Nicolas Cage's Net Worth: He Once Owned 50 Cars & A Pet Octopus

For years, Nicolas Cage has been one of Hollywood’s biggest names. And he’s still churning out big-budget blockbusters. As of 2022, Cage is set to appear in six upcoming projects, including Tim Brown’s The Retirement Plan, Chris McKay’s Dracula-inspired Renfield, and Benjamin Brewer’s upcoming survival-action flick Sand and Stones.

Nicolas Cage has filled many roles in the Hollywood ecosystem throughout his decades in the movie business: a go-to action star, an indie darling, and a cautionary tale. After becoming one of the highest-paid talents in the industry, Cage found himself in big trouble with the IRS, as he reportedly owed at least $14 million in unpaid taxes. This revelation, which was followed by a lawsuit against his former business manager, lead to him signing on to take more acting jobs as he began selling his valuable assets in large quantities to pay his debts. In March 2022, Cage confirmed his debts were finally paid off.

Cage continues to work at a rapid pace, and in 2022, he has at least four films coming out. That string of movies begins with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which centers on a fictionalized version of himself and is, in fact, a tongue-in-cheek play on Cage’s money troubles. The film, which he also produced, has an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes after it came out on April 22.

Read on to find out how much Cage has earned for some of his biggest roles, how he spent some of his millions throughout his career, and where his net worth is estimated to be today.

3 Ways Nicolas Cage Makes His Money

1. Acting: From Leaving Las Vegas To Ghost Rider

Cage has been starring in films and filling theater seats since the early 1980s. At one point, he ranked among the highest-paid actors, as he was able to snag $20 million for certain pictures back when a paycheck that large was much rarer than it is today. Throughout his career, he has reportedly earned hundreds of millions of dollars, with several paydays reaching eight digits.

However, Cage has lost out on big paychecks a few times. In 1995, for instance, he reportedly missed out on a promised $100,000 bonus check for his Oscar-winning role in Leaving Las Vegas. As the film’s director, Mike Figgis, said on The Hollywood Reporter’s It Happened In Hollywood podcast in 2022, the film never went into profit. According to Figgis, it’s now water under the bridge. “Whatever, I mean, you know, in a more philosophical note, of course, my career then took off again, and the next film I did, I got really well paid,” he said. “And within a year, [Cage] was earning $20 million a film, so that was quite good.”

Here’s a rundown of how much Cage is estimated to have earned from select titles in his filmography (according to The Richest, NetWorthBro, The Hollywood Reporter, and Celebrity Net Worth).

• Leaving Las Vegas: $240,000
• The Rock: $4 million
• Face/Off: $6 million
• Snake Eyes: $16 million
• Bringing Out the Dead: $10 million
• Gone in Sixty Seconds: $20 million
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin: $7 million
• Adaptation: $2 million
• Windtalkers: $20 million
• National Treasure: $20 million
• The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans: $2 million
• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: $12 million
• Justice: $12 million
• Drive Angry: $6 million
• Trespass: $7 million
• Seeking Justice: $12 million
• Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance: $7.5 million
• The Croods: $1 million
• Renfield: $3 million
• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: $7 million

Cage has only dabbled in television, including a 2007 foray into producing on the show The Dresden Files and a hosting spot on the 2021 docuseries History of Swear Words.

2. Brand Endorsements

Cage has endorsed a small number of products and brands when compared to his fellow movie stars. The Honeymoon in Vegas star has appeared in commercials and ads for BAIC Motors, Montblanc watches, and the Japanese game Pachinko. For the latter, Cage reportedly may have been paid somewhere between $1 million and $3 million.

3. Real Estate & Auctions

Once Cage’s finances became an issue, he started to sell off some of his prized possessions and many of his properties, which numbered more than a dozen and included mansions, townhouses, and castles in cities all around the world. Here is just a sample of some of the more high-profile sales and purchases the actor has completed in the past two decades.

• $35 million: After an intruder broke into Cage’s California home in Newport Harbor in 2007, he decided to put it up for sale. He had paid $25 million for it in 2005, and in 2008, it sold for $35 million.
• $10.5 million: In 2010, Cage’s Bel Air mansion sold for $10.5 million at auction. He had purchased the home in 1998 for $6.5 million. While that does mean he made an estimated $4 million profit, he was initially asking for $35 million.
• $9.86 million: Cage bought a home in Malibu for $3.3 million in 1997 and sold it for $9.86 million.
• $7 million: Cage sold Midford Castle, one of his European castles, in 2009 for around $7 million after paying $10 million for it a few years prior.
• $7 million: Cage has owned and sold a number of properties in the U.K., including a townhouse in Bath. He purchased the property for around $7.6 million and sold it for a loss years later, as it went for about $7 million.
• $6.2 million: In Rhode Island, Cage purchased the Gray Craig mansion in 2007 for $15.7 million. Four years later, it sold for $6.2 million, meaning he lost quite a bit in the transaction.
• $4.95 million: In 2010, Cage’s Las Vegas home sold for just under $5 million. He lost money on this sale, as he bought it in 2006 for $8.5 million.
• $2.5 million: Cage purchased more than one castle during his spending spree, including one in Germany called Schloss Neidstein. He paid $2.3 million for the estate, which came with 395 acres and sold it two years later for $2.5 million. By that time, he had started renovations, but not finished them.
• $2.3 million: Cage owned two properties in New Orleans, including the LaLaurie Mansion, which is often referred to as one of the most haunted places in the United States. He bought the home for $3.4 million, and the bank that gave him the loan for the house purchased it back at auction in 2009 for $2.3 million.
• $2.2 million: At the same time Cage was forced to unload the LaLaurie Mansion, he had to sell another home in New Orleans. The same bank purchased the two houses, paying $2.2 million for the second. What Cage paid initially for the property isn’t clear, but at the time of the auction, it was appraised at $3.3 million.
• $2.161 million: In 2011, Cage sold his copy of Action Comics No. 1 comic book, which marked the first appearance of Superman. He had purchased the collector’s item in 1997 for $150,000. At the time, it set a record for the largest price paid at auction for a comic book.
• Cage has reportedly also put homes in Malibu and Los Feliz (a neighborhood of Los Angeles) up for sale, though what came of those efforts isn’t clear. It was also never made public what became of his private island in the Caribbean.

How Nicolas Cage Spent His Fortune

Before finding himself in trouble with the IRS, Cage spent years spending his fortune on luxury items and collectibles. Here’s a sampling of some of the most expensive and unique products he purchased with his millions.

• Bones: Cage won at auction a $300,000 dinosaur skull, beating Leonardo DiCaprio. He later had to return the bones, as it was uncovered that they had been stolen. He also owned the skull of a prehistoric bear, but he broke it while playing pool.
• Cars: At one point, Cage reportedly owned 50 cars, including a $450,000 Lamborghini that had been custom-made for the Shah of Iran, a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, nine Rolls Royces, and one of the only Ferrari Enzos ever made, which cost $1 million.
• Boats and Planes: Cage may have owned as many as four different yachts, including one that offered 12 bedrooms and which was reportedly worth $20 million. He also purchased a private jet that may have run him as much as $30 million.
• Other Random Items: Cage has also reportedly paid $150,000 for a pet octopus, shrunken pygmy human heads, and even a pyramid he wants to be buried in.

What Is Nicolas Cage’s Net Worth?

$25 MILLION

Currently, Cage’s net worth is estimated to be $25 million. That’s down from more than $100 million, which it was pegged at earlier in his career. Celebrity Net Worth estimates that he has earned $200 million from movie salaries alone throughout his career.