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How Richard Gere Achieved a Net Worth of $100 Million

Hollywood has very few true leading men, and the art seems to be disappearing slowly but surely. He may be climbing the rungs of age, but Richard Gere will always be one name synonymous with what a Hollywood leading man is. Gere has been active in the industry since the 70s, but his experience acting started way before that. It’s going on just around four decades now since Gere has been acting, and the legacy he’s established is well-represented by the net worth he has achieved over the years. Today, Gere is reported to have a net worth of over $100 million. We’re going to break down his career to see exactly just how Richard Gere came to be worth that much money-wise.

History

Born in Philadelphia on August 31, 2949, Gere came from humble beginnings. His mother was a housewife, while his father worked as an insurance agent. Gere comes from a long line of Mayflower descendants, and his lineage can be traced back to a few important historical names. His genetics might have been the reason for his hard work and tenacity, and his natural talents are what drove him to performing early on. In high school, Gere excelled in both gymnastics and music, and he eventually attended college on a full gymnastics scholarship. However, college wouldn’t be the path for young Richard Gere. He dropped out of college after only a couple of years to pursue his dreams.

Gere began acting as early as 1969, when he was just around 20 years old. In just a few years after his first acting gig on stage, Gere acted in the original London stage version of the film Grease.That role ended up being one of Gere’s first major roles. While stage was a good platform for Gere to start on, it wasn’t enough for the talented actor and musician. He was making decent money on stage, but there was a bigger stage that could get him more of what he was looking for: fame and fortune. That stage was Hollywood, and by mid-1970s, Gere was already appearing in small roles.

Those small roles got him started and got him noticed. He played a few other roles in larger films such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), and by 1980, he was already starring in his own films. It took only a few years in front of Hollywood cameras before he became more sought after in the industry. Of course, being in demand meant that the paychecks were also getting bigger. In 1982, Gere starred in a film called An Officer and a Gentlemanalong with Debra Winger. That film grossed almost $130 million, and it became the point when his status as Hollywood’s leading man began to solidify. It also showed the world exactly what kind of acting skills he was able to offer on the table. In fact, that film garnered him his first Golden Globe nomination. That wasn’t bad at all for someone who had only been featured on small roles previously.

An Officer and a Gentleman propelled Gere into full-blown stardom. This meant more films and more roles. In just about a decade later, Gere would get paid $5 million for his role in the film Sommersby (1993).But that was because he got another Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in the highly successful movie Pretty Woman (1990), which also starred another up and coming actor at the time, Julia Roberts. While a $5 million salary might have been impressive, it was nothing compared to the money he eventually started making. In 1999, Gere made about $12 million for his role in the movie Runaway Bride (1999) that brought him and Roberts back together again. In 2002, Gere was paid $15 million each for two movies that year, The Mothman Prophecies and Unfaithful.Both films were highly successful in the box office, and they all added value to his net worth at the end of the day.

Final Thoughts

That very same year, Gere also starred in another hit film—a musical feature that garnered him his first Golden Globe win: Chicago.From there, he made some other noteworthy films in the box office, and he also made independent films such as 2012’s Arbitrage that got him a lot of award season nods and plenty of thumbs up. Some of his other notable films include American Gigolo (1980), First Knight (1993), The Jackal (1997), Shall We Dance? (2004), I’m Not There (2007), Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009), Brooklyn’s Finest (2009), and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) among many others. Gere’s net worth of $100 million can be attribute largely to the 52 films he’s done in his career so far in addition to a few works in television.

Gere’s career in Hollywood slowed down significantly after he became actively involved in Tibetan politics and activism. Gere is a Buddhist, and he is very passionate about his work in Tibet. He may have stopped acting now that he’s 70 years old, but his net worth only continues to thrive. Many people don’t know that Gere is also an accomplished musician. He actually composed the music theme for Pretty Womanand was credited for it. He’s also done plenty of work as executive producer in his own films and others as well. Those accolades certainly add up to his net worth.

Perhaps another reason why Gere has managed to achieve a net worth of so much money is because of the way he’s handled the money he’s made over the years. Gere keeps a relatively low profile aside from the time when he was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford. Gere owns a house in the Hamptons, but as far as anyone could tell, he lives a fairly normal life outside of Hollywood and his Hollywood money.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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