Sylvester Stallone has one man to thank for his staggering wealth: himself. He didn't wait for someone else to discover him and make him famous — he made it happen on his own by writing and starring in his breakout film, Rocky.
After his turn on the big screen as boxer Rocky Balboa, a string of hits followed — including several Rocky sequels and a whole other action-heavy franchise revolving around his second-most iconic role, John Rambo. He would go on to capitalize on his action hero persona in the hugely popular Expendables movies, and is now arguably the (Tulsa) King of gangster TV. All of which is to say, Stallone became a major star, and has made A-list money along the way.
With a new documentary about his most film roles and pivotal career moments dropping, here's what we know about Sylvester Stallone's net worth.
Stallone turned down a major payday to star in Rocky.
After dabbling in softcore porn — seriously, Google The Party at Kitty and Stud's — Stallone turned to writing his own films, the first of which was Rocky. Though the screenplay was a huge hit among producers at the time, the thought of Stallone starring in the film wasn't.
"They wanted every celebrated actor at the time," Stallone said during an appearance on the Today Show. "And big-name directors, when they found out I wanted to be involved, they scattered, ran for the hills."
Stallone said he was offered $300,000 for the rights to Rocky, but turned it down because producers wanted a bigger name to star in the film instead.
"It was really insane at the time 'cause I was pretty broke," he added. Luckily, his persistence paid off, and the film earned $117 million. The entire six-part Rocky franchise has also earned a cool billion worldwide, according to Business Insider.
Stallone earned $15 million for The Expendables 3.
Since the mid-70s, Stallone has starred in more than 60 films, which averages out to 1.4 films a year. According to Ranker, a site that allows fans to vote and rank on polls, his top five fan-approved titles include Rocky, First Blood, Rocky II, Rocky IV, Rocky II.
According to The Richest, The Expendables 3 earned him a $15 million payday. Stallone departed that franchise following his performance in the fourth installment, and accepted $3 million for his vastly-reduced role in Expend4bles.
Tulsa King has won him a brand new audience.
In 2022, Stallone took his first-ever leading role in a scripted television series, playing mob enforcer Dwight "The General" Manfredi in Tulsa King, a crime saga from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. As with all things Sheridan-verse, Tulsa King proved to be a hit with viewers, securing itself a hotly-anticipated second season—and earning Stallone a hefty fee of $1 million per episode.
He has his own documentary and reality show.
In 2023, Paramount+ began streaming the first season of The Family Stallone, a reality show following Stallone, wife Jennifer Flavin, and daughters, Sistine, Sophia, and Scarlet. It's Keeping Up With the Kardashians meets The Osbournes, taking a lighthearted look at day-to-day life in the Stallone household and exploring how tough it can be to date when your protective dad also happens to be one of the toughest men in 20th century cinema.
And on November 3, 2023, Netflix released the documentary Sly, which offers an in-depth view of Stallone's life, career, and stratospheric rise over the last five decades.
Stallone's net worth hovers somewhere around $400 million.
In total, Stallone's 60-plus films have earned $2 billion at the box office, according to Bankrate. Thanks to all those successes, plus his recent hit with Tulsa King, CelebrityNetWorth.com puts Sylvester Stallone's net worth at $400 million. At 77 years old, he's still in the spotlight, so you can expect his net worth to keep punching above its weight class for years to come.
