Brad Pitt's Net Worth is Money Ball
You may remember that line from Fight Club. It’s probably the most memorable quote from that movie other than the ubiquitous “The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.” (I always wondered if this one was the inspiration for “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” an ad campaign which began only 2-3 years after the movie was a huge success.)
“It’s Only After We’ve Lost Everything That We’re Free To Do Anything.”
It may be true that freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose, but having more money than you can possibly spend in one lifetime doesn’t seem like complete and total bondage either.
Brad Pitt’s net worth is estimated at right around $400 million in 2024. That puts him even with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston tripple the estimated net worth of ex-wife Angelina Jolie at $120 million. (I wonder if Jolie ever wishes she weren’t having to scrape by so humbly while Pitt sits comfortably on twice the assets. Probably not.) He’s certainly doing OK.
Oceans (of Success) 21
To be fair, Pitt has worked for his money. He was born in lil’ Shawnee, Oklahoma, in 1963, the first of three kids. His father owned a trucking company and his mother was a family counselor. His family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri, where Brad finished growing up, eventually landing at the University of Missouri where he studied journalism and planned on eventually working in advertising and art design.
His early roles were the sorts of dreamy-hunky faraway stare parts men cursed with great looks often have to endure on their way to the marquee. He did miscellaneous TV spots, including roles on Dallas, Another World, and Growing Pains, while establishing a small name for himself among those paying attention. Soon he was showing up in uncredited movie roles as well – the guy at the beach drinking something froo-froo in the background, Waiter #4, preppy guy getting into a fight. That led to the starring role in…
With only a few credits left in order to secure a degree, Pitt made a decision that led to an appropriately Hollywood-style rise to fame. He dropped out of school, drove to L.A., and worked odd jobs while he tried to break into the acting business. His break came when he agreed to accompany a friend from acting class to an audition in order to read the “other” part in the scene she was using to audition for an agent. It turned out to be a bad call on her part – the agent was so impressed with Pitt that he signed her classmate instead of her.
Come on, what do you think it was? His first big movie?
If you said The Dark Side of the Sun, you’re right. You’re also lying, because you didn’t say that. Not unless you’re actually Brad Pitt reading this, in which case… what’s up, Pittster? Good to see you slummin’ with the little folks here. Can I borrow a few million for a good cause? You’ll never miss it.
The Dark Side of the Sun was a Yugoslavian-American film which went straight to video in 1997. It has a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and you can still get it on Amazon.com, packaged with three other movies you’ve never heard of, for under $10. (It’s $24.95 if you want the VHS, which somehow seems more appropriate for these.)
Build Your Wealth Like Brad Built His Career
Seven Years In L.A.
I’m not focusing on this part to make fun of Pitt or the movie (which I haven’t even seen). What I prefer to take away from this is the value in plugging away at something even when it seems impossible. You take the shots you’re given, and you make the most of them. (None of the unfavorable reviews I could find said anything negative about Pitt’s actual performance.) You may not end up having Brad Pitt’s net worth, and that’s OK. Very few of us will. What we can do is have a similar work ethic and commitment to whatever we’ve decided is important to us. Plus, as we’re going to discuss in a bit, he’s pretty good at investing his resources wisely as well.
Whether we’re talking about professional success or personal goals, debt reduction or retirement planning, saving, you start where you are. Speaking of saving, while Wealthry brings you all kinds of entertainment net worth blogs, we also offer plenty of educational content. Everything you ever wanted to know about finances, you can find it here, on Wealthry, and on other sites which are part of the Goalry family. You can also do a lot here. Like open a savings account. If you don’t already have one, what are you waiting for?
Anyway, you take the opportunities you’re given. Maybe some household names broke into the business doing blockbusters, but not most of them. Most of them had their own version of “guy on the beach” leading to “straight to VHS” before getting listed in actual credits in a legit Hollywood Blockbuster.
Which brings us to Thelma and Louise.
For those of you either as of yet unborn in 1991 or for some reason hiding out in a bomb shelter or under a rock, Thelma and Louise was something of a landmark film and has become a cultural classic. The title characters were played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon and the project produced by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, etc.) It’s the story of two women on a fishing trip who end up running from the law when one of them kills a man who tried to rape the other. I won’t spoil the iconic ending, but if you haven’t seen it yet –
Well, if you haven’t seen it yet, what’s wrong with you?
