The Golden Age of Hollywood has produced some of the most iconic, talented, and successful actors in history.
In this article, we’ll listing the net worth of the richest classic actors, who amessed a fortune during their fulfilling and rewarded careers.
Keep reading to find out much their wealth would be in today’s financial climate ? according to their net worth at the time of their death, this is what their wealth would be in 2023 numbers.
Greta Garbo – $90 million
Net Worth At The Time Of Death: $32 million.
Net Worth Adjusted To Today’s Inflation: $90 million.
At the time of her death on April 15, 1990 at age 84, Garbo had a net worth of $32 million.
Swedish-American actress Greta Garbo was an international movie star, and an icon during the 1920s and 1930s. Starring in famous films such as “Grand Hotel” and “Anna Karenina.”
Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was nominated three times for an Academy Award for best actress.
Garbo starred in both silent films and talkies, her enigmatic beauty and powerful on-screen presence made her one of the most successful and on-demand leading actresses of her time.
Her immense talent and international fame made her a huge asset to MGM studios.
By the 1930s, her immense success allowed her to dictate the terms of her contracts and her salary with MGM studios and she became increasingly selective about her roles.
Her last film was the 1941 film Two Faced Woman, she retired from acting at the age of 35 after staring in a total of 28 films.
She decided to never return to screen even declined all offers, stepped away from the public’s eye, and led a private life as an art collector.
The actress refused to reveal the reason why she decided to retire at a young age, even to her freinds. But four years before she died, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: “I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio … I really wanted to live another life.”
Audrey Hepburn – $100 million
Net Worth At The Time Of Death: $55 million.
Net Worth Adjusted To Today’s Inflation: $100 million.
The original fashionova, a hollywod legend whose grace and elegence made her an immortial icon in both the entertainment and the Fashion world.
She sparked fashion trends over the decades, and many classic films that are still remembered today, including “Roman Holiday”, “Funny Face” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
When you think of the glamor, elegence, and the immense talent that characterized the golden age of hollywood, you think of Audrey Hepburn. The icon had it all, she was a dancer( ballerina), a singer, actor, and a fashion legend.
She received dozens of award nominations, including an Oscar and two Golden Globes.
Her performance in the romantic comedy film Roman Holiday (1953) alongside Gregory Peck shot her to stardom and made her the first actress to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA Award for a single performance.
In addition to winning awards for her on-screen performances, the actress also won awards for her on stage performances, including a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance in Ondine in 1953.
She was ranked as the third greatest female screen legend from the Classical Hollywood cinema and was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.
Her last performance was in the 1990 documentary television series Gardens of the world with Audrey Hepburn when she was 61 years old, which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.
In her final years she dedicated her life to working with UNICEF, between 1988 and 1992, she worked in Africa, South America, and Asia.
She died of appendiceal cancer at her home in Switzerland, on Jannuary 20, 1993 at the age of 63.
Cary Grant – $130 million
Net Worth At The Time Of Death: $60 million.
Net Worth Adjusted To Today’s Inflation: $130 million.
named the second greatest male star of the Golden Age Of Hollywood by the American Film Institute in 1999. The hearthrob leading man died on November 29, 1986 at the age of 82.
Handsome and charismatic, the actor captivated the hearts of many woman on and off screen in films like like “An Affair to Remember” and “Bringing Up Baby”.
The British-American actor had 74 films under his belt at the time of his death, including classics like : The Philadelphia Story, North by Northwest, and Charade.
He was nominated twice for the Academy Award, and was honored with an Academy Honorary Award in 1970, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Grant became close to the famous director Alfred Hitchcock, who casted him in four films including his most rememberable, North by Northwest in 1959.
At the time of his death he had a net worth of $60 million, that fortune had nearly doubled with inflanation.
In addition to being a successful actor he was also a successful businessman who made a lot of investments throughout his career.
Even when retired from film acting in 1966 at the age of 62, he pursued other business interests, like representing cosmetics firm Fabergé and sitting on the board of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
George Randolph Scott – $220 million
Net Worth At The Time Of Death: $100 million.
Net Worth Adjusted To Today’s Inflation: $220 million.
Eventhough he appeared in a variety of genre, he was more memorable and successful for his western movies. He appeared in over 100 film, over 60 of those were Westerns.
George Randolph Scott is best known for his image as western hero, due to his incroyable physic, charistma, and good looks.
During the early 1950s, Scott was a consistent box-office draw. He rapidly became one of Hollywood’s top ten box office draws in western movies. He starred in many western classics such as ; “Go West, Young Man” and “Follow the Fleet.”
His career spanned over 40 years from 1928 to 1962. Adding to that a savvy financial investments, you’ve got a very rich actor.
Randolph Scott died on March 2, 1987 at the age of 89. At the time of his death he had a net worth of $100 million which equivalent to $220 million in today’s money.
Randolph was a very successful investor too, he had his hands on everything from real state, oil, gaz, to stocks. A skill that he devoloped while working as an accountant at his father’s firm at an early age.
Charlie Chaplin – $400 million
Net Worth At The Time Of Death: $100 million.
Net Worth Adjusted To Today’s Inflation: $400 million.
A perfectionist, a legend, an icon, a comedic genius, art revolutionist, visionary, charlie chaplin has been giving every honorably title you can think of. His fame and legacy has survived almost 12 decades and counting, even today’s youth recongnize him and even the kids still dress like him in Halloween.
An English comedian, actor, filmmaker, and composer, Chaplin rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon because of his screen persona that he created, The Tramp.
Chaplin literally run the silent film and was a household names during a career that spanned more than 75 years.
Talk about talent, the perfectionist wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films.
In addition to all of this Chaplin was also a smart businessman who collected a significant fortune during his career.
Chaplin continued working well throughout his seventies, he was re-editing and scoring his old films for re-release, along with securing their ownership and distribution rights.
The Comedic genius died in his sleep in his home in Switzerland in the early morning of Christmas Day in 1977, at the age of 88.
At the time of his death Charlie had an estimated net worth of at least a $100 million, that’s the same as around $400 million in today’s dollars.
His fortune is a testomony of his incroyable career that spanned over 75 years, creating over 80 films including Classics like “The Kid,” “The Gold Rush,” and “City Lights.”
He his the true meaning of the word international, his ability to overcome language barriers and connect with audiences from all over the world made him a universal star, and a very rich one too.