Steve Martin Net Worth

What is Steve Martin's Net Worth and Salary?

Steve Martin is an American comedian, actor, writer, and musician who has a net worth of $140 million. As you'll see in the paragraphs below, outside of his significant acting paychecks, Steve Martin owns an art collection that is worth at least $50 million and real estate in California that is worth a combined $30+ million.

Steve Martin has been cracking people up with his brand of intelligent humor since the late 1960s. He won his first Emmy at the age of 23 as a writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."  From there, he went on to write for "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" and "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour," among other programs. He moved out from behind the camera in 1969 and thus began a long and very successful career as a performer. His early years were a little rough, but by the mid-70s, he'd hit his stride. Frequent appearances performing stand-up on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (he appeared 56 times between 1972 and 1992), "The Gong Show," and "Saturday Night Live," made him a household name.  His comedy albums were also immensely popular and earned him multiple Grammys.

By the late 70s, his stand-up performances were filling arenas, so it seemed only logical to shift his focus to feature film work. Film had always been his first love, and the first short film he wrote and appeared in, "Live Action," was subsequently nominated for an Oscar. Since then, he has gone on to appear in such popular projects as "The Jerk," "Pennies from Heaven," "All of Me," "Roxanne," "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Parenthood," "Father of the Bride," "Leap of Faith," "Shopgirl," and "The Pink Panther" reboot.  He has also released eleven studio albums, some comedy, and some music. An accomplished bluegrass musician, he has had three albums reach #1 on the US Bluegrass charts and has won two Grammy Awards for his music projects, in addition to his comedy albums. He's also a prolific writer and has published numerous scripts, novels, and children's books.

$50 million+ Art Collection

Steve Martin is a renowned art collector. For decades, not much was known of the collection. There had been rumblings that Martin was an astute collector, but for many years, only his close friends knew the full extent. From what little we do know today, Steve Martin's art collection is worth $50 – $100 million.

Martin made his first significant purchase in the late 1960s. That first purchase was a painting by Los Angeles-based artist Ed Ruscha. He soon added a piece by 19th-century American artist James Gale Tyler. By the late 1980s, he was picking up pieces at prices in the single-digit millions. For example, in 1987, he paid $2.3 million for a 1927 work titled "Captain Upton's House" by Edward Hopper. He still owns this piece today, and it is likely worth $20-30 million. Interestingly, the seller in this example was actually the Internal Revenue Service, which had repossessed a collection by convicted and imprisoned income tax evader Andrew Crispo.

By the 1990s, with his film paychecks exploding, Steve began to make bigger purchases. In 1999, he paid $10 million for Edward Hopper's "Hotel Window." The seller was Forbes Magazine heir Malcolm Forbes. Forbes purchased the painting at the same 1987 IRS/Andrew Crispo auction for $1.3 million. Steve Martin sold this painting in 2006 for $27 million, a price that broke the record for a Hopper sale by more than 10x.

Today, Steve Martin's art collection reportedly features a mix of modern and contemporary pieces, with works by renowned artists like:

• Edward Hopper
• Pablo Picasso
• Roy Lichtenstein
• Willem de Kooning
• David Hockney
• Georges Seurat
• Francis Bacon
• Lucian Freud

He also has an appreciation for contemporary American artists like Eric Fischl and Cindy Sherman. In 2001, 28 items from his art collection were displayed as part of an exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.

Real Estate

In January 1995, Steve paid $3.175 million for a home in Beverly Hills. The 7,000-square-foot home was built in 1939 and features multiple structures surrounding a large lawn with a pool and outdoor entertaining area. In 1997, Steve paid $995,000 for the 1.1-acre property next door, which featured a 4-bedroom home. In 2019, he sold the neighboring parcel for $2.22 million. Today, his main property is worth at least $10 million.

Villa Au Soleil St. Barts

Perched in the hills of St. Barts, overlooking the Caribbean, the stunning 180-degree view of the surrounding landscape is one of the reasons Mr. Martin purchased the home in 2008. St. Barts is known for being one of the more private Caribbean islands, and it has become a favorite of paparazzi-averse celebrities everywhere. Consequently, they have rented the home to a host of other luminaries when they are not there. The house has four bedrooms and an open-plan living room space. There is also a formal dining room. It features floor-to-ceiling windows, multiple skylights, and bright colors. There is an infinity pool, a sun deck, multiple terraces, and a private garden. Steve put the villa on the market for $11 million in 2013 and sold it for an undisclosed sum in 2015.

Montecito "Mud House" Mansion

At some point in the early 2000s, Steve paid an undisclosed amount for an architecturally significant estate in Montecito, California. Set on nearly 6 acres and known as "The Mud House," it was designed and built in the 1970s by architect Richard Coate, Jr. The home is made entirely of poured concrete and today is considered one of the world's most important examples of Modernist concrete architecture, also known as Brutalism.

