What was Robin Williams' net worth?
Robin Williams was an American Actor and comedian who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of his death. Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014 at the age of 63. Contrary to some rumors at the time, Robin was absolutely not "broke" when he died. Though it should be noted that his $50 million estate could have been MUCH larger had he not spent $30-40 million during his life on divorce settlements and who knows how much on other lifestyle expenses during his drug consuming days.
Robin's estate plan includes a clause that restricts the exploitation of his right of publicity for 25 years. In other words, his heirs can not strike deals to license or sell his name, voice, signature, likeness etc… Furthermore, he left these rights to his charity, the Windfall Foundation. He could not have known this at the time he made that restriction, but with artificial technology producing celebrity voices eerily well, this prevents his estate from allowing, for example, Disney to create additional "Aladdin" films using an AI version of his "Genie" character. That would surely be a highly-lucrative endeavor for the charity. The charity will have to wait until 2039 to tap that income source.
Robin Williams first became famous as a stand-up comedian in the 1970s before landing the role that made him a household name, that of alien Mork on the televisions show "Mork & Mindy." Mork & Mindy aired four seasons between 1978 and 1982.
Williams made his film debut in 1980's "Popeye" and then went on to enjoy one of the most-successful film careers in acting history. Films in which Robin was the lead actor grossed $3.7 billion at the global box office. After adjusting for inflation, his films grossed more than $6 billion worldwide.
Robin's five best-performing films were:
- #1: "Night at the Museum" ($579 million)
- #2: "Aladdin" ($504 million)
- #3: "Mrs. Doubtfire" ($441 million)
- #4: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" ($402 million)
- #5: "Happy Feet" ($385 million)
From the early 80s to the late-90s, Robin Williams was everywhere. He was starring on television shows, recording stand-up comedy specials, performing in a range of movies, hosting awards shows and charity events, guest-hosting on numerous talks shows, and being all around movie star-like. The majority of his performances were critically and commercially successful, and he was nominated for, or won, a host of awards, including an Oscar for his work in "Good Will Hunting".
Throughout it all, Mr. Williams seemed to somehow skirt the majority of the intensely invasive scrutiny that many of his movie star counterparts experienced. He was fairly open about his battles with addiction, so it left little for the media to dig up, and his protracted legal battle with Disney was well-publicized within the Hollywood community, but made next to no impact on the viewing public. In his last few years of his life he continued playing supporting or co-starring roles in a range of projects. Today he is remembered as one of the most beloved actors and comedians in history.
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Early Life
Robin Williams was born on July 21st, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois. Williams grew up in a very prominent family. His father, Robert was a senior executive at Lincoln-Mercury Motors in charge of the Midwest area and his mother, Lauren, was a former model from New Orleans. Before high school, Robin and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, Robin was a shy kid who hardly spoke. One of the only early inclinations that he might grow up to be a comic was his dead-on impersonation of his grandmother. Beyond that, he really didn't come out of his shell until he began to participate in high school plays.
Education
Robin attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California followed by College of Marin in Kentfield, California. He then enrolled in the prestigious Julliard School in New York City. It was here where Robin would meet longtime friend and future Super Man star Christopher Reeve. While at Julliard, Robin was encouraged by an instructor to shift his focus away from drama and onto standup comedy. With that advice in hand, Williams began to hit the comedy circuit around New York. Audiences quickly fell in love with his erratic behavior and quick one-liners.
Stand-Up Comedy
Williams started as a stand-up comedian in the mid-1970s. His comedic style was characterized by rapid-fire jokes, a wide range of voices, and an uncanny ability to riff on virtually any topic. His spontaneous and electrifying performances set him apart from his peers. His live comedy album, "A Night at the Met" (1986), which touched on his own experiences with substance abuse, won a Grammy. Williams continued performing stand-up throughout his career, using it both as a testing ground for new material and as a way to maintain a direct connection with his audience.
Mork & Mindy
Eventually Hollywood came calling and he was cast as a dim-witted alien "Mork" who made periodic appearances on the sitcom "Happy Days". His stint on the show was such a success that the show's executive producer Garry Marshall soon crafted a spin off based solely on Robin's character. That show, of course, was "Mork & Mindy" which went on to film 94 episodes over four seasons between 1978 to 1981.
Robin earned $35,000 per episode of "Mork & Mindy" in the 1970s. That's equal to $130,000 today after adjusting for inflation.
Film Career
His first major film role was in Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980), where he played the titular sailor man. But it was his performance in "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987) that showcased his ability to blend comedy and drama, earning him an Academy Award nomination.
In 1989, he starred in "Dead Poets Society," playing the inspiring teacher John Keating. This role solidified Williams' status as a leading man in Hollywood and demonstrated his capacity for deeper, more dramatic roles. Williams' versatility was further displayed in films like "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), where he played a divorced father who disguises himself as a female housekeeper to be close to his kids, and "Good Will Hunting" (1997), where he played a therapist to Matt Damon's troubled genius, a role that earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
His ability to shift between drama, comedy, and everything in between was a testament to his prodigious talent. Other notable films in his vast filmography include "Hook" (1991), "Jumanji" (1995), "The Birdcage" (1996), and "Patch Adams" (1998).
