Burt Reynolds Net Worth

What was Burt Reynolds' Net Worth and Salary?

Burt Reynolds was an American actor, director, and voice artist who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death in 2018. Burt's net worth was much higher at the peak of his career. In the early 1980s, he estimated his net worth to be $60 million. That's the same as having $200 million today. When he married Loni Anderson in 1988, his prenup listed his net worth at $15 million. As you can see, he suffered some serious financial losses over the years due to bad investments, divorces, and overspending. At the time of his death, Burt was living on a property he previously owned, paying a nominal rent to the new owner, a friend who bought the property out of foreclosure. More details on this later in the article.

Burt Reynolds was an iconic American actor, director, and producer who became a Hollywood sex symbol and one of the biggest box office draws of the 1970s and early 1980s. He began his career with small television roles before breaking into film in the 1960s. Reynolds' breakthrough came with his role in "Deliverance" (1972), which established him as a serious actor. He went on to star in a string of hit films, including "The Longest Yard" (1974), "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), and "Cannonball Run" (1981). Known for his charismatic screen presence and trademark mustache, Reynolds often played charming, macho characters in action comedies. He received critical acclaim for his performance in "Boogie Nights" (1997), earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Reynolds' personal life, including high-profile relationships and financial troubles, often made headlines. Despite ups and downs, he remained a beloved figure in American pop culture.

His later career included television roles and voice acting. Reynolds continued working in the entertainment industry until shortly before he died in 2018, leaving behind a legacy as one of Hollywood's most enduring stars.

Early Life

He was born Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr. on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan. He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship. While at FSU, his roommate for a time was future college coach and ESPN analyst Lee Corso. Burt hoped to be named an All-American, but a car accident caused a knee injury that permanently sidelined his athletic aspirations. For a time, he considered becoming a police officer. While taking some extra classes at a junior college, an English teacher encouraged Burt to audition for a play called "Outward Bound". Burt landed the lead role and eventually won the Florida State Drama Award for the performance.

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Career

After his college football career was derailed by injury, Burt Reynolds shifted his focus to acting. He moved to New York City in the late 1950s, where he studied at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse and began performing in stage productions. His rugged looks and natural charisma helped him land early television roles throughout the 1960s, including appearances on series like "Gunsmoke," "Riverboat," "Hawk," and "Dan August." Though these roles earned him steady work and modest fame, his true breakout wouldn't come until the next decade.

In 1972, Reynolds starred in the survival thriller "Deliverance." His performance as Lewis Medlock, a tough, wilderness-savvy outdoorsman, earned him widespread critical acclaim and firmly established him as a serious dramatic actor. That same year, he posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine in a now-iconic centerfold, further cementing his status as a sex symbol and household name.

Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Reynolds became one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. He headlined a string of box office hits, including "The Longest Yard" (1974), "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), "Hooper" (1978), "The Cannonball Run" (1981), and their respective sequels. From 1978 to 1982, he was the number one box office draw in the world for five consecutive years—a streak no other actor has matched since.

Reynolds often played charming, rebellious everyman characters in action comedies, blending swagger with vulnerability in a way few could match. He was also a capable director, helming several of his own films, including "Gator" (1976), "The End" (1978), and "Sharky's Machine" (1981). However, his career choices weren't always successful. He famously turned down major roles in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Terms of Endearment," and "Die Hard," decisions he later regretted.

By the late 1980s, Reynolds' career began to stall. A string of commercial failures, including "Rent-a-Cop" and "Cop and a Half," coupled with highly publicized personal troubles, led to a decline in both reputation and box office clout. In 1990, he attempted a small-screen comeback with the CBS sitcom "Evening Shade," for which he won a Golden Globe Award in 1992. The show ran for four seasons but was ultimately canceled before reaching syndication—a financial blow to Reynolds, who had borrowed millions from CBS with the expectation of syndication profits.

Then in 1997, Reynolds staged an unexpected comeback with his performance as porn director Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights." The role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a renewed sense of critical respect. Ironically, Reynolds disliked the film, reportedly clashing with Anderson during production and later firing his agent for encouraging him to take the role.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Reynolds continued to act, appearing in films like "Without a Paddle," "The Dukes of Hazzard," and "The Last Movie Star," a semi-autobiographical indie project that reflected on the arc of his life and career. He also had recurring television roles, including a part on the spy drama "Burn Notice."

Despite never quite recapturing the mega-stardom of his prime, Burt Reynolds remained a fixture in pop culture and an enduring icon of 1970s Hollywood. He worked in film and television right up until his death in 2018 at the age of 82.

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Financial Problems

By his own estimation, at the peak of his career, Burt's net worth topped $60 million. That's $60 million after taxes in the 1980s. That's the same as around $150 million today after adjusting for inflation. Burt bought several mansions in Beverly Hills, built a massive estate in Florida, and bought a 160-acre ranch, also in Florida. He kept a stable of 150 horses at the ranch. He also bought a mansion in Georgia, a private jet, and a helicopter. When he married Loni Anderson in 1988, he bought a new Beverly Hills mansion. In his prenup to the marriage, Burt listed his net worth at $15 million. So where did all the money go?