There's a 30-minute documentary from 1974 about the construction of the "Mud House":

The home's 7,400 square feet of living space is partially underground and contains three bedrooms and four bathrooms. The guest house has an additional two bedrooms and one bathroom. Steve listed the home for sale in 2015 for a bit under $11 million but ultimately did not find a buyer. Today, the home is likely worth closer to $20 million, based on similar nearby comparable sales of homes that have no architectural significance.

 

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Early Life

Steve Martin was born Stephen Glenn Martin on August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas. He grew up with his mother, Mary, father, Glenn (a real estate salesman), and sister, Melinda, in Inglewood and Garden Grove, California. Steve attended Garden Grove High School, where he was on the cheerleading squad, and he had a job selling guidebooks at Disneyland from 1955 to 1958. He enjoyed spending time at Disneyland's Main Street Magic Shop and began working at Fantasyland's magic shop in 1960. At the age of 18, Martin began performing music, magic, and comedy at Knott's Berry Farm. After graduating from high school, he took drama and poetry courses at Santa Ana College before transferring to UCLA to study theater in 1967. While attending college, Steve performed at local clubs, and he dropped out of UCLA when he was 21.

Stand-Up Comedy Career

Steve Martin's path into comedy began behind the scenes. In 1967, his former girlfriend Nina Goldblatt submitted some of his material to Mason Williams, the head writer of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Impressed by his originality, Williams hired Martin as a writer. His contributions helped the staff earn an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety, or Music in 1969. Martin also made his first on-screen appearance on the program in 1968, showcasing his quirky stage presence. He later wrote and performed for "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" from 1971 to 1973, sharpening the offbeat humor that would become his trademark.

By the mid-1970s, Martin was no longer just a writer but a breakout performer, making frequent appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "The Gong Show," "The Muppet Show," and especially "Saturday Night Live," where his absurd sketches and wild characters made him one of the show's most popular recurring hosts. He built a massive following with his stand-up tours and comedy albums. "Let's Get Small" (1977) and "A Wild and Crazy Guy" (1978) both went platinum and earned him two Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording. The latter album featured the novelty hit "King Tut," which reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over a million copies. He followed with "Comedy Isn't Pretty" (1979) and "The Steve Martin Brothers" (1981). By the early 1980s, Martin was selling out arenas, one of the first comedians to ever do so, before retiring from stand-up at the peak of his fame to focus on acting and writing.

Acting Career

Martin transitioned seamlessly from stand-up to film. In 1977, he wrote and starred in the short "The Absent-Minded Waiter," which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Just two years later, he headlined his first feature, "The Jerk" (1979), co-written with Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias. The film was a runaway success, grossing $100 million worldwide, and instantly established Martin as a major comedy star.

Throughout the 1980s, he delivered a string of hit films that solidified his reputation, including "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (1982), "The Man with Two Brains" (1983), "All of Me" (1984), and "Roxanne" (1987), the latter of which earned him widespread critical acclaim and a Writers Guild Award for Best Screenplay. Other highlights from the decade include "Three Amigos" (1986), "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (1987), "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988), and "Parenthood" (1989), each of which remains a comedy classic.

In the 1990s, Martin balanced slapstick with more sophisticated roles, starring in 17 films during the decade, such as the beloved "Father of the Bride" (1991) and its sequel, "Leap of Faith" (1992), "L.A. Story" (1991), and "Bowfinger" (1999), a Hollywood satire he co-wrote. In the 2000s, Martin embraced a new generation of audiences with films like "Bringing Down the House" (2003), "Cheaper by the Dozen" (2003) and its sequel, and a rebooted "Pink Panther" franchise, while also taking on smaller projects like "Shopgirl" (2005), based on his own novella, and Nancy Meyers' hit "It's Complicated" (2009).

Martin has continued to evolve in the 21st century. In 2020, he reprised his role as George Banks in the pandemic-era reunion short "Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish)." Since 2021, he has starred as Charles-Haden Savage in the critically acclaimed Hulu series "Only Murders in the Building," alongside longtime friend Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The show has introduced him to new audiences while earning multiple Emmy nominations, cementing Martin's place as one of comedy's most versatile performers.

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Writing Career

In addition to performing, Steve Martin has built an equally distinguished career as a writer. He has published more than a dozen books, spanning plays, novels, memoirs, and humor collections. His early works include "Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays" (1996), the satirical essay collection "Pure Drivel" (1998), and the novella "Shopgirl" (2000), which he later adapted into a feature film. His memoir "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life" (2007) was praised as one of the most insightful accounts of stand-up comedy ever written.

