Will Smith's Net Worth Crowns Him The Fresh Prince
Now this is the story all about how my life got flipped – turned upside down. And I'd like to take a minute (just sit right there), I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air...
For most of us, these were the lines which first introduced us to Will Smith, or at least a fictionalized version of him, as the mischievous nephew of a respectable family living in the suburbs of Los Angeles. They were hardly the beginnings of Will Smith, however, or even his “Fresh Prince” persona.
The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Theme Song
Will Smith was actually born in Philadelphia (like the song says) way back in 1968. The nickname “Prince” started in high school as a result of his ability to talk himself out of almost any difficult situation. He added “Fresh” to the name when he first partnered with DJ Jazzy Jeff to do rap in the early 1980s. Before the decade was out, they’d won a Grammy for their album “He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper” - a two-disc release, which was virtually unheard of in rap or hip-hop before. You may remember the hit single, “Parents Just Don’t Understand” or the Freddy Krueger-inspired “A Nightmare On My Street.”
Yeah, that was them.
Image Source: Us Weekly
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air ran on NBC from the fall of 1990 through the spring of 1996. The show was a huge success and has remained in syndication pretty much without pause in the 25 years since. The premise wasn’t complicated – it was essentially a variation on the “odd couple” or “wacky family” theme so popular on classic sitcoms. But it did what it did so very well. The characters were quirky, but familiar. Mismatched, but lovable. They were easy to root for and laugh at all at the same time. Most importantly, perhaps, they were genuinely funny while still making us care about their fictional lives.
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air began in the waning years of The Cosby Show (1984 – 1992) and probably benefited from the success of its predecessor (which was also on NBC). The Cosby Show offered America a very recognizable upper middle class family facing familiar dilemmas and sharing similar joys to their own – but who just happened to be Black. Fresh Prince captured that same sense of familiarity for audiences of all colors while enjoying some of the cultural playfulness of classics like Good Times or What’s Happening!! It was, in short, the best of all possible sitcom worlds rolled into one.
Beyond Bel-Air
Will Smith started doing movies while Fresh Prince was still going. He had several moderately successful films until 1995’s Bad Boys, an action-comedy directed by Michael Bay of later Transformers fame. Smith and Martin Lawrence made an excellent drama-humor buddy cop partnership and have since done two sequels together. But, it turned out, that was just the beginning.
In July of 1996, Independence Day was released. It starred Will Smith as our hero who saves the entire planet – with style.
Independence Day (1996)
Image Source: Eye for film
Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution – but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.
And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!”
The lines weren’t Smith’s, but his role as Captain Steven Hiller was and remains absolutely iconic. If there were any doubt about the dramatic acting chops of television’s “Fresh Prince,” they were resolved in this film.
Seriously, I’m getting chills just remembering it.
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MORE MOVIES
Men In Black was released in 1997, at which point it seemed there was no slowing Smith. He's done dozens of films since, including several he’s also produced. While happy to exploit his comedic talents, Smith has chosen to push himself and seems at times to choose roles largely based on how dramatically they clash with public perceptions of his style or strengths. Sometimes the big risks pay off (Enemy of the State, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Ali). Other times, well... other times you get Winter’s Tale or Seven Pounds. *shudder*
Then again, that’s why they call them “big risks,” right?
Then through the shadows, in the saddle, ready for battle – bring all your boys in, here come the poison. Behind my back, all that riffin’ ya’ did – front and center, now where your lip at kid?
MORE MUSIC
Smith continued to record music periodically and maintained a degree of success in that world as well. On several occasions the theme songs he created for his movies proved more successful than the films themselves.
PHILANTROPHY
Because of his level of fame, people have often expressed interest in Will Smith’s personal philosophy, including his religious beliefs. While he’s given generously to Christian charities, Jewish organizations, Muslim causes, and even the Church of Scientology, Smith insists his core beliefs come from his Baptist upbringing and Catholic schooling. He’s participated in several sacred Hindu rituals and expressed a wide-ranging interest in all sorts of religious thinking. At times, honestly, it’s not clear anyone is entirely certain what he’s even talking about.
Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time the world listened to someone rich and famous rhapsodize about the meaning of life and responded with a collective “Huh?!”
So perhaps the best categorization of Will Smith’s religious beliefs would be “generalized.” He seems to care about justice and doing the right thing as best he can understand it – but that doesn’t mean it will always line up with what anyone else thinks makes sense. This being America and all, that simply has to be OK.
A BOOK?
So, let’s see... music, acting, production, philanthropy, what’s left? Oh, that’s right – a book. The memoir Will was released in November of 2021.
The Path To Wealth
He’s not quite in Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, or Shah Rukh Khan range, but he’s still one of the wealthiest actors and celebrities in the world. His secret seems to be finding something very few people can do as well as you do and that everyone else is willing to pay a LOT of money to enjoy, then doing that over and over. I’m sure we can all learn from his example.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m way behind recording my first hit single, starring in a legendary sitcom, and breaking box office records as a leading man.
Everybody lookin’ at me, glancin’ the kid – wishin' they was dancing the jig here with this handsome kid. Ciga-cigar right from Cuba-Cuba, I just bite it – it’s for the look, I don’t light it.... Getting' jiggy wit it – na na na na na...
Want to live well as you age? Don’t let obligations pile up. Deal with them sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, some of Will Smith’s net worth may be the result of some hard lessons learned early in his career. After finding stardom as a rap artist, Smith was living the good life – and not thinking much about paying his taxes. Part of his motivation for accepting the sit-com role was the deep debt he was already in, and for much of the series, a quarter or more of what Smith made from the show went straight to Uncle Sam.
While all of the details of Smith’s investments aren’t readily available, it is known that he’s bought and sold real estate all over the globe. That’s one of the benefits of a degree of wealth – it allows you to create more wealth with a few prudent investments.
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Maintaining Will Smith’s Net Worth
There’s nothing to suggest Smith is particularly miserly with his wealth. He buys luxury cars for everyone in his family and they take lavish vacations across the world. His current home in Los Angeles County is valued at $42 million, and the Smiths recently purchased their son Jaden his own humble little 6,000 square feet abode for around $4 million.
WIll and his wife, Jada Smith
Image Source: USA today
Will Smith and his wife oversee the “Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation” which gives millions to charities and other organizations around the world. Most, as referenced above, are associated with major religious faiths or with Scientology – which in L.A. probably counts as a major religious faith, I suppose.
It’s easy to question whether someone of Will Smith’s net worth even notices all those millions, and that’s a valid point. But as someone without millions, I assure you that I’m very aware of it every time $25 is about to go to something not absolutely essential. Even when I decide it’s the right thing to do, I always think about it before I make that call.
It always matters.
On the other hand, despite periodically being in the news for relationship rumors or other standard Hollywood melodrama, it doesn’t appear Smith manifests the sort of recklessness we often see in those who find success at a young age. Perhaps his run-in with the IRS early on was enough of an attention-getter that he’s never needed to learn that lesson again. Or perhaps all of his talk of wanting to do right by people and model responsible, caring human behavior isn’t just talk after all.
Conclusion
It’s impossible for anyone of Will Smith’s net worth or amazing body of work over the past three decades to escape criticism. He’s made a few questionable professional decisions in the past and he’ll probably make a few more before he’s done. But that, too, may be something we can all learn from, even if we don’t have Will Smith’s net worth or talent.
What we do have are choices about each decision we make moving forward. When are we taking calculated risks to pursue what we most want, and when are we simply being reckless? When do we make the choices we do based on money, and when do we go a different direction based on love? There are no hard right or wrong answers, I’m afraid. There’s only this:
Gather all the information you can. Put in the time. Do the necessary work, and then do far more than that. If you still believe it’s time to take that step...
I pulled up to the house about seven or eight and I yelled to the cabby “Yo, Homes - smell ya’ later!” Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there – to sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel-Air.