Tom Cruise is one of the biggest stars in the history of Hollywood and his impressive net worth in 2024 along with his movie salary befits his megastar status. He is one of the few actors who have managed to stay relevant generation after generation and refuses to slow down even in his 60s.
With a film career spanning over four decades, Cruise has solidified his status as one of the highest-paid actors in the entertainment industry. From the high-flying action of Top Gun to the mind-bending thrills of his iconic franchise Mission: Impossible, Cruise has enthralled audiences worldwide with his charm and death-defying stunts.
A prolific actor, producer and entrepreneur, his filmography boasts blockbuster hits like Jerry Maguire (1996), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), War of the Worlds (2005) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). His production company Cruise/Wagner Productions has also churned out critically acclaimed films and television series, including The Others (2001) and the Mission: Impossible franchise, further contributing to his staggering fortune.
Cruise is one of the richest celebrities in the world, according to the wealth tracker website CelebrityNetWorth, and his movies have earned a whopping USD 9.5 billion at the global box office over the years.
In this piece, we delve into the impressive net worth of Tom Cruise in 2024 and revisit his box office-shattering film earnings, salary, producing ventures and luxurious assets.
Tom Cruise’s childhood, family background and early career
Tom Cruise, born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, grew up in Syracuse, New York. He was born on 3 July 1962 and had a modest upbringing. His father worked as an electrical engineer, while his mother was a special education teacher. Cruise grew up with three sisters, and his cousin William Mapother, who would later follow in his footsteps to become an actor, appearing in several movies alongside Cruise, including Vanilla Sky (2001) and Mission: Impossible II (2006).
During his childhood, Cruise moved frequently across the US, including a short period in Canada when his father took a job with the Canadian Armed Forces. He has described his father as “a bully” towards him and his siblings when they were young. He attended 15 different schools in just 14 years.
Initially, Cruise didn’t envision a future in acting. Though he participated in drama classes during middle school, he was more focused on sports. His path shifted in high school when a knee injury sidelined him from wrestling, leading him to immerse himself in the drama club, where he quickly landed the lead role in their production of Guys and Dolls. He even spent some time at St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, aspiring to become a Franciscan priest, but was expelled due to issues with alcohol.
Cruise eventually graduated from Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey in 1980 and set his sights on New York City to pursue acting. He later relocated to Los Angeles to audition for television roles.
In 1981, he made his film debut with a minor role in Endless Love. That same year, he received significant recognition for his performance in Taps, which also led to him being signed by the prominent talent agency CAA. An agent named Paula Wagner advocated for him to the agency’s managing partner, Michael Ovitz. This partnership not only established Cruise as a lifelong client of CAA but in the early 1990s, he and Paula also launched their own production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions.
Tom Cruise’s filmography and meteoric rise to Hollywood stardom
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Tom Cruise has been a major player in Hollywood since the early 1980s, racking up a ton of box-office hits, allowing him to exponentially hike his salary. It all started in 1983 when he got his breakout role with the comedy-drama Risky Business, which made USD 64 million off a USD 6 million budget and became a cultural phenomenon. This role catapulted him to fame and even gave him his first Golden Globe nomination.
His star power skyrocketed with the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, which pulled in a whopping USD 360 million globally, making it the highest-grossing film of that year. That same year, he teamed up with American actor and director Paul Newman in The Color of Money.
The hits just kept rolling in with Cocktail and Rain Man (both released in 1988), with the latter winning four Oscars. The following year, he received his first Oscar nomination for Born on the Fourth of July. He continued to deliver hits with films like Days of Thunder (1990), Far and Away (1992), A Few Good Men (1992), The Firm (1993) and Interview with the Vampire (1994) in the early ’90s earning a Golden Globe nod for A Few Good Men.
In 1996, he starred as Ethan Hunt in the massively successful Mission: Impossible, which grossed USD 457 million and led to several sequels and an iconic action franchise. He not only starred but also produced the film and has since appeared in six more Mission: Impossible films and the untitled eighth MI film is slated to release in 2025.
