Dividing his time between Beijing, Hong Kong, and Hollywood, both in the movie industry and business, Jackie Chan is one of the most popular international movie stars of our time.
The action movie legend from Hong Kong is a martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman and even singer. He’s the world’s no. 2 highest paid actor with a colossal net worth of $520 million.
Early Life
Chan Kong-sang was born on April 7, 1954 in the British ruled Hong Kong, China, to parents Charles and Lee-Lee Chan. At the age of 7, when his parents moved to Australia, he was sent to the Drama Academy in China, where he spent the next 10 years of his life.
There, the boy studied martial arts, drama, acrobatics, singing and acting. Life at that school was harsh and difficult, but since it was the boy’s only home for many years, he persisted despite the bitter discipline of the school, which went as far as being subjected to beatings when he erred.
While at the Academy, Jackie became part of the group Seven Little Fortunes, comprised of the school’s best students and subsequently made his acting debut at the age of 8, in the Cantonese film Seven Little Valiant Fighters: Big and Little Wong Tin Bar.
With his athletic skills and inventive and fearless spirit, Chan was soon in demand as a stuntman in the Hong Kong movie industry. Upon his graduation in 1971 he got to work in the Bruce Lee films Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. Later on, he was forced to move to his parents in Australia and support himself by doing construction work.
Jackie Chan’s Film Career
At the invitation of film producer Willie Chan, he came back to Hong Kong in 1976 to continue his film career. Bruce Lee had passed away by that time, so the film industry was searching for a worthy successor.
The 70’s was an unsuccessful period for Jackie Chan’s acting career, but after he started working on his own ideas, blending martial arts with comedy, he achieved mainstream success across all Asia with two box office hits, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978) and Drunken Master (1978).
In the early 80’s, he tried his luck in Hollywood, but after some lukewarm reactions, he decided to head back to Hong Kong and focus on his career there. Soon after, he produced some good action comedy movies like Police Story (1985) and Armor of God (1986), both of which spanned numerous sequels.
In the early 90’s, Chan was still unknown to Hollywood, but that changed with 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx and 1998’s Rush Hour, which became a blockbuster and was followed by two sequels, one in 2001 and the other in 2007, both of them scoring massive success and earning Chan big money. That’s why in 2002 Jackie Chan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Though happy with his success in Hollywood, he decided to start his own production company in 2003, to have better control over his creativity during film production.
The ups and downs of Chan’s Hollywood career in the mid 2000’s brought some less successful movies, but that didn’t affect too much the actor’s net worth. Overall, he still did well in the industry and continued to a voice role in 2008’s Kung Fu Panda.
Other notable films during the recent period are The Karate Kid, The Spy Next Door and the sequels of Kung Fu Panda.
Though he is slowly retiring from the action movie industry, starring in fewer roles, in 2016 he landed at #23 on Forbes’s Celebrity 100 list with $61 million earned last year making him one of the highest paid actors in the world. The same year brought him an honorary Oscar for his 56 years in the industry with more than 200 films under his belt.
Other Projects and Ventures
Besides acting, another important part of Jackie Chan’s net worth was brought by his movie production work. Aside from his film production and distribution company, JCE Movies Limited, Jackie Chan also owns or co-owns the production companies JC Group China, Jackie & Willie Productions (with Willie Chan) and Jackie & JJ Productions.
He’s also put his name on a cinema chain in China, simply called Jakie Chan Theater International. The first cinema opened in February 2010 and seems to be the largest cinema complex in China. Well, with so many Jackie Chan movies around, they needed a huge one.
In 2004, Chan also launched his own line of clothing, and besides that, he’s got other Chan-branded businesses which are doing very well.
Jackie Chan’s Homes and.. Jets
The 62 year old action movie star owns a charming Beverly Hills villa, which cost him just $3 million in 1998. With a two-story entry, large formal spaces, a gourmet kitchen, six bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, the estate seems to be perfect for his lifestyle, but he also had a lavish house in Miami, which was listed for sale a few years ago. Of course, he also has many other properties around the world, especially in his home country.
Though he might not have his own cars to drive around, the actor does own two private jets. One is the majestic Embraer Legacy 650 which he bought for the sum of $30 million. Jackie customized this jet with his personal logo featuring yellow and red colors of China’s flag.
The second one is another Embraer, the masterpiece Legacy 500, aka The Skyacht One, priced at $20 million. This business private jet is full of luxury and high-tech specifications. Why Embraer? Because Jackie Chan is their brand ambassador.
Jackie Chan Net Worth Over Time
Not much is known about Jackie Chan’s assets evolution in time, but we did find out that one of his first Hollywood movies, Rumble in the Bronx brought him $4 million in 1995 and that his appearances in the Rush Hour film franchise scored him a total of almost $40 million.
With annual earnings of $50 million in 2015 and $61 million in 2016, these two years together garnered him almost one third of his total estimated net worth of today, which sits at the staggering sum of $520 million.
That won’t stop there because Jackie’s got quite a few movies under production right now that will sure pump more money into his pockets.
Last update: May 2020.
Jacky has worked hard for his money, good luck to him.