The secret of long-term success scales with the millions. As long as Mark Wahlberg keeps rolling the windfalls and banking for tomorrow, he’ll be fine.
Mark Wahlberg has always been a talent constrained less by his earning power than by the limits of his own ambition. He’s played Hollywood tough guys for years, but it’s always had a twist of humor and humility.
This year, that “take it as it comes” attitude earned him an estimated $68 million, making him the top-paid performer on the annual Forbes list.
Next year he may be back down at the bottom of the bulge bracket with barely $30 million coming in. Whether that downswing is a disaster or just another turn on the carnival ride depends on his decisions now.
Just one vice to worry about
Wahlberg lived relatively frugally on about two movies a year. After joining the Transformers series, the asking price has ramped up to $15 million per film.
With multiple projects stacked into 2017, he banked more than normal. It’s a fluke of scheduling, not a signal that he’s suddenly gotten hot, greedy or both.
From his career box office numbers, I don’t think he can justify making realistic demands for more. The projects he takes on just can’t afford it.
He’s been in Hollywood for 20 years now. If he was cut out to be a top-tier franchise superhero like Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr or Johnny Depp banking $25-$40 million on each shot at a $1 billion blockbuster, it probably would’ve happened by now.
So with that in mind, the rational thing is to treat this record-breaking year as a windfall without ramping up lifestyle spending to fit a new status quo that won’t necessarily persist.
It’s free money here and now, a bonus. Maybe he gets to retire a year earlier.
Either way, the jump from $30 million last year to $68 million this year isn’t so huge once you strip out the standard Hollywood expenses.
Wahlberg ordinarily keeps about $19 million a year after state and local taxes plus deductible professional fees. That’s pretty good money, but it’s really just a typical market return for a guy who’s reputedly worth $150 million minimum.
From all appearances, he lives within those limits. There’s no urge here to collect cars, paintings, yachts or islands.
Barring the occasional “Entourage”-style jaunt, the only real vice here is building the family compound on 6 of the most exclusive acres of Beverly Hills. It took him close to a decade to finish the place and the ultimate price tag has remained confidential.
But we know two things about that massive 30,000-square-foot project. First, back-of-the-envelope math indicates that Wahlberg spent at least $10 million and probably a lot more than that.
And second, it was finished a few years ago. He’s not pouring millions of dollars into real estate any more. At worst, maintenance might drain $500,000 out of the annual budget, but that’s practically a rounding error on his annual income.
If Wahlberg doesn’t some uncharacteristic new vices soon, it’s going to be pretty easy for him to keep living within his means. Unless he’s having fun in the world of the Transformers, he might even scale back on the action movies to chase critical acclaim instead.
Converting active to passive income
Where Wahlberg really shines is in the way he keeps building new cash flow around the acting career. It makes sense — he was a musician and a model before he ever appeared in a movie, so this isn’t a core piece of who he is.
In an industry where fame is fickle, it’s good to have a backup plan. Like pro athletes and other highly compensated people whose careers can be cut short at any time, the big question is how to fund the next act with the resources you have now.
For Wahlberg, that next act is his production company, which seems to be enough to pay the bills even if it isn’t making him hugely rich.
A season behind the scenes on a show like “Entourage” pays the bills and sets up streaming royalties for the foreseeable future. Work now, cash checks forever.
That’s a relatively new concept for Wahlberg, who tends to work on movies that do all right but aren’t hugely lucrative — and who tends to accept substantial upfront salaries instead of big profit-sharing deals in any event.
Then there’s the restaurants. Wahlburgers could become a real wealth creator for the Wahlberg brothers.
A chain like Shake Shack can turn into $1 billion or more when it hits the public market. All in all, the IPO could ultimately double Wahlberg’s net worth without forcing him to work any harder than he already does.
And if the company gets bought out, he’s in position to exit at a huge profit. Other star start-ups have gotten acquired over the years — Wahlburgers may join them in the foreseeable future.
Either way, producing shows and investing in restaurant companies is how you make investable assets work for you. That’s the track Wahlberg is on.
Right now he’s on top of the Hollywood food chain. If he can take his career even higher, that’s great. Otherwise, he’s covered. Shake the industry, he’ll land on his feet.
Then there are the stars who spend everything faster than their managers can invest it. I don’t think they’ll be so happy when they have to sell the private islands — or worse, take on the dumb roles that make them laughingstocks, simply because they need the cash.
