforgiven," "The Conversation," and so on. "Superman" alone brought in over $300 million worldwide, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Hackman reportedly got $2 million for that flick. To put things into perspective, Celebrity Net Worth reports Harrison Ford got $100,000 for 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back."
Gene Hackman decided to retire
In 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport," Gene Hackman portrayed a former president who'd fallen in love with a secretary. The movie itself received poor reviews, brought in nearly $15 million worldwide (which was not even half of the movie's $30 million budget), and happened to be Hackman's final feature film. After "Welcome to Mooseport" hit the silver screen, the legendary actor decided to hit the road and leave show business once and for all.
Regarding his choice to retire, he told Empire in 2020, "The straw that broke the camel's back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn't in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress." And the movie industry is no stranger to stress. As Hackman said in Reuters, "I miss the actual acting part of it, as it's what I did for almost 60 years, and I really loved that. But the business for me is very stressful. The compromises that you have to make in films are just part of the beast, and it had gotten to a point where I just didn't feel like I wanted to do it anymore."
He picked up another career
After hanging up his Hollywood hat, Gene Hackman decided to pick up another money-making hobby. He honed in on the writing he briefly studied in college to pursue a career as a novelist. He spoke on his decision to change careers in an interview with Reuters. When asked about his interest in writing, he replied, "I like the loneliness of it, actually. It's similar in some ways to acting, but it's more private and I feel like I have more control over what I'm trying to say and do. There's always a compromise in acting and in film, you work with so many people and everyone has an opinion."
What's more, he told Reuters that he found writing to be "relaxing and comforting," unlike the fast-paced and stressful environments he likely encountered while acting. "My other job, that thing I did for 60 or so years, was getting tougher as the years slipped by," he shared with Writer's Bone in 2014. "The characters bouncing around in my head had to play out." Whether or not being an author pads his bank account, Hackman seems more than fine with this career pivot. The actor told Empire, "I don't picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process."
Has Gene Hackman seen success as a novelist?
Hackman's passion for book writing has led him to co-author numerous novels while in retirement, but he published his first book while still working as an actor. "Wake of the Perdido Star" by Hackman and Daniel Lenihan is described as "a moving story of a young boy's coming of age on the high seas, full of authentic nautical and historical detail" in its Amazon listing. The novel received great reviews — especially given it was Hackman's first piece.
The retired actor went on to co-author a few other novels, including "Justice for None" in 2004 and "Escape from Andersonville" in 2008, per the Los Angeles Times. Hackman's first solo book, "Payback at Morning Peak," also received many positive reviews. It perhaps proved that the former movie star could achieve moderate success as an author on his own. While it is unclear exactly how much Hackman has made from his novels, readers seem to enjoy his work. And it probably doesn't hurt that he reportedly has a hefty nest egg to fall back on thanks to his lengthy acting career.
The retired actor has owned multiple properties
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gene Hackman currently owns a sprawling property in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he resides with wife Betsy Arakawa. Per Architectural Digest, the home, which underwent a significant remodel, boasts "a 360-degree view that stretches as far as the mountains of Colorado." Before he landed in this enchanting home in the Land of Enchantment, he had a property in Montecito, California, with his first wife, Faye Maltese. Chatting with Architectural Digest in 1982, Hackman discussed the changes he and Maltese made to the house. "We spent a year and a half on it and it gives me a great deal of pleasure— continuing pleasure, you might say, because we are always working on it," he said. "We are comfortable here, and we succeeded in our wish to both protect and change this house." In 1985, that property sold for over $5 million.
What's more, he also owned a massive property in the Pebble Beach area of California that's changed hands a few times since it was in his name. Per The Mercury News, it sold in 2015 for a breezy $27 million. Oh, and as Curbed Seattle noted, he also owned an island off the coast of Washington, sold it, and scooped up "an even more secluded spot in British Columbia." Not bad for a kid who "wasn't very good at" polishing furniture once upon a time.