Brad Pitt plays a sexy young thief who catches the eye of Thelma. While he’s not the first thing most of us remember when talking about the picture, this was arguably a major tipping point for his career.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Franklins
Although he was voted “sexiest man alive” several times, Pitt has proved his acting chops repeatedly over the years in a wide variety of roles, and shown a penchant for pursuing projects he like rather than sticking to safe, big payoff productions. His filmography is too extensive to list here, but you could watch Brad Pitt movies in a 3-day holiday weekend marathon and still not exhaust the catalogue. A River Runs Through It, Interview With A Vampire, Seven Years in Tibet, Oceans 11 (and 12 and 13), Fight Club, Inglourious Bastards, Selma, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood – the list goes on and on, as do the awards.
Brad Pitt’s net worth may be due to a degree of luck (right place, right time, etc.). It may also be because he’s so pretty and so good at what he does. Whatever else is involved, however, we simply have to credit him with working his little booty off every step along the way.
Pitt is also known for his philanthropic efforts, both with his various romantic partners and as an individual. He’s given millions and millions of dollars to American and world causes and co-founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation with (wanna take a guess?) his then-squeeze Angelina Jolie. While he apparently never takes personal credit for such things, it’s estimated that he was responsible for the building of at least 150 affordable homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
If you’ve read our blogs before, however, you know that net worth isn’t simply a function of how much you make. It’s usually far more significant what you do with the money you bring in. As investors love to say, first you work for your money, then you get your money to work for you.
So how does Pitt turn his tens of millions into hundreds of millions, despite all he’s given away? How can Brad Pitt’s net worth be what it is if he’s so generous with his resources? Again, if you’ve read our blogs at all before, you won’t be surprised by the answer.
Once Upon A Time On Hollywood Boulevard
Pitt owns a real estate portfolio estimated to be worth well over $100 million. His primary residence in Los Angeles covers almost two acres and includes at least four separate homes, including the main residence which offers around 6,600 square feet of living space. With Jolie, he’s purchased numerous properties in New Orleans, France, Spain, largely as investments towards the future. It seems to be working.
$100 million is a lot of money, to be sure. And yet, it’s only about 20% of his estimated net worth. How do we account for the rest?
Plan B Entertainment.
You may not recognize the name “Plan B Entertainment,” but you’ve probably heard of a few of their pictures – The Departed, Moonlight, and 12 Years A Slave have all won Oscars, although there are another two dozen successful projects from the same company over the past few decades. Plan B is Brad Pitt’s production company. So, in addition to his real estate savvy, Pitt has found enormous success transitioning from working for others (as an actor) to working for himself. He’s still in the same profession, doing what he loves – but he has more creative and professional control. And, because he’s also the boss, he makes more when things go well (and loses more when they don’t).
Not everyone can afford the kinds of properties Pitt can. It’s fun to dream about them or watch those “lifestyles” shows on TV from time to time, but most of us won’t be investing in luxury homes located on hard-to-reach islands across Europe. That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t learn something about the value of real estate and planning for the future with reliable investment decisions. Not all of us are going to become big name movie producers or financiers, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider whether or not it’s the right time to go into business for ourselves, or at least look at options we may have for generating our own income in addition to whatever work we do for others.
Conclusion
Because of the massive risk-reward nature of the entertainment industry, successful actors or musicians tend to rank rather highly on any list of net worth by age. Throw in the well-known stories of men like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg and it may seem like if you haven’t scored your first $20 million by the time you turn 30, your best days are behind you and the opportunities have passed you by. That’s simply not true, however.
Most folks in the non-celebrity category hit their financial stride in their 30s or 40s – or even their 50s. We start paying off our cars, or even our homes, and if all goes well our income stabilizes and our lives settle down. Yes, it’s ideal if you started planning for the future at 19 and investing by the time you turned 21. But if you’re 34 or 48 or 57 and haven’t started planning, then the best time to begin is NOW.
You may not end up having Brad Pitt’s net worth, but that’s OK. Most of us won’t. That doesn’t mean we can’t maximize our own potential with a combination of commitment and good decisions. Maybe we’ll never move past our own version of Waiter #4, but let’s make the most of it and see if we can maybe bump ourselves up to Waiter #2 or even Waiter #1. Then, if you meet two women on the run from the law with fishing gear in the trunk, well… at that point, anything’s possible.