How Tim Allen Achieved a Net Worth of $80 Million

Tim Allen has been one of television’s most recognized personalities over the past three decades, in part as a comedian and making the rounds on a variety of talk shows. The estimated value of his net worth is about $80 million, largely acquired through a variety of TV roles and voiceover actor. He has worked for both the ABC and Fox networks.

Currently, Allen is estimated at making about $235,000 per episode for his role in “Last Man Standing”, a show that started on ABC but was later picked up by Fox due to a lack of interest by ABC to continue with the series. This may say something about the general viewing audience of ABC and the viewing preferences of Fox audiences. It also speaks to the tone of Allen’s comedy.

Prior to his “Last Man Standing” show he was widely known for “Home Improvement” which also aired on ABC. That series, which ended at the end of the 20th century, was providing Allen with an estimated $1.25 million per episode. Those were in the days when shows ran about 14 episodes per season, unlike the abbreviated 8 – 10 shows currently the standard. That puts Allen’s annual salary at about $40 million a year (about $21 million per season).

Then there are the voiceover gigs, specifically for the Toy Story movies. His first effort gave him $500,000, Toy Story 2 had that number leap to $5 million, and the third movie in the franchise done in 2011 is uncertain as he was working on a variety of projects that year. His reported income for 2011 was an estimated $22 million, so what he made for his voiceover work is anybody’s guess.

An important factor with Allen’s primary work being on the small screen is that income generators such as syndication and reruns bring in a steady stream of income for many years to come. As both “Home Improvement” and “Last Man Standing” continue to be rerun and repeated over several cable networks, Allen is certainly making a regular income from them. There is no word on whether he gets any backend profits from the sale of Toy Story merchandise, but this is more likely to be the case than not. As will be seen shortly, the estimated $80 million net worth figure needs to be increased somewhere since he doesn’t appear to have a wide range of other assets that would account for such a large figure.

Allen’s real estate holdings appear to be rather modest by someone with an $80 million net worth. He recently (2016) sold a home in Hollywood Hills for $1.75 million after buying it only two years earlier for $1.40 million. Other than that, he seems to prefer to avoid real estate as a wealth building option.

However, he does have an impressive collection of cars, ranging from the famous 1965 Ford Shelby Cobra to a 1933 Ford Roadster. As of this writing, there is no definitive estimate of the value of Allen’s entire car collection.

If the historical evidence is correct, the future of Tim Allen’s net worth will grow based on his working and career efforts. Since he avoids real estate and the bulk of his net worth rests with collectible cars, that leaves few places to invest the rest of his money. At 65 years old, Allen may be taking the conservative investment route, keeping his money liquid and thinking about his approaching retirement years. Fans of his show may need to accept that while he clearly loves to work, he also has a wife and family that will make more demands of his time in the future. Few married actors over 65 are actively pursuing television roles connected with a series.

Another factor in considering Allen’s future net worth is his current salary of $235,000 per episode. That is one-fifth of what he was making back in 1999, and with “Last Man Standing” approaching its seventh year there doesn’t seem to be a lot of upward momentum for that number. Unless Allen has to work, which seems highly unlikely given his current holdings, there is the possibility he may decide to call it quits if the money doesn’t match the man. The current estimate of $80 million seems reasonable, but that’s about as good as it may get.