What Was Robin Williams Net Worth?
Robin Williams was an American actor and comedian who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of his death. Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014. He was 63 years old.
He first rose to fame as a stand-up comedian in the 1970s before landing the role that made him a household name as the alien Mork on “Mork & Mindy,” which ran from 1978 to 1982.
Williams made her film debut in 1980’s Popeye and went on to enjoy one of the most successful film careers in acting history. Films starring Robin grossed $3.7 billion at the global box office. After adjusting for inflation, his films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide.
Robin’s top five movies were:
- #5: “Happy Feet” ($385 million)
- #4: “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” ($402 million)
- #3: “Mrs. Doubtfire” ($441 million)
- #2: “Aladdin” ($504 million)
- #1: “Night at the Museum” ($579 million)
Youth
Robin Williams was born on July 21, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois. Williams grew up in a very prominent family. His father, Robert, was a senior manager at Lincoln-Mercury Motors in charge of the Midwest area, and his mother, Lauren, was a former model from New Orleans. Before high school, Robin and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, Robin was a shy child who barely spoke. One of the only early inclinations he could become a comic was impersonating his grandmother. Beyond that, he really didn’t come out of his shell until he started participating in high school plays.
Education
Robin attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California, followed by the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. He then enrolled at the prestigious Julliard School in New York City. Here Robin would meet longtime friend and future Super Man star Christopher Reeve. While at Julliard, Robin was encouraged by an instructor to shift his focus from drama to standup comedy. With that advice in hand, Williams began hitting the New York comedy circuit. The public quickly fell in love with his erratic demeanor and quick words.
Career
Eventually, Hollywood came calling and he was cast as a dimwitted alien “Mork” who made recurring appearances on the sitcom “Happy Days.” His stint on the show was such a success that show executive producer Garry Marshall immediately created a spin-off based solely on the character of Robin. That show, of course, was “Mork & Mindy,” which ran for 94 episodes over four seasons between 1978 and 1981. Robin earned $35,000 per episode from Mork, which is equal to $130,000 today after backlash for inflation. Robin then used his newfound fame to produce three successful HBO comedy specials.
(Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)
One of Robin’s first feature film roles was in the live-action version of Popeye, followed by Garp’s World. Over the next 30 years, Robin appeared in dozens of popular films in both comedic and dramatic roles. Some of his best known dramatic roles include ‘Good Will Hunting’, ‘The Fisher King’ and ‘One Hour Photo’. Some of his other hits include ‘Hook’, ‘Jumanji’ and the blockbuster Mrs. Doubtfire.
Robin even received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “Good Will Hunting” and an Oscar nomination for “Good Morning Vietnam.”
Notable salaries
Robin’s biggest salary ever came from the 1999 film Bicentennial Man, for which he was paid $20 million. Robin was paid just $75,000, the Screen Actors Guild minimum, for his voice work in Disney’s Aladdin. Robin agreed to take the low salary on two conditions: #1) That his character not be used to sell merchandise to children, and #2) that his character not appear in more than 25% of the film’s commercials. Disney eventually broke both of their promises, leading Robin to refuse to work with Disney for many years. Disney eventually tried to apologize by sending him a Pablo Picasso painting, but Robin didn’t work with the studio again for many years, and only after the executive in charge was fired.
Personal life and death
Robin was married three times, first to Valerie Velardi from 1978 to 1988, then to Marsha Garces from 1989 to 2010 and finally to Susan Schneider from 2011 until his death.
He reportedly paid his first two wives more than $30 million in combined divorce settlements.
Tragically, Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California, following an apparent suicide. He was 63 and struggling with severe depression. He was survived by three children, one from his first marriage and two from his second.
immobility
In the early 2000s, Robin built a large mansion on 640 acres of property in Napa Valley. He named the estate Villa Sorriso (Smile Villa).
In 2012, he listed the property for $35 million. It received no buyers. In January 2016, his heirs sold the house for $18.1 million.
At the time of his death, Robin was living in a house in the Paradise Cay neighborhood of Tiburon, California. In November 2020, his widow sold this house for $5.35 million. It was listed a year earlier for $7.25 million.
For many years, Robin owned a home in the Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco.