That same year in 1996, he starred in Jerry Maguire, which made USD 275 million on a USD 50 million budget and earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination, while his co-star Cuba Gooding, Jr. took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Cruise kept the momentum going for over a decade with a string of smashers, including Eyes Wide Shut (1996), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Valkyrie (2008), Jack Reacher (2012), Oblivion (2013), Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and American Made (2017).
To date, more than 20 films featuring Cruise have earned over USD 100 million each at the global box office. Notable examples include Rain Man (1988) with USD 354 million, The Last Samurai (2003) at USD 456 million, War of the Worlds (2005) bringing in USD 606 million and the Mission: Impossible series, which includes Rogue Nation (2015) with USD 690 million, Ghost Protocol (2011) at USD 700 million and Fallout (2018) reaching USD 800 million.
Additionally, Top Gun: Maverick (2022) made an impressive USD 1.5 billion, marking the highest-grossing movie of Cruise’s career. Overall, his films have amassed a staggering total of USD 9.5 billion worldwide, not accounting for inflation.
Salary and movie earnings of Tom Cruise in 2024
Since he burst onto the scene in the early 1980s, Tom Cruise has consistently secured remarkable salaries, starting with USD 75,000 for Risky Business and jumping to USD 2 million for Top Gun in 1986. By 2006, he reached an incredible USD 75 million for Mission: Impossible 3.
The salary of Tom Cruise for his upcoming untitled Mission: Impossible film is currently unknown but he reportedly earned between USD 14 to USD 15 million upfront for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). Along with his fee, he also got a share of the film’s box-office profits and additional benefits as a co-producer. He has a lucrative agreement with the production company that allows him to profit from ticket sales, digital rights and satellite rights. Thanks to his role as a producer, Cruise made USD 70 million for the first Mission: Impossible and USD 75 million for the third instalment.
For 2015’s Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, the fifth instalment in the series, he took home an upfront salary of USD 25 million, his highest so far.
His other two highest-paying films are Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) and War of the Worlds (2005), where he earned USD 100 million each due to lucrative backend deals. Overall, he has made at least USD 285 million (minus the backend earnings) from the Mission: Impossible movies. These massive earnings place him among the highest-paid actors of all time, trailing only Bruce Willis and Keanu Reeves.
For the iconic sequel Top Gun: Maverick (2022), co-starring Miles Teller and Glen Powell, Cruise reportedly earned a base salary of USD 12.5 million and made a substantial amount from the box-office profits, bringing his total earnings from the sequel to around USD 100 million.
Salary and earnings milestones achieved by Tom Cruise
- USD 50,000 for Taps (1981)
- USD 75,000 for Risky Business (1983)
- USD 5,00,000 for Legend, (1985)
- USD 2 million for Top Gun (1986)
- USD 9 million for Days of Thunder (1990)
- USD 13 million for Far and Away (1992)
- USD 12 million for The Firm (1993)
- USD 15 million for Interview with the Vampire (1994)
- USD 25 million for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015)
- USD 12.5 million for Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
- USD 15 million for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
So what is the net worth of Tom Cruise in 2024?
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According to CelebrityNetWorth, the net worth of Tom Cruise stands at a staggering USD 600 million in 2024, with earnings of around USD 50 million each year.
A significant portion of his earnings comes from his work in film franchises, where he benefits from both box-office shares and substantial upfront payments. For the original Mission: Impossible released in 1996, he earned USD 70 million. In the subsequent films from 2000 and 2006, he received USD 75 million each, which included 30% of the box office profits. In 2011’s Ghost Protocol, he made another USD 70 million, with USD 12 million as his initial salary. By the time of 2015’s Rogue Nation, his upfront pay increased to USD 25 million. For the most recent instalment, Dead Reckoning Part One, released in 2023, he earned approximately USD 14 million upfront. From 1983 to 2011, Cruise accumulated USD 445 million in film salaries, and from 2011 to 2019, he likely earned an additional USD 300 million. Overall, his estimated career earnings from 1983 to 2019 total around USD 745 million.
