Danny Trejo Net Worth

What is Danny Trejo's Net Worth and Salary?

Danny Trejo is an American film and television actor who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Danny Trejo is known appearing in numerous films in which he often plays characters who are often hyper-masculine, villainous anti-heroes. He is known for starring in movies like "Desperado," "Heat," the "From Dusk Till Dawn" franchise, "Con Air," "Reindeer Games" and "Grindhouse." Outside of his television and film career, Danny is also an entrepreneur. He owns a record label, a chain of coffee & donut shops and, most notably, a restaurant chain called Trejo's Tacos which has five locations around Los Angeles.

Bankruptcy

In February 2023, Danny Trejo filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy. The filing came after Danny accumulated around $2 million worth of IRS debt. According to an interview he gave with TMZ on the day of the filing, the debt was mostly related to mistaken deductions. Trejo and the IRS reportedly reached an agreement on a payment plan that would have him make four payments of $200,000 per year until early 2028 to pay off his debt. However, recent strikes from writers and actors have thrown a wrench in Danny's plans, and he may have to sell off one of his houses.

Early Life

Danny Trejo was born in Echo Park, Los Angeles, on May 16, 1944, to Alice Rivera and Dionisio "Dan" Trejo. At one point when Danny was still a toddler the family fled to San Antonio, Texas after Danny's father was accused of stabbing a man. After a year living on the run in Texas, the family returned to LA and his father surrendered to police. When he was thirteen year old, the family moved to the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Throughout the 1960s, Trejo was in and out of jail and prison in California. He had already developed a drug and crime habit by the time he was 12. He was arrested for the first time at the age of 10 and was sentenced to a juvenile center.

While serving out a sentence in San Quentin, Trejo took up boxing. He eventually became a champion boxer in the prison's lightweight and welterweight divisions. It was also during this time that he joined a 12-step program that helped him overcome his drug addiction. After his final release from incarceration, he enrolled as a student at Pitzer College in Claremore, California, but left after only one semester.

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Career Beginnings

At a Cocaine Anonymous meeting in 1985, Trejo met a young man who later called him for support. Trejo ended up meeting him at what was the set of "Runaway Train" (1985), and he was offered a role as a convict extra, likely because of his tough appearance. While on set, Trejo was recognized by Edward Bunker, a well-respected crime author who was also the screenplay writer for "Runaway Train". Bunker had also previously served time in San Quentin, which is how he recognized Trejo, and remembered Trejo's boxing skills. Bunker offered Trejo $320 per day to train one of the movie's stars, Eric Roberts, for a boxing scene they had to film. The film's director, Andrei Konchalovsky, was impressed by Trejo's work, and offered him a small role as a boxer.

Acting Career

Trejo is known for his distinctive appearance, which includes facial scars, long hair, a mustache, and lots of tattoos. Since "Runaway Train", Trejo has enjoyed a highly prolific acting career. At times, he has appeared in five or more movies per year, across a variety of genres. Some of the major releases he has appeared in include "Marked for Death" (1990), "Desperado" (1995), "From Dusk till Dawn" (1995), "The Replacement Killers" (1998), "Animal Factory" (2000), "Bubble Boy" (2001), "Spy Kids" (2001), "XXX" (2002), "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004), "Grindhouse" (2007), "Urban Justice" (2007), "Modus Operandi" (2010), "Machete" (2010), "Reaper" (2014), and "Range 15" (2016). Additionally, his own life is documented in the 2005 independent biographical film "Champion". Trejo produced his first film, "Ambition", in 2014, followed by the film "Bad Asses" that same year.

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In addition to his film career, Trejo has appearance in over seventy different television shows since 1990. Some of the most well-known of these shows include "Baywatch" (1991-1992), "NYPD Blue" (1996-1998), "The X-Files" (2000), "King of the Hill" (2003-2010), "Monk" (2004), "Desperate Housewives" (2005), "The Young and the Restless" (2008), "Breaking Bad" (2009-2010), "Modern Family" (2010), "Bones" (2011), "Sons of Anarchy" (2011-2012), "NCIS: Los Angeles" (2014), "Rick and Morty" (2017), "American Dad!" (2017-2019), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2017), "Blue Bloods" (2019), and "Dynasty" (2020). In 2021, Danny portrayed the Ghost of Huet in the Disney+ Halloween special "Muppets Haunted Mansion, and in 2022 made his Star Wars debut in the Disney+ series "The Book of Boba Fett" as Rancor.

Although in both film and television Trejo is often typecast as a rugged, thuggish character, he has also appeared in more sympathetic roles, for example in "Spy Kids", "Bubble Boy", and "Monk". His appearance in in season 2 of "Desperate Housewives" is also a good example of him as a more sympathetic character; he helps Gabrielle deal with the grief of losing her unborn child.

Trejo also has an extensive list of music video cameo appearances. Just a few examples include the videos for the songs "Got It Twisted" (2004) by Mobb Deep, "Double Blade" (2003) by Jay Chou, "Loco" (2013) by Enrique Iglesias, "Angel in Blue Jeans" (2014) by Train, and "Repentless" (2015) by Slayer.

Other Ventures

Danny Trejo has lent his voice to the video games "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" (2002), "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" (2006), and "Fallout: New Vegas" (2010). He has also appeared himself in the "Call of Duty: Black Ops" (2010), "Taco Run!" (2018), and "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (2019). He participated in promotions in 2019 for "Magic: The Gathering Arena" and made guest appearances in the DLC expansion "Far Cry 6: Danny and Dani vs. Everybody" (2021), "Olli Olli World" (2022), and the "SCUM: Danny Trejo Character Pack" (2022).

Trejo is also a successful restauranteur. The first restaurant that he opened was Trejo's Tacos in 2016, followed by Trejo's Cantina and Trejo's Coffee & Donuts in 2017. The restaurants are overseen by executive chef Mason Royal.

Personal Life

Danny has been married and divorced four times. Danny Trejo was married to Debbie Shreve from 1997 to 2009. They share three children together.

Danny is the second cousin of filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, a relationship the two did not discover until the filming of the movie "Desperado."

Real Estate

Danny Trejo owns several homes in the LA area.

In June 1999, he paid $130,000 for a home in the LA suburb of Pico Rivera. A relative appears to occupy this home today.

His primary residence since 2012 is a home in Mission Hills, California, which he purchased in 2012 for $550,000. Today, this home is worth $1.2 million and has been a focal point in his bankruptcy battle. Trejo also inherited a Pacoima property from his mother worth $750,000 that he may have to sell off in order to make payments to the IRS.