In the latter part of his career, Williams continued to work prolifically in film, returning to television with the series "The Crazy Ones" in 2013. He also remained active in stand-up and various charitable endeavors.
(Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)
Aladdin Salary Scandal
Robin first worked with Disney on 1987's "Good Morning, Vietnam," which was produced by its subsidiary Buena Vista Pictures and turned him into a film star. He was in early talks to voice a dolphin named "Breaker" what became 1989's "The Little Mermaid," but that role was scrapped.
In the early 1990s, in gratitude for what Disney had done with "Good Morning, Vietnam," Robin agreed to forgo his usual $8 million fee and instead accept a salary of just $75,000, the Screen Actors Guild minimum, to voice the role of "Genie" in what became 1992's "Aladdin." Robin mainly wanted to do it because he liked the idea of being part of the hallowed Disney animated tradition, and he wanted to make something his kids would love forever.
However, he absolutely did not want to be part of the Disney merchandise machine. Decades later he explained: "I just don't want to sell anything – as in, Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff."
So he agreed to take the low salary on two conditions:
#1) That his character not be used to sell any merchandise to children.
#2) That his character's image or his own name take up more than 25% of the advertising artwork.
Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to the conditions, but the studio eventually broke BOTH promises, most notably with the poster art which featured the Genie in significantly more than 25% of the available space. As Robin would later explain:
"Then all of a sudden, they release an advertisement — one part was the movie, the second part was where they used the movie to sell stuff. Not only did they use my voice, they took a character I did and overdubbed it to sell stuff. That was the one thing I said: 'I don't do that.' That was the one thing where they crossed the line."
As a result Robin to refused to work with Disney for years. Dan Castellaneta had to be brought in to take over the voice work in a two direct-to-video films and short-lived TV series.
Disney attempted to make things right by gifting Robin a $1 million Picasso, but that wasn't enough, especially after the film went on to gross $504 million.
Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney in 1994. He was replaced by Joe Roth, whose final act at his previous job was to greenlight "Mrs. Doubtfire." Joe arranged for Disney to deliver a public apology over the Aladdin deal to Robin. Robin forgave the studio and agreed to star in its 1996 movie "Jack." Robin also agreed to replace all of Dan Castellaneta's voice work in the second Aladdin straight-to-video film, "Aladdin and the King of Thieves." He was paid a significant paycheck for this job. And just two years later, Robin earned his highest career paycheck from Disney…
Highest Film Salary
The highest single paycheck Robin Williams ever earned came from the 1999 Disney movie "Bicentennial Man." His salary for the movie was $20 million. Here's a breakdown of some of his other notable film salaries:
- RV – $1,000,000
- Man of the Year – $1,000,000
- Insomnia – $2,000,000
- Death to Smoochy – $2,000,000
- Night at the Museum – $5,000,000
- Patch Adams – $10,000,000
- Flubber – $10,000,000
- Jack – $15,000,000
- Jumanji – $15,000,000
- Bicentennial Man – $20,000,000
Personal Life and Death
Robin was married three times, first to Valerie Velardi from 1978-1988, then from Marsha Garces from 1989 to 2010 and finally to Susan Schneider from 2011 until his death.
He reportedly paid his first two wives more than $30 million in combined divorce settlements.
Tragically, Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California of an apparent suicide. He was 63 years old and had been reportedly battling severe depression. He was survived by three children, one from his first marriage and two from his second.
Real Estate
In the early 2000s, Robin built a large mansion on 640 acres of property in the Napa Valley. He named the estate Villa Sorriso, which means "Villa of Smile" in Italian. Robin's Napa house features vineyard, a solar farm, and a lake. The primary house is 20,000 square feet, and is made up of five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, another six half-bathrooms, multiple living rooms, a wine cellar, a private movie theater, a climate-controlled art storage space, a state-of-the-art eat-in kitchen, and a bridge gallery that connects to a tower for looking out over the property. The estate also includes a spa, a massive infinity pool, and a three-bedroom home for the property manager.
In 2012 he listed the estate for $35 million. He did not get any buyers. In January 2016 his heirs sold the home for $18.1 million.
In 1991 Robin and his then-wife Marsha paid $3.2 million for a palatial 10,600 square foot mansion in San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood. They proceeded to take the home down to the studs in a renovation that added a movie theater, hidden bar, and secret tunnel that connected his children's bedrooms. Upon their 2010 divorce, Marsha received this home. She listed it for sale in October 2023 for $25 million. Here is a video tour of Robin's former Sea Cliff mansion:
At the time of his death Robin lived in a home in the Paradise Cay neighborhood in Tiburon, California. Williams bought the home in 2008 for $4.05 million. The 6,500-square-foot house sits on the Tiburon peninsula with truly epic views of the San Francisco Bay from its double lot. It was built in 1987. The home has six and a half bathrooms. Nearly every room in the home has views of San Francisco Bay. The home is surrounded by an iron gate and the front yard is filled with rose bushes and olive trees. The home features a large living room with a stone fireplace, a dining room with amazing views, and a pool located right outside of the dining room. The home has an eat-in kitchen with a huge center island, stone fireplace, and walk-in pantry. In November 2020 his widow sold this home for $5.35 million. It had been listed a year earlier for $7.25 million. Here is a video tour of this home:
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