In the 1980s, Burt's business manager convinced him to invest in a chain of family-style country restaurants called "Po' Folks".  Burt and a partner bought 30 franchises, and Burt guaranteed the leases personally. As it turned out, Burt and his partner were sold somewhat of a lemon. The parent company was a disaster, and customers hated the food. Burt and his partner hired a consultant to help them sell the restaurants, but somehow this "expert" actually convinced the two to invest in ANOTHER (different) chain of restaurants. Burt would later concede that this move took what could have been a $5-6 million write-off and turned it into a $20-30 million loss for both men.

In 1990, Reynolds was so low on cash that he needed to borrow $4 million from CBS to help finance his lifestyle. He simultaneously agreed to star in the CBS show "Evening Shade" and assumed he would pay back the debt once the show was sold into syndication. When the show was canceled after four seasons, one season shy of earning syndication fees, Burt was left owing $3.7 million to the network.

In 1996, CBS sued him over the $3.7 million debt. This lawsuit forced Burt to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. His assets at the time totaled $6.65 million, and his debts $11.2 million. Some of the details from his bankruptcy were rather embarrassing. For example, Burt owed $121,000 to his toupee maker.

In November 2014, many news outlets reported that Burt was again experiencing severe financial problems. He was allegedly forced to sell off many of his prized possessions and movie memorabilia in order to satisfy nearly $10 million worth of debt. He was also reportedly facing foreclosure on his Florida home after failing to pay $1.2 million worth of his mortgage payments. Burt denied reports that he was broke and claimed that he was selling memorabilia because he no longer had any use for it and was sick of seeing his face everywhere.

Personal Life

Burt Reynolds' personal life was nearly as eventful as his onscreen career. He was married twice and linked to several high-profile actresses over the years. His first marriage was to British actress Judy Carne, best known for her work on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." They married in 1963 and divorced just two years later in 1965.

His most famous and tumultuous relationship was with actress Loni Anderson. The pair began dating in the early 1980s and co-starred in the 1983 film "Stroker Ace." They married in 1988 in what was widely covered as a glamorous Hollywood union. That image quickly soured. Their marriage lasted five years and ended in a bitter, headline-grabbing divorce in 1993. Reynolds publicly accused Anderson of infidelity, while Anderson later cited emotional abuse. The settlement reportedly included a lump sum payment of $234,794.13, monthly spousal support of $15,000, and continued mortgage payments on their $2 million Beverly Hills mansion.

Reynolds and Anderson adopted a son, Quinton, in 1988, and though the divorce was contentious, Reynolds remained involved in his son's life.

Reynolds also had a high-profile relationship with actress Sally Field, whom he dated on and off for several years. He often described Field as the love of his life and later said losing her was one of his greatest regrets. In 2015, he wrote in his memoir, "But Enough About Me,""I miss her terribly. Even now, it's hard for me to understand how I could let her go."

Burt never remarried after divorcing Anderson. In his final years, he focused on acting, mentoring young performers, and attempting to manage lingering financial issues. He died of a heart attack on September 6, 2018, at the age of 82.

Real Estate

At the peak of his fame and fortune, Burt Reynolds amassed an impressive and extravagant real estate portfolio that reflected his status as one of the biggest stars in the world. He owned multiple properties across the country, many of which became symbols of his success—and later, his financial downfall.

In Beverly Hills, Reynolds owned several homes over the years, including a $2 million mansion he purchased specifically to share with Loni Anderson after their 1988 marriage. As part of their divorce settlement, Burt was required to continue making the mortgage payments on the property, even after they split.

In Florida, he built one of his most iconic residences: a sprawling 3.4-acre waterfront compound in Hobe Sound, which he nicknamed Valhalla. Reynolds bought the estate in 1980 for $700,000. The 12,500-square-foot property featured five bedrooms, a private screening room, a helicopter pad, a yacht dock, and a two-bedroom guest house. It also came with decades' worth of personal memorabilia. For a time, Valhalla served as both a sanctuary and a symbol of his lavish lifestyle. However, the property eventually fell into foreclosure after Reynolds fell behind on his mortgage. In 2015, it was sold for just $3.3 million, a fraction of its previous asking price of $15 million. The buyer, longtime friend and neighbor Charles Modica, allowed Reynolds to continue living there for a nominal rent until his death in 2018.

Elsewhere in Florida, Reynolds owned a 160-acre ranch, where he kept 150 horses. He also owned a mansion in Georgia, a cabin in North Carolina, and a lakeside retreat in Arkansas, near where he filmed the series "Evening Shade." He even maintained a private jet and a helicopter for travel between his homes.

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