Celebrity
What Is Steve Carell's Net Worth? His Money "Gru" Over Time Thanks To The Minions
He thought his career peaked with the McDonald's "$3-For-All" deal commercial.
It’s hard to imagine anyone not liking Steve Carell. After getting his start on SNL and on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, Carell rose to fame for his natural comic chops, appearing in the likes of Bruce Almighty, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, and Evan Almighty. And of course, there was his eight-year stint on The Office as Dunder Mifflin’s Regional Manager Michael Scott that solidified his status as one of the comedians of his generation.
Fast forward to 2022 and Carell is still going strong, having starred in the Despicable Me movie series and proven his dramatic abilities in The Big Short, Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Hulu’s The Patient. Oh, plus, he’s officially hot now.
With decades of Hollywood success under his belt, several directing and producing credits and numerous ad campaigns, Carell has, unsurprisingly, wracked up quite the fortune. Nevertheless, he has remained seriously thrifty over the years, shopping at stores like J Crew, as he once told Time, “when I want to go upscale.” “It’s not like I’m cheap,” he said. “I just don’t see the need to overdo it.”
Curious to find out just how much money Carell has made over the years? Here’s how the actor accumulated his staggering net worth.
4 Ways Steve Carell Makes His Money
1. Film & TV
For Carell, acting has, without a doubt, been the biggest money-maker in her career. With a CV that includes numerous Hollywood films and hit TV shows, it’s not hard to see why.
One of Carell’s biggest projects to date was The Office, which he starred in for eight years. According to StyleCaster, he earned $87,000 per episode in Seasons 1 and 2, and $175,000 for Season 3. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he eventually earned up to $300,000 per episode for his acting, along with additional bonuses as a director and producer on the show. StyleCaster estimates that he made roughly $3.5 million for every season. Carell also collects checks for The Office syndication deals — which, ultimately seems like a big step up since Michael Scott famously declared bankruptcy.
As a film actor, Carell’s salaries have varied quite drastically from movie to movie. He reportedly earned $500,000 for his role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, while just two years later, he took home an alleged $5 million for Evan Almighty — he later told Cinema.com, “I was paid this exorbitant amount of money.”
His paychecks continued to rise as he reportedly earned $12.5 million for Date Night, $12 million for Dinner for Schmucks and $15 million for Crazy, Stupid, Love., per Celebrity Net Worth.
In more recent years, Carell has continued to rake in millions for his acting roles. In Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, for instance, the actor reportedly made $750,000 per episode, and in Space Force, he made $1 million per episode, per Variety.
2. Minions
While Carell’s involvement in the Despicable Me universe may technically be part of his film and TV career, we think it warrants its own section. After all, there have been six movies already with a seventh on the way (Despicable Me 4 will be released in 2024, Variety reports). The Minions have become a stratospheric cultural phenomenon in their own right in the form of memes, dolls, ads, and dozens of themed products.
Even Carell didn’t expect the Minions to be so popular. “They said, ‘Oh, you also have these henchmen. They’re called minions, and they’re yellow and they look like little tater tots. And they don’t speak English, it’s gibberish,’” Carell told The AV Club, remembering the first time he voiced Gru. “I thought, ‘OK, well, good luck with that idea.’ There was a complete dead-end, but ‘I’m sure you know what you’re doing.’ Then, lo and behold a year later they are the biggest thing ever.”
Thanks to the popularity of the Minions, Carell has made a fortune from his involvement in the movie series. Apparently, he made just $500,000 for the first movie. However, now, he’s reportedly taking home between $15 and $20 million for each Gru appearance, Men’s Health reports.
3. Brand Deals
As one of the most recognizable faces in comedy, it comes as no surprise that Carell has appeared in his fair share of brand campaigns over the years.
As a young actor, he popped up in an ad for McDonald’s “$3-For-All” deal, and remembers the spot fondly. “I had three arms in it. There was a guy behind me, helping me eat the burger. I thought, this is it! I’ve gotten a McDonald’s commercial where I eat a triple cheeseburger. It can’t get any better,” he said in 2005, as per New University.
Carell also appeared in a commercial for fast food chain Brown’s Chicken. As his fame grew, so too did his appeal to advertisers. His ad campaigns have included spots for DirectTV, AT&T and XFinity. He has also appeared in Super Bowl ads for Honda and Pepsi.
4. Real Estate
Some of Carell’s net worth is tied up in his real estate investments. He and his wife, Nancy, have made several significant real estate purchases and sales in the past few years.
In 2010, the pair bought a home in LA for $6 million, which they eventually replaced with a new six bedroom, five bathroom home. According to Dirt, the actor sold a neighboring home for $5.1 million before moving into his new pad.
The couple also reportedly also own a smaller home in Massachusetts.
What Is Steve Carell’s Net Worth?
$80 MILLION
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Steve Carell is worth an impressive $80 million as of 2022. Not too shabby for Dunder Mifflin’s former Scranton, Pennsylvania Regional Manager!
