How Dylan Sprouse Achieved a Net Worth of $8 Million

Being in the limelight can be great if you are in control, but children do not have much say. Julie Stevens, a former child actor, told The Washington Post that in show business, children are seen as commodities. Parents, on the other hand, take advantage. Case in point Britney Spears. Seeing the many child actors that have now faded into the background, it is amazing that some have managed to remain level-headed. Dylan Sprouse is among the few child actors who have grown to stay in charge of their lives, and he still is determined to make money in other ways besides being on the screen. Through diversification, Dylan Sprouse's net worth is now at $8 million, and here's how he achieved it.

Thrust into the Acting World

Sprouse is an identical twin to Cole, and the two boys were born to Matthew and Melanie, on August 4, 1992, in Italy. Sprouse's parents were teachers who named their sons after creative influences: Cole after Nat King Cole and Sprouse after Dylan Thomas, a poet, and writer. When the twins were four months old, the Sprouses moved from Italy to California. As teachers, their income was not enough to raise their children. Thus, Melanie decided to get her sons into acting when they were only eight months old. As reported by StylesRant, Cole never would have dreamed of becoming an actor. However, Melanie got them started because the family needed the extra income. They began by both getting their first role as Patrick Kelly on "Grace Under Fire," where they would interchange. It is unclear how much they made for playing the character from 1993 to 1998, but it must have been good enough for Melanie to keep them in show business.

In 2005, Sprouse and his brother bagged the roles of Zack and Cody Martin respectively on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." The sitcom ran for three seasons before its spinoff "The Suite Life on Deck" started airing in September 2008 until May 2011. The original sitcom and spinoff were lucrative deals for the two boys. As some reports say, by 2007, there were among the wealthiest children alive, and in 2010, they were the highest-paid teenage Disney TV actors. According to The Things, each of the boys was making $20,000 per episode for the six years the sitcom aired. Considering that the original and the spinoff had 158 episodes in total, that would mean Sprouse and his brother each got at least $3 million.

Brewing Mead

Even after the sitcom was no longer being aired, Sprouse and Cole went on acting. Cole at one time said that although most people think they have always been acting side by side, they have been cast in different films, which helped to increase their net worth. As established actors, the paycheck was worthwhile. Still, despite their busy professional lives, they made time for education. They were schooled on the set, and in 2007, Sprouse said he was thinking about joining college. Sprouse joined NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, majoring in video game design. While there, he developed an interest in brewing mead.

He started brewing it in his dorm room, and although he lived with his resident adviser (RA), the roommate never found out what Sprouse did in his free time. According to Vanity Fair, after Sprouse graduated, he realized that brewing mead offered a business opportunity. He was already sitting on a fortune and was looking to invest his money. He once said that an entertainer or actor should not rely on the commissions, and failure to invest in a stable business is foolish. With such insight, Sprouse partnered with Matt Kwan and Doug Brouch to found All-Wise Meadery in 2017.

He disclosed that he chose to have the headquarters in Brooklyn because the drinking culture, water quality, and infrastructure are much better than California's. By 2018, the brewery had made two variations, one going for $30 the other for $35. He is passionate about the business; even if the meadery opens at noon, he gets to work at 9 am. If he has any luck, he could follow in the footsteps of George Clooney and Rande Gerber, who sold their Tequila business for $1 billion after operating it for four years.

Comic Book Might Increase His Net Worth

After so many years of being on the screen, Sprouse was not interested in acting anymore unless it was for a role that captivated him. Therefore, while at the university, he fell in love with video games. He told NYU Local that it was his hobby and would turn it into a passion. Although he wanted to forge a career in the video gaming industry, comics do not fall far behind this line of work. After college, he had already disclosed that he was looking at different entrepreneurial interests and wanted to distract himself with things he loved.

Since he is already in the entertainment industry, comics seemed like the way to go. He told Comics Beat that he grew up being a comics fan and had been working on "Sun Eater" for a very long time. He wanted it to be a comic book or animated series and, after meeting with Heavy Metal, decided to go the comic book route. The comic is about Kveldulf, who sacrifices his leg to get great power. Although it is based on Scandinavian history, Sprouse wanted the audience to show how drug addiction can ruin a family setting. After working for over a decade on the comic book, he published Act One on August 24, 2021.

It is still early to tell how the fans will react. The actor has already planned to publish eight more issues, and it will raise Sprouse's net worth significantly if the comic is positively received. The comic book industry is now worth at least $7 million globally, and comic book authors like Tom McFarlane have made a fortune selling their work. The first issue of the "Spawn" series sold 1.7 million copies, and we can only hope that such great prosperity awaits Sprouse.