As one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, Matt Damon’s net worth is something to envy. So let’s find out how much his net worth is.
Award-winning actor Matthew Paige Damon, widely known as Matt Damon, is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. The actor started his acting journey back in 1988, starring in his first professional film, “Mystic Pizza” when he was just 18 years old. However, over two decades later, Damon’s growth in the entertainment industry is highly commendable.
Damon, born on October 8, 1970, to father Kent Damon and mother Nancy Paige, grew up struggling with loneliness. He was only two years old when his parents divorced, and he spent his early childhood with his elder brother, Kyle, and their mother. As a result, Damon experienced difficulty associating with his peers and knowing what he wanted out of his life.
However, that all changed when he came across a boy Ben Affleck who lived two blocks down the road in Cambridge, where he lived with his brother and single mum. Their friendship helped Damon overcome some of his difficulties. Affleck also introduced him to acting, later turning them into superstars.
The duo became prominent in 1997 after starring in “Good Will Hunting,” winning an original play Oscar Award together the same year. Since then, Damon has not looked back he keeps starring in various TV movies, series, and drama thrillers.
His projects range from the 1997 hit movie “RainMaker,” “Saving Private Ryan” in 1998, “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” in 1999 to his appearance in the “Jason Bourne” sequels. The film remains one of his most box office successes. The actor is currently married to his wife Luciana Barroso.
Matt Damon’s Net Worth
Besides being one of the most talented actors of his generation, Damon is also a writer, producer, and philanthropist. The actor made most of his fortunes from his movie appearances, with the “Ocean’s” trilogy and the “Bourne” series contributing a large chunk. Damon made a total of $87 million as a collective amount for all the “Bourne” sequels.
As a producer, Damon and his friends Ben Affleck and Chris Moore founded a production company called LivePlanet. There, they produce their reality series titled “Project Greenlight,” which aims to give upcoming filmmakers the avenue to create their film projects.
Away from his entertainment prowess, Philanthropy is another thing that stands out for Matt. The actor is a passionate philanthropist who supports about 37 charitable organizations to alleviate poor living.
His non-profit organization, ONEXONE, is set up to improve the livelihood of children in North America. Meanwhile, he’s also the founder of the H2O Africa Foundation, co-founder of the Not-on-our-watch Project to prevent genocide, and a spokesperson for Feeding America. Damon has enjoyed massive success in his career, and as of September 2022, per Celebrity Net Worth, Matt Damon’s current net worth is $170 million.
He and Ben Affleck Are Longtime Friends
Since they met as kids, Damon and Affleck’s friendship has lasted for the entirety of their lives. The duo has remained faithful to each other in the entertainment industry, where relationships hardly last and alliances constantly shift.
One factor that has helped immensely is their shared love for acting. Speaking aout their friendship, Affleck disclosed that he introduced Damon to acting and was surprised he bought the idea, visioned it, and grew to love it too! He said:
“Before Matt, I was by myself. Acting was a solo activity where I’d just go off and do something, act in a little TV show or something, and no one understood it. None of the other kids knew what I was doing, how it worked, or anything. Suddenly, I had this friend, Matt, who gets it, wants to do it, thinks it’s interesting- and wants to talk about it. Soon both of us are doing it.”
Meanwhile, during an interview with ‘Conan’ in 2019, Damon said Affleck defending him during a fight with a senior in high school sealed their ‘brotherhood bond.’ For over 40 years, they remained an essential part of each other’s lives, and we hope it continues.
He Almost Died While Filming “Courage Under Fire.”
We have always heard about how actors undergo lengthy preparations while trying to play a movie role. However, Damon took his preparation for a character role in 1996 too seriously, and it almost cost him his life.
For his role in the 1996 movie “Courage Under Fire,” Damon underwent severe personal sacrifices, which ultimately caused him a crucial health crisis. Although certain efforts aid getting a role as an actor, Damon’s sacrifice was ‘excessive and challenging,’ as he later declared.
Not only was he on an unhealthy diet, but he would also run 13 miles a day until he lost 61kg altogether before the film started shooting. During an interview, Damon shared:
“I didn’t have to act at all – I was a wreck. I was getting dizzy spells and hot flashes. I didn’t say anything to anyone for a while because I was afraid I might be ill. I went too far. I got sick and wouldn’t do that again because it was simply too much. At the same time, it helped the performance.”
The actor went through an unsupervised diet he made himself, which could have killed him to look much thin for the role. Due to the drastic reduction in his weight and size within a short time frame, he risked permanent shrinkage of his heart and had to get medications to boost his suprarenal glands.