Martin's screenwriting credits include "The Jerk," "Three Amigos," "Roxanne," "L.A. Story," and "Bowfinger," showcasing his sharp wit and range. He expanded into musical theater with "Bright Star," written with singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, which premiered on Broadway in 2016 and won multiple awards, including a Drama Desk Award and two Outer Critics Circle Awards. His comedy play "Meteor Shower," starring Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, and Laura Benanti, debuted on Broadway in 2017.

Martin has also embraced other creative outlets. In 2020, he collaborated with cartoonist Harry Bliss on "A Wealth of Pigeons," a collection of illustrated humor pieces. He followed with the 2022 memoir "Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions," and in 2023 released "So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin," an experimental audiobook co-written with Adam Gopnik. His collaborations often cross mediums, and his creative curiosity remains boundless.

Music Career

Steve Martin's love for music began in his teens, when he taught himself to play the banjo at age 17. What started as a quirky addition to his stand-up act eventually became one of his greatest artistic passions. For decades, Martin would perform comedy routines with a banjo slung over his shoulder, using music as both a punchline and a bridge between jokes. Over time, his talent as a banjo player became undeniable, earning him respect in the bluegrass community.

In 2001, Martin contributed to Earl Scruggs' updated recording of the bluegrass classic "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," alongside musicians such as Vince Gill and Albert Lee. The recording won the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance, affirming Martin's skill as more than a comedic novelty. His serious entry into music came in 2009 with his debut full-length album "The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo," which topped the Billboard Bluegrass chart and won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

That same year, Martin began touring with the acclaimed bluegrass group Steep Canyon Rangers, a collaboration that evolved into a long-term partnership. Together they recorded "Rare Bird Alert" (2011), featuring guest appearances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks, and later released "The Long-Awaited Album" (2017).

Martin also found a fruitful creative partnership with singer-songwriter Edie Brickell. Their 2013 album "Love Has Come for You" earned Martin his fifth Grammy, winning Best American Roots Song for its title track. The collaboration expanded into a second album, "So Familiar" (2015), and later blossomed into the Broadway musical "Bright Star," which combined Martin's banjo-driven melodies with Brickell's lyrical storytelling. The show premiered in 2016, earning critical acclaim, multiple awards, and a national tour.

Beyond albums and Broadway, Martin has continued to integrate music into his artistic identity, often performing live shows that blend comedy, storytelling, and virtuoso banjo playing. In 2023, he even crossed into pop music, appearing as a featured banjo player on Kelly Clarkson's single "I Hate Love." His willingness to collaborate across genres has helped bring bluegrass and roots music to wider audiences, proving that Martin's musical career is not a side note to his comedy and acting but a significant creative chapter in its own right.

Personal Life

Steve Martin's personal life has often intersected with his creative work. In 1977, he began a relationship with actress and singer Bernadette Peters, one of Broadway's brightest stars. Their four-year romance was both personal and professional—Martin wrote the role of Marie in "The Jerk" with Peters in mind, and the two co-starred in both that film and "Pennies from Heaven" (1981). Though they eventually separated, their relationship remains one of the most notable Hollywood pairings of the era.

In 1986, Martin married British actress Victoria Tennant, best known for her role in the television miniseries "The Winds of War." The couple appeared together in the 1991 film "L.A. Story," which Martin wrote and starred in. Their marriage lasted until 1994, when they divorced after eight years.

More than a decade later, Martin found lasting love with writer Anne Stringfield, a former staffer at The New Yorker. The two married in a private ceremony at Martin's Los Angeles home in July 2007, with close friend Lorne Michaels serving as best man and Tom Hanks among the guests. In December 2012, Martin and Stringfield welcomed their first child, a daughter, making Steve a father for the first time at age 67.

Awards and Honors

Over the course of his multifaceted career, Steve Martin has been recognized with some of the highest honors in comedy, film, and music. He has won five Grammy Awards, spanning comedy and music categories, reflecting his rare ability to succeed in both fields. In addition, he has received two People's Choice Awards, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and an Emmy Award in 1969 for his writing on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."

In 2004, Martin received an Honorary Academy Award recognizing his extraordinary talents and lasting impact on the motion picture industry. He has also been celebrated with numerous lifetime achievement honors, including the American Comedy Awards (2000), the Las Vegas Film Critics Society (2010), and the prestigious American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 2015.

His contributions to American culture have also been recognized with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2005 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2007. Beyond comedy and film, Martin has earned accolades in music: in 2011, the International Bluegrass Music Association named him Entertainer of the Year.

Martin's influence is also reflected in rankings and retrospectives. Comedy Central placed him at No. 6 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comics, cementing his legacy as one of the most innovative and influential performers of his generation.

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