Does “The Rock” even need an introduction? A few years ago, probably, but right now, Dwayne has turned to be one of the most popular actors of the century, and if you don’t even know who he is, you should look for the tall and bald guy with tribal tattoos.
Yep, that’s him.
With over 50 films and roles over his shoulders, The Rock is one of the people’s favorites actors even in those movies that look more of a joke than an actual idea someone thought about for a film or series.
If you ask us, we particularly love his roles, and although he is kind of fixed in this look of a big guy with muscles, he is very good as an actor for several genres and roles.
But enough of cinema and his career, let’s talk about the part you’re here for: Does he have as much money as muscles? You bet!
With the years he has been in the industry and the important roles he has taken, you can bet he does have the money to buy all of us a house, but to get there, what about some background and details?
Who Is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? – Early Life
“Hey! You just said it is crazy not to know him,” and we continue to stand with this. However, most people know the basics of an actor or celebrity and don’t really dive deeper into their backgrounds and lives.
So, to make things fair and follow our usual schedule, let’s talk about this big guy for a bit.
Dwayne Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California.
Son to Rocky Johnson, a former professional wrestler, and Ata Johnson. The Rock comes from a family full of wrestler professionals who encourages every generation to follow their steps.
After briefly living in New Zealand during his childhood, the family settled in Hamden for a time.
Dwayne was in high school when they moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, before moving to Nashville, Tennessee.
He was a promising athlete in high school and received numerous college offers to play football. He chose to attend the University of Miami because it offered him a full scholarship,
He was part of the Hurricane team, which won the 1991 national championship. However, Johnson’s life in football was quite doomed when he suffered consecutive injures and ended up losing his spot on the team to Warren Sapp, a future NFL star.
As a result, Johnson played in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders but was cut before his first season.
He decided to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, both of whom were professional wrestlers just like the usual family.
During this career, he made his debut as Rocky Maivia, a hero character who combined the ring names of his grandfather and father.
Over time and with success in the ring, he became a villain and ended up adopting his popular nickname “The Rock.” This charismatic character was a favorite of the audience, which brought even more recognition to his new stage name.
Johnson was a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler from 1996 to 2004 and achieved great results by being a nine-time world heavyweight champion for WWE, taking part in the WWF championship and outside of the ring, he even hosted Saturday Night Live in 2000 for the first-time, featuring guest appearances by Triple H and Mick Foley.
Acting Career: Going to the Big Screen
The Rock also launched a successful acting career outside of the ring. He dropped his stage name to go by Dwayne Johnson only and made sure to work hard to build his proper name in the industry.
In 2001’s “The Mummy Returns,” he made a huge splash as the Scorpion King, a supernatural bad boy, and Johnson reprised the role of “The Scorpion King” just a year later.
One of the roles many people tend to forget is when he joined the comedy “Be Cool” from 2005 alongside John Travolta and Uma Thurman, which we personally love and even binged last night.
This was followed by 2007’s “The Game Plan,” although this one didn’t have a big shout.
Johnson’s acting career continued to flourish through his appearances on films like “Driver” (2010) and taking part in the Furious franchise by starring in “Fast & Furious 6” (2013).
He also starred in “Hercules” as the strongman despite the film’s bad critics; it made him more popular in the action genre.
Dwayne Johnson has also been seen in wrestling from time to time, including an appearance at Wrestlemania 30 with Hulk Hogan and Stone-Cold Steve Austin.
With these films in his back and starting to gain more recognition, he was the star of two action movies on the big screen. In 2015, he starred in “Furious 7” and “San Andreas.”
A drama-comedy named “Ballers” was also Johnson’s first appearance in this genre and played the crucial role of Spencer Strasmore (a former pro footballer and financial planner). This also took place in 2015.
After teaming up with Kevin Hart to create the action-comedy “Central Intelligence” in 2016, he voiced Maui in the Disney animated hit “Moana.” He became part of the favorites during the release of the film.
During this time, The Rock was known already thanks to his presence in all the previous roles and appearances and personality during talk shows and interviews, who portrayed him as a humble and giant teddy bear with tattoos.
In 2017, Dwayne’s schedule continued busy as he took on the starring roles in “The Fate of the Furious,” the big-screen adaptation of the 1990s animated series “Baywatch” as well as “Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle.”
The following year, more action movies followed, and his popularity thanks to the latter film mentioned. He became one of the most popular actors in Hollywood officially, and “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” just became his highest-grossing film to this date.
He was also able to stand out in the Super Bowl advertising blitz in February, followed by the trailer for his action film, “Skyscraper,” in which he performs death-defying stunts using a prosthetic leg.
Next was “Rampage.” Based on the 1980s arcade game, it arrived in theaters just a few months prior to the July release for “Skyscraper.”
The next year, he returned to his roots in wrestling by appearing as himself on “Fighting with My Family,” which is based on the true story of Saraya “Paige,” a female champion in wrestling.
