Harrison Ford Net Worth: The Star that Keeps Rising

The Harrison Ford net worth figure of $197 million comes almost entirely from the star’s considerable acting chops. Ford began his career way back in 1966 with a role in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. Since then the star has made an estimated $39.3 million from Star Wars movies and $189.5 million from other film and TV roles and appearances. That money is figured pre-tax, but after adjustments for taxes, expenses and investments the net worth number of $197 million bears out. Ford’s breakout role was in 1973’s American Graffiti, though Star Wars Episode IV cemented his status as a pop culture icon. Not content to be typecast, the actor moved into other action movie roles with ease (Indiana Jones, Patriot Games) as well as romantic comedies (Working Girl) and a slew of thrillers, dramas and TV shows.

harrison ford and carrie fisher about hanleia pic.twitter.com/EcdCayPBQn

— leia skywalker (@tolkienianjedi) October 22, 2016

Harrison Ford Net Worth Facts

How does the Harrison Ford net worth total stack up against other stars? Ford has been making a lot of money for a long time. That said, more recent additions to the modern celebrity firmament generally see bigger earnings and vast endorsement deals. Even so, Ford has been and continues to be a solid earner even without a huge swath of endorsements. Ford’s net worth of $197 million is 32% bigger than socialite Kim Kardashian’s net worth of $150 million. It’s about a third the size of rapper and businessman Jay Z’s $552 million, but then Jay Z made a lot of that money from the sale of his Rocawear clothing line. Ford’s net worth is four times bigger than rapper Lil Wayne’s $62 million and 15% bigger than NFL legend Tom Brady’s $172 million. Ford has seven times more money than NBA star Stephen Curry with $27 million and 11% less than LeBron James with $223 million. Ford also has six times more money than Hillary Clinton’s $32 million and 18% less than Justin Bieber’s $241 million. It’s very important to note that Ford did all this almost entirely on his acting earnings. Though most of the other stars we mentioned have been around longer than Ford, they also take in millions each year from endorsements and in some cases business deals. Strip those extra earnings sources away and none of them would hold a candle to the Star Wars star.

Harrison Ford Net Worth Timeline

The Harrison Ford net worth story began over 50 years ago with a small role in the James Coburn film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. Ford appeared in 14 TV shows and movies over the next six years, including a stint on the popular series Gunsmoke. It was his role in the 1973 hit film American Graffiti though that put him on the earnings map with an estimated $585,000. After that his income pull increased considerably, eventually landing him in a risky project called Star Wars. Ford was paid very little for the movie up front, but a cut of the box office take brought his earnings up into the millions. From there, the actor landed a series of high-paying roles in a career that never seemed to dwindle. His earnings per film rose gradually but respectably, boosting his net worth into the tens of millions by 1987 and over $100 million by 2007.  The 2015 Star Wars reboot The Force Awakens added another $24 million in pre-tax earnings to Ford’s fortune. With a new Indiana Jones film in the works and a Blade Runner sequel set for a 2017 release, Ford’s half-century career shows every sign of stretching out into the future.

Also see: How Much Money Did Harrison Ford Make for Star Wars?

Harrison Ford Net Worth Sources: Acting, Producing, Endorsements

Where does the Harrison Ford net worth sum get its juice? Acting, acting, acting. In fact, 95% of Ford’s lifetime earnings of $237 million comes straight from acting and related appearances, with only 5% hailing from a mix of producing and endorsement income. Ford’s average salary only comes to $4.6 million, which believe it or not is low compared to other contemporary actors. The earnings lag isn’t because Ford attracts lower pay than other actors of his stripe however, but is instead because of Ford’s very long career with lots of years that pull his average down. Ford has paid an astounding estimated $94 million in taxes during his lifetime, despite his residence in tax-free Wyoming. $35 million in expenses deal another blow to Ford’s fortune, though a half century of investments calculated at a modest 6% per year add back a handsome $89.6 million.

Harrison Ford Net Worth from Acting

Acting makes up the bulk of the Harrison Ford net worth number, chipping in $226.4 million. Ford has racked up an impressive 72 credits for acting in TV and movie roles during his 50 year career. While that may not seem like a high number of roles, it’s important to consider that the quality of Ford’s parts outstrips the quantity. Ford’s career is kind of like a wall safe that contains only 72 items, but most of them are solid gold bars. Consider that Ford’s roles include American Graffiti, Star Wars IV, V and VI, four entries so far in the Indiana Jones series, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Witness, Working Girl, The Fugitive, Patriot Games, A Clear and Present Danger, Air Force One, Ender’s Game and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those 18 titles alone earned Ford about $114 million. Ford’s best paying role to date is likely as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens with an estimated $24 million once all percentage-of-box-office figures are included.

To arrive at a solid estimate for the Harrison Ford net worth figure, we gave Ford a base pay of $30,000 per movie, adjusting that figure down or up depending on his current level of fame and whether he had a small or large role in each piece of work. We then took into account each movie’s worldwide earnings and figured in a percentage of sales ranging from half a percent in Ford’s early years to a full 5% more recently.

Also see: How Much Money Does Daisy Ridley Make?

Harrison Ford Net Worth from Producing

In truth, producing adds comparatively little to the Harrison ford net worth figures. Ford has two producing credits to his name. The first is for 2002’s K-19: The Widowmaker. Ford wore the executive producer hat for that movie and earned about $2 million, going by estimates from industry experts. The actor also executive produced 2010’s Extraordinary Measures, making a calculated $903,000 for that work. That gives Ford a total income from producing at just shy of $3 million. While that isn’t nothing, it’s a drop in the bucket next to his earnings overall.

Harrison Ford Net Worth from Endorsements

The Harrison Ford net worth total owes relatively little to endorsement money. Movie star like Ford have traditionally shunned endorsement work in deference to keeping up their “brand.” This is especially true of stars from Ford’s generation, though one notable exception is co Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams’ string of oft-scoffed-at Colt 45 ads. A general exception to the rule is foreign commercials. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and others have all taken their turn at appearing in ads for markets in Asia. Ford has also added this income source to his wheelhouse, inking deals with Kirin Lager Beer and the Uncharted video game series. In the ad below for Uncharted 3, Ford plays a bit of the game and genuinely seems to enjoy it. We made a rough estimate of $100,000 to $500,000 per year from endorsements for Ford. That’s extremely low for a big name celebrity, but even so it adds up to $7.1 million over the star’s 50 year career.

Also see: How Much Money Has Every Star Wars Movie Made?

Harrison Ford Net Worth Calculations

Simply adding up all earnings from movie and TV roles would give a poor picture of the Harrison Ford net worth story. While we did an in-depth analysis of all of Ford’s earning streams, we also figured in calculations for taxes, expenses and investments. Ford lives in Wyoming, which lets him escape state tax. That said, he pays the nation’s top tax rates for federal income. Expenses are figured at 15% per year and cover agent fees, cost of living and other outflows. Investments are calculated at 6% of net worth each year. Due to Ford’s extremely long career, there are years when his investment income outstrips his outlays for expenses and taxes.

If you liked reading about Harrison Ford’s net worth and would like to boost your own net worth, try this post about how to make extra Christmas money or this article about the best credit union credit cards. All Harrison Ford net worth data in this article are based on our analysis of income streams, tax, expense and investment calculations, estimates and media reports and are provided here for entertainment purposes only.

Sources:

IMDB.com