Adam Sandler has been one of Hollywood’s richest actors for a long time. But now he’s even bigger than, well, Barbie.
Thanks to his involvement in four major movies in 2023, including the crime romp Murder Mystery 2 and the teen comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Sandler earned an annual salary of $73 million. According to Forbes, that’s the highest of any actor and $14 million clear of second-place Barbie star Margot Robbie.
The Sandman hasn’t slowed down in 2024, starring in the Netflix science fiction movie Spaceman and releasing his standup special Love You earlier this week. Oh, and he’s already confirmed a long-awaited Happy Gilmore sequel is in the works.
How will all this affect the 57-year-old’s huge bankroll? Let take a look at how Sandler built one of the biggest fortunes in entertainment.
What is Adam Sandler’s net worth?
Sandler’s industry-leading intake in 2023 is actually pretty small in relation to his career earnings. His total fortune is estimated at a whopping $440 million as of March 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
How much does Sandler make for movie roles?
Although he caught his big break in comedy by joining the regular cast of Saturday Night Live in 1991, Sandler became a household name through his various roles in comedy movies as well as dramas. Sandler earned $1.7 million for one of his breakout performances as the titular slacker in 1995’s Billy Madison, a financial hit that grossed roughly 2.5 times its $10 million budget.
The actor’s paychecks steadily climbed after Billy Madison. By 2003, Sandler commanded $25 million for his role in Anger Management alongside Jack Nicholson, in addition to 25 percent of the movies’s gross profit.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sandler has earned at least $20 million for 20 of his 50-plus major studio releases since leaving SNL. Those combined earnings are worth $400 million alone before taxes.
Sandler made big bank with his Netflix deals
While Sandler’s acting earnings are certainly impressive, his production company Happy Madison Productions—a portmanteau of his hit films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison—has proven particularly lucrative. Started in 1999, the group has been behind movies such as The Longest Yard (2005) starring Sandler, The House Bunny (2008), and Hubie Halloween (2020) that also features the actor.
In 2014, Sandler and Happy Madison inked a four-movie deal with Netflix worth a reported $250 million. Following the success of their movies The Ridiculous 6 (2015) and The Do-Over (2016)—which became the streaming service’s biggest movies following their releases—Netflix committed to financing four additional Sandler films in March 2017 and renewed the deal yet again in 2020 with similar financial details.
“Love working with Netflix and collaborating with them. I love how passionate they are about making movies and getting them out there for the whole world to see,” Sandler said in 2017. “They’ve made me feel like family, and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Sandler still makes money from standup
Although Sandler has built a portfolio far beyond comedy, he does occasionally return to his standup roots—as evidenced by the now-streaming Love You. According to Forbes, he commands as much as $400,000 per show when he performs.
He also invests in real estate
Sandler hasn’t been afraid to spend money either, purchasing an array of houses to accommodate his family and their busy lives. He and his wife, Jackie, have two daughters, Sadie and Sunny. The comedian most recently picked up a $4.1 million house in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles in October 2022.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates all of Sandler’s properties, including another Palisades home he purchased from Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn in 2004, are worth between $50 million and $60 million.
Add everything up and it’s no surprise why Sandler is among the richest actors in the world.
Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
