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Is Johnny Depp made of Teflon? Despite decades of controversy, the notorious bad boy remained one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors well into the ’10s. Alcoholism, addiction, assault charges—none of these stood in the way of earning lucrative roles.
But it may be time to pay the piper. The actor has spent the last decade tangled up in various (and expensive) lawsuits, and stunning revelations by his former management team paint the picture of a man who flushed his money down the toilet. Find out Johnny Depp’s net worth and get the details on how that figure has sunk so deep over the last decade.
Johnny Depp Is One Of Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Actors
Depp has come a long way from his teen idol TV days. In the mid-’90s, he saw his paychecks spike from $45,000 per episode of 21 Jump Street to alleged millions for his critically acclaimed role in Donnie Brasco.
Many fans adore Depp for his performances as a gangster (Public Enemies), cocaine smuggler (Blow), and a mob boss (Black Mass). But he amassed his fortune by playing the lead in family-friendly films. For instance, he reportedly earned over $300 million for playing Jack Sparrow in five installments of Pirates of the Caribbean.
There’s no denying that if Depp’s name is on a film, it’s going to be a moneymaker. However, he has often been cited as an overpaid actor. Another whopping sum he made was for playing the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland, for which he reportedly earned over 50 million pounds (about $68 million USD), according to the Telegraph.
It sounds like the actor (or at least the people managing his career) had great business acumen. In 2020, when he was dropped from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, he still received $16 million despite only filming one scene due to a pay-or-play contract that did not have a morality clause.
It might leave you wondering how Depp let so much of that money slip through his fingers.
Johnny Depp Has Outrageous Spending Habits
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Depp was first made aware of his financial troubles in 2012. His lawyer, Jake Bloom, and accountant, Joel Mandel, confronted the actor in his Hollywood Hills compound and informed him that his $2 million per month lifestyle was unsustainable. They claimed he did not have enough liquid assets to cover his expenses.
Depp agreed to sell his 156-foot yacht for some quick cash. (The boat had cost $18 million to buy and renovate, as well as an additional $350,000 per month to maintain.)
But in 2016, Depp unceremoniously dumped Mandel and his own manager, Tracey Jacobs. The following year, he slapped a $25 million lawsuit on Mandel’s firm, TMG, accusing them of fraud and mismanagement.
TMG countersued and sought a court declaration that “Depp is responsible for his own financial waste.”
The ongoing drama led to all sorts of eye-popping revelations regarding Depp’s spending habits. TMG’s countersuit alleged that the actor spent with abandon: he dropped $75 million on 14 different residences and owned more than 200 pieces of fine art (including pieces by Klimt and Warhol), as well as pricey memorabilia that was kept in 12 different storage facilities.
Tabloids seized on one particular expense—Depp’s $30,000-a-month wine budget. But Depp, who has struggled with alcohol for years, addressed the rumor head-on.
“It’s insulting to say that I spent $30,000 on wine,” he told Rolling Stone in 2018. “Because it was far more.”
But that was just the beginning of the financial woes. From maintaining a full-time, 40-person staff to over-the-top spending such as dropping $5 million to shoot his late friend Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes out of a cannon, definitely raised eyebrows.
“It’s my money,” Depp told the Wall Street Journal. “If I want to buy 15,000 cotton balls a day, it’s my thing.”
The actor ultimately settled with TMG in 2018 for an undisclosed sum.
His Divorce From Amber Heard Cost Him Millions
While it makes sense to focus on Depp’s extravagant lifestyle, it’s worth noting that his divorce from Amber Heard has also made a significant dent in his finances.
In 2016, three months after Heard filed for divorce, she accepted a $7 million settlement. In exchange, she withdrew a request for a domestic violence restraining order and rescinded her spousal support request of $50,000 a month. (Heard had previously accused Depp of throwing a phone at her and bruising her face, but LAPD determined that no crime had occurred.)
But the drama didn’t end there. In 2019, Depp sued Heard for $50 million after she wrote an op-ed about being a domestic abuse victim for the Washington Post. Heard hit back with a $100 million defamation countersuit. The trial, which has seen multiple delays, began in April 2022 and was finally settled on June 1, 2022. The jury sided with Depp and awarded him $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Despite winning the defamation case against Heard, Depp has faced several other legal issues in recent years. In November 2020, after he sued British tabloid The Sun for libel, a judge ruled in favor of the publication. A headline labeling him a “wife-beater” could not be construed as damaging because the reports were “substantially true.” Depp was ordered to cough up $840,000 to cover The Sun’s legal fees. Depp requested permission to appeal but was denied.
Heard isn’t the only former flame he’s had to dig into his pockets for. Depp never married his ex, Vanessa Paradis, but the French actress-singer bore two of his children. As a result, he offered to financially support her after they split. There’s no word on what the payment amounted to, but his generosity included a $4.5 million home.
Outside of his volatile romantic relationships, Depp also found himself paying off others to avoid messy trials. In 2019, he settled with two former bodyguards for “unpaid wages, overtime, wrongful termination, and unlawful business practices.”
Johnny Depp’s Net Worth Today
Depp currently has an estimated net worth of $150 million per Celebrity Net Worth—although this amount doesn’t account for the $15 million won in the defamation case against Amber Heard. Still, that’s a far cry from the over $650 million his former accountant Mandel alleged he earned in the 13+ years he was managed by The Management Group. The decades of extravagant spending and legal woes definitely took their toll.
It’s hard to predict if Depp will ever make a comeback, or how he’ll fare in his current lawsuits. But we’re quite sure he’s not sobbing over his 9-figure net worth. Stay tuned to see how the ongoing trial will affect his bottom line.
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