A major portion of his income also comes from his production company. So far, the films under his banner have grossed USD 3 billion globally, adding to his net worth in 2024.
While Tom Cruise is notorious for turning down lavish brand endorsements, his portfolio features rare collaborations with prestigious brands like Omega Watches, Ray-Ban and BMW, further adding to his massive fortune.
Tom Cruise’s real estate investments and assets that add to his net worth
Thanks to his extraordinary salary, over the years, Tom Cruise has built a telling portfolio of properties across the United States. In 2013, he sold a 10th-floor condominium in New York City’s East Village for USD 3 million. By September 2015, he had sold a multi-residence estate in the Hollywood Hills to actor Eva Longoria for USD 11.4 million. In May 2016, he parted ways with his long-time Beverly Hills mansion, selling it to billionaire Leon Black for USD 40 million, a property he had purchased for USD 30.5 million back in 2006 during his marriage to actor Katie Holmes. In 2018, Cruise acquired several units in a condominium complex in Clearwater, Florida, close to the Church of Scientology headquarters, for USD 9.5 million.
In the mid-1990s, while married to actor Nicole Kidman, he constructed a sprawling mansion in Telluride, Colorado. This expansive property spans 320 acres, featuring a main house of 10,000 square feet, complete with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, horse stables and even a private helipad. Cruise was so invested in the area that he advocated for the local airport’s runway to be extended to accommodate larger private jets, a proposal that was approved in 2010.
Initially, he listed the Telluride estate for USD 59 million in 2016 but didn’t find a buyer. He re-listed it in 2018 and again in March 2021 for USD 39.5 million. Ultimately, he sold the property in May 2021.
Cruise’s private jets, cars and more
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Tom Cruise is a licensed pilot and has a collection of four aircraft, although the ownership of a few is unclear. The standout among them is the P-51 Mustang, which gained fame from its appearance in Top Gun: Maverick. His other jets include a Gulfstream IV G4, a HondaJet HA-420, and a Bombardier Challenger 300. The Gulfstream IV is particularly notable, as it’s regarded as one of the best private jets owned by a celebrity for its luxurious amenities.
He also has a fleet of luxury cars in his collection that includes: the Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport: which made an appearance in Cruise’s 2012 film, Jack Reacher, the Saleen Mustang S281, a Bugatti Veyron valued at around USD 1.7 million, a Ford Excursion, a Porsche 993, the Chevrolet Corvette C1 and the Nissan 300ZX SCCA Race Car.
Relationships and personal life
Besides his net worth, salary and stellar four-decade film career, Tom Cruise’s personal life has also captivated fans. The Hollywood legend has been married thrice: first to actor Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, who notably introduced him to Scientology; then to Nicole Kidman from 1990 to 2001; and finally to Katie Holmes from 2006 to 2012.
Interestingly, he is also known to be among Cher’s top five lovers. The two date secretly for a brief while in 1985. Recently, there were whispers about Cruise rekindling his romance with her ex-girlfriend, actor Sofia Vergara (they first dated in 2005) before he was linked to Russian socialite and neighbour Elsina Khayrova. The two split up in February 2024.
(Hero and feature image: Courtesy Instagram/Tom Cruise and IMDb/Jerry Maguire/Top Gun)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
According to CelebrityNetWorth, Cruise's net worth stands at a staggering USD 600 million in 2024, with earnings of around USD 50 million each year.
Cruise's main residence is a penthouse in Clearwater, Florida worth USD 9.5 million. He also owns several other properties across the United States.
Tom Cruise’s upfront salary per movie varies from anything between USD 10 million to USD 25 million depending on his part in the film. For 2015’s ‘Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation’, he took home an upfront salary of USD 25 million and then for 2023’s ‘Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One’ he reportedly charged USD 15 million.
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Kratagya Rathore could possibly be your passport into the world of style, grooming, skincare, and mindful living. Fashion is as imperative to him as his daily 10,000 steps count. He is a raconteur, almost living his life in a musical; A social firefly who is also fluent in silence. A journalism grad, Kratagya has previously worked for Times Internet and The Times of India.
