Franco Origlia/Getty Images
'Air' Star Ben Affleck's Net Worth in 2023, And Who Earns More—Ben or JLo?
Ben Affleck is one of the biggest stars on the planet and has the net worth to prove it. The Batman star and Oscar winner's career has run the gamut from critically panned blockbusters to critically acclaimed indies, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"I've had, it feels like, every kind of failure you can have," Affleck previously told Parade. "There are about 10 movies that I'm really proud of, maybe 20 that I feel kind of mixed about and 10 that I still kind of regret." He doesn't completely regret those failures, however, as he always tries to approach the occasional misstep as a learning experience. "Otherwise," he says, "I never would have kept acting past 2003, or even past 1992, when I couldn't get a job from anybody!"
For Affleck, who grew up alongside Matt Damon and caught the acting bug as a child, success is first and foremost about being a good father; everything else is secondary.
"I was just talking to Matt about this last night, that as we've gotten older, we kind of have our own definitions of success or failure that we trust more than feeling the need to look to other people for approval or encouragement," he explained. "I've just learned to really trust my own sense of, 'Did I grow from this? Did I get something valuable from this?'"
Of course, his paychecks are pretty valuable as well. Keep reading to find out more about Ben Affleck's net worth in 2023, and how he earned it.
How did Ben Affleck become famous?
Born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt, Affleck got his start in acting as a child when he was featured in an independent film called Dark End of the Street in 1979 at just 7 years old. When he was 9, he appeared in the educational series The Voyage of the Mimi and its sequel.
Affleck's first mainstream role was in a Burger King commercial that makes him cringe in retrospect (though his performance, for the material he was given, was fine!).
As he later recalled about that experience on Good Morning America, "That was my first experience with fame at all, because like, The Economist did a big story about how Burger King's current campaign is failing, and they used a picture of me from that commercial. The first time I ever got in the press was for bombing, apparently, in that commercial. It makes sense, now that I look at it, why it didn't work!"
In 1987, Affleck appeared in the miniseries Hands of a Stranger and attended the University of Vermont briefly to be near his then-girlfriend. When Affleck turned 18, he moved to Los Angeles, where he briefly attended Occidental College to study Middle Eastern affairs. He took small roles (some uncredited) in early '90s films including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, most notably, as a bully in Dazed and Confused.
It was Affleck's role in Kevin Smith's Mallrats in 1995, once more playing a bully, that would help Affleck break out into the mainstream. Smith and Affleck bonded during the making of Mallrats, and the director went on to cast Affleck in 1997's Chasing Amy, which was considered his breakout role.
The same year, Affleck and childhood BFF Damon wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, which was a massive hit, grossing over $225 million on a paltry $10 million budget. Affleck and Damon immediately became household names and won an Oscar in 1998 for Best Original Screenplay, while the film also nabbed a Best Supporting Actor award for Robin Williams. Affleck and Damon's Oscar acceptance speech is one of the most beloved ever.
"I just said to Matt, 'Losing would suck and winning would be really scary,'" Affleck admitted when he got onstage. Damon and Affleck also called out their moms, "the most beautiful women in this room," and couldn't contain their enthusiasm.
In 2023, the two childhood buddies are working together once more, co-starring in Air, the story of the creation of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, that Affleck also directs.
What is Ben Affleck's net worth in 2023?
Ben Affleck's net worth is currently estimated at $150 million, thanks to his endeavors not just in acting, but also directing, screenwriting and producing.
Related: From Good Will Hunting to Argo, We’re Counting Down the 12 Best Ben Affleck Movies
How did Ben Affleck and Matt Damon meet?
Affleck met his forever bestie when they were 8 and 10 years old, respectively. Affleck previously told Parade that their moms introduced them and that even though they were two years apart, they shared so many similar interests (acting and films, of course, as well as baseball) that they hit it off right away.
"Before Matt, I was by myself. Acting was a solo activity where I'd just go off and do something, act in a little TV show or something, and no one understood it," Affleck said. "None of the other kids knew what it was I did, how it worked, or anything. All of a sudden, I had this friend, Matt, and he gets it and wants to do it and thinks it's interesting and wants to talk about it. Soon both of us are doing it." They'd travel to New York City together by train to go to auditions, and they were both extras in Field of Dreams. Damon then starred alongside Oscar winner Brendan Fraser in School Ties, with Affleck taking a small supporting role in the film.
In 2019, Damon recalled that it was when Affleck defended him in a fight that he knew their friendship was the real deal. Watch him tell the story below:
Are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon still friends?
Damon and Affleck remain close to this day. In fact, Damon and Affleck teamed up once more to co-write the script (with Nicole Holofcener) for The Last Duel, in which they both star alongside Adam Driver and Jodie Comer. It's their first project together in 25 years, which the pals joked was in part because when they wrote Good Will Hunting they had no idea what they were doing, so that script alone took quite a while for them to compose.
"We hadn't ever taken a class on how to structure a screenplay, so structure was definitely not our strong suit. What we really understood were the characters, so we ended up writing thousands of pages of scenes where we'd just make up a scene idea," Damon told Entertainment Weekly. "We'd write that scene and then we crammed it all together into something that looked like a screenplay. Both of us thought it would be so consuming to write together again, we just didn't bother. We thought that is what our process would be. When we decided to do this, having been making movies for 25 years and telling two-hour stories in three acts for all that time, we got the hang of structure, so it went a lot faster. And we actually outlined it this time."
Affleck added, "From the outside, it's like, 'Oh these guys worked together a long time ago and there's this big-time gap.' But Matt's one of the few people I really trust and believe has my best interests at heart and gives good feedback. We've often talked about movies and collaborated in that way."
Damon has also publicly cheered on Affleck's romantic reunion with Jennifer Lopez, to whom he was engaged in 2003, proposed to again in April 2022 and wed in July 2022. The Talented Mr. Ripley star gushed in August 2021, "Oh man, no one's pulling harder [for 'Bennifer'] than I am. They're both great. I just want for their happiness. They seem pretty happy right now."
Lopez told People shortly before their 2022 engagement, "We're older now, we're smarter, we have more experience, we're at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things."
Of course Affleck and Damon are also both starring in and producing Air, which Affleck is also directing.
Who has a higher net worth, Jennifer Lopez or Ben Affleck?
Cue the Sad Affleck memes: J.Lo has the higher net worth! The multi-hyphenate superstar is worth an estimated $400 million thanks to her acting, music, touring, producing and product lines.
He's not bitter about it, though: Affleck gushed to AdWeek in 2021 of his rekindled love, "I am in awe of what Jennifer's effect on the world is. At most, as an artist, I can make movies that move people. Jennifer has inspired a massive group of people to feel they have a seat at the table in this country... That is an effect few people throughout history have had, one I will never know and one I can only stand by and admire with respect."
How much did Ben Affleck get paid for Air?
While it hasn't been publicly reported how much Ben Affleck made on Air, it's safe to assume he took home a pretty penny—and should earn more if the film does well at the box office. Serving as the director as well as a producer and actor, Affleck earns money for each of his multiple roles. With a budget of over $70 million, Affleck certainly made at least $10 million.