Although he was very busy with the latter film, he was soon back in action with the Fast & Furious spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw” with Jason Statham.
“Young Rock” is one of Dwayne’s most recent jobs since it is a series following his life where he plays himself along with other younger actors that take part as younger versions of himself.
Finally, “Jungle Cruise” starring Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez, and other popular actors will come to the big screen in just a few weeks.
And just a random fact: He has been arrested multiple times, but only when he was a teenager.
Numbers, Salaries & Net Worth: How Much Does He Earn?
How much do you think he earns with so many movies and different successful careers behind his back? A lot or just a bit more than others?
Let’s mention in advance that The Rock owns several business ventures, so you can already guess we will be adding more zeroes and numbers because of them.
During 2009, The Rock had an approximated net worth of $30 million, which added him to the list of well-paid actors though not really that high in the ranking.
However, his net worth surpassed $50 million after barely a year, which brought a lot of attention due to the films he was taking.
By September 2012, he was the wealthiest wrestler with a net worth of $75 million, which, although it came mostly from acting, was still added to the wrestlers’ list due to his successful and former career.
His net worth had risen to $160 million by 2015, thanks to some smart business movies we previously mentioned and the investment in some real estate properties.
To this date, and coming from $180 million, then $250 million, and so on, The Rock’s net worth stands at about $420 million and continues increasing.
But from where do these numbers come?
Unlike what many would believe based on the fact he was just starting in the industry, Dwayne was paid $5.5 Million to appear in 2001’s “The Scorpion King,” which is quite a lot compared to other people’s first starring roles.
The Scorpion King, which earned $165 million with a budget of $60 million, was a huge success.
For “The Rundown” (2003), he earned $12.5 million, and “Walking Tall” from 2004 earned him another $15 million.
With 2018’s “Skyscraper,” his per-movie upfront income topped $20 million for the first time when in 2013, he was just earning about $43 million.
The Rock can legally demand as much as $4 million to promote his movies, which adds much more profit to the usual salary and standards.
For his role in “Hobbs & Shaw,” he earned $20 million while his co-stars Jason Statham, and Idris Elba, earned $13 million and $8 million, respectively.
Like in the upcoming film, “Jungle Cruise,” the most recent roles will earn him about the same salary with some additions based on the promotion and how he will be taking part in the release.
But this is not all.
He and Dany Garcia, his ex-wife, started a company called Seven Bucks Productions in 2012.
Seven Bucks’ creative, digital, and production teams are involved in every aspect of a film’s development, from script screening to marketing.
Johnson’s social media accounts are managed by the company, including Instagram and YouTube. The company plans to produce several films starring former WWE stars John Cena and other mainstream actors.
In addition, it has already produced “Shazam!” in 2019, and it was also awarded a production credit for Dwayne’s films “Baywatch,” “Rampage” and “Skyscraper.”
The Rock has endorsements with Apple and Ford, as well as Under Armour.
Recently in August 2020, Dwayne Johnson announced he had teamed up with his wife and a sports management firm to purchase the XFL for $15 million.
The XFL went bankrupt in early 2019. With this, Johnson decided and stated that the acquisition of the XFL, together with Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment deeply rooted in his passion for the game. He wants to do something about it.
This will be adding more profits in the following years and you can bet his net worth is going to increase by a lot.
Finally, Dwayne owns several real estate properties, and currently, he paid $28.7 million for Paul Reiser’s Beverly Park mansion, which is quite the money for a property.
Charity Work: How Much Does He Care for Others?
With all the money he earns every day, do you think he bets on philanthropy? Well, he does.
One of the main charities he continues is his own foundation.
In 2006, he founded the Dwayne Johnson Foundation, which helps terminally ill children and focuses on providing them with better life quality and all the resources they need.
Other contributions date back to 2007 when he donated $1 million to the University of Miami to help renovate the football facility.
This gift was the largest ever made to the University of Miami by a former student. In his memory and contribution, the locker room is named after him.
He has been a volunteer for Make-A-Wish Foundation on several occasions, contributed to cancer research, and continuously donated anonymously to some charities and foundations.
The Rock is quite eager to help children but also any person who needs it. However, one of the main goals he has is to make sure football and wrestling are being respected, and his alma maters are always in his heart when it comes to this.
Thus, you can bet this big guy has a big heart as well, and charity is part of his other nickname in showbiz.
Also, his longtime girlfriend and now wife, Lauren Hashian, is part of the charity work he usually performs.
5 Unbreakable Quotes by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- “What’s the key to success? The key is, there is no key. Be humble, hungry, and the hardest worker in any room.”
- “With drive and a bit of talent, you can move mountains.”
- “If something stands between you and your success, MOVE IT! Never be denied.”
- “Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day, you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up.”
- “In 1995, I had $7 bucks in my pocket, and I knew two things: I’m broke as hell, and one day I won’t be.”
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