Yahoo Lifestyle Did Mel Gibson's Net Worth Take a Hit After His Controversial Statements?
Mel Gibson was, at one time, among the most celebrated action stars in the film industry. He played main roles in some of the biggest blockbusters from the 1980s to 2000s—including the original Mad Max movies—and won accolades for directing and producing, too.
Gibson’s career took a noticeable hit in the mid-2000s when, while being arrested for driving under the influence, he made a number of anti-Semitic remarks. The incident was compounded by leaked tapes in 2010 in which Gibson made racist remarks and screamed at his then-partner, Oksana Grigorieva. Grigorieva also accused him of physical abuse.
While his reputation never fully recovered, he’s gone back to working in movies and making millions. His directorial comeback, 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, nabbed two Oscars. He’s also been named by President Donald Trump as a “special ambassador” to Hollywood.
“[Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone] will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”
Gibson, for his part, told Variety his “duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can” to President Trump. Not only is Gibson's career flourishing again, but so is his bank account. His latest directorial feature Flight Risk is in theaters this weekend.
Here’s a look at Mel Gibson’s rise to fame, the money he’s made over the years, his current net worth—and how much his various controversies may have cost him.
How did Mel Gibson get his start?
Though he was born in New York, at the age of 12, Gibson’s family moved to Sydney, Australia, where he attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art. It was there he began his film career, first acting in 1977’s Summer City and 1979’s Mad Max.
While that name might mean something now, at the time it was a fairly low-budget Australian film that wasn’t released in the U.S. until the following year. Gibson went on to act in Australian movies, including Tim (1979) and Gallipoli (1981), both of which he won awards for.
It was Mad Max 2 (1981) that turned Gibson into a star. The movie was renamed and released in the U.S. as The Road Warrior in 1982 and was a box-office hit, significantly outperforming the first Mad Max. After rounding out the series with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Gibson was cast in the American action movie Lethal Weapon (1987) and went on to have a long career in the genre.
What is Mel Gibson’s net worth?
Despite the sour turn his career took in the mid-2000s, Mel Gibson is still one of the richest actors in Hollywood. He has an estimated net worth of $425 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
How much did Mel Gibson make for Mad Max?
Gibson’s role in the 1979 dystopian film Mad Max was one of his first, so it’s not surprising he didn’t make much from it. According to multiple sources, he made between $9,000 and $15,000 for his work in the movie—an incredibly low sum even by 1979 standards.
How much did Mel Gibson make for Braveheart?
Braveheart (1995) was one of the first movies Gibson directed. He also produced and starred in it, and aside from being hugely commercially successful, the film won two Academy Awards (Best Picture and Best Director).
Unfortunately, Gibson’s salary for Braveheart is not public knowledge, but the film did earn over $213 million worldwide on a much smaller budget. Since Gibson served as an actor, director and producer on the project, and likely earned money on the backend, his payday was likely in the eight-figure range.
How much did Mel Gibson make for What Women Want?
While he made a name for himself as an action star, Gibson dabbled in other genres, including the rom-com What Women Want (2000). The film had a budget of $70 million and made about $374 million worldwide, establishing itself as another Gibson box-office hit.
A few sources, including HuffPost and Entertainment Weekly, reported that Gibson earned $25 million for his starring role—about 36% of the movie’s total budget.
Related: Mel Gibson Shares Surprising Response to Learning His Home Is ‘in Cinders’
How much did Mel Gibson make for Signs?
The 2002 sci-fi thriller Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is among Gibson’s highest-paid roles. For playing Rev. Graham Hess, Gibson pulled in a salary of $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
He made the same amount—$25 million—for his work in The Patriot (2000) and We Were Soldiers (2002).
How much did Mel Gibson make for Hacksaw Ridge?
Gibson made his infamous directorial comeback with the war film Hacksaw Ridge in 2016. Although he didn’t star in it, he did make a cameo, and made do with a fairly modest budget of $40 million. (Modest by today’s blockbuster standards, of course.) The film won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
Gibson’s salary for Hacksaw is unknown. It pulled in $180 million worldwide— with the majority of revenue coming from outside the U.S.—so it was both a commercial and critical success.
How much did Mel Gibson make for The Passion of the Christ?
It's likely that much of Gibson's current net worth comes from his 2004 religious hit The Passion of the Christ. After years of trying to find a studio to fund the project, he eventually invested $30 million of his own money into producing the film. However, Gibson's investment paid off thanks to his earning 50% of the profits off the blockbuster. If you include merchandise, it's likely that Gibson earned over $400 million over that project alone.
How much money did Mel Gibson lose after being blacklisted from Hollywood?
It’s not entirely accurate to say Gibson was blacklisted from Hollywood, given his bounce-back in recent years. In fact, aside from a gap in his resume from about 2004 to 2010, he’s been as busy as ever; with acting parts in seven movies in 2022, two in 2023 and two in 2024. He also directed the 2025 film Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg.
With that said, it’s hard to estimate exactly how much Gibson financially suffered from his various controversies. He did have that six-year dry spell in the 2000s, and from what we know about his work in the early 2000s, he was pulling in as much as $25 million for a single movie at the time.
So it’s possible that his anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic remarks, among other actions, cost him over $100 million. In the grand scheme of things, though, for a man worth $425 million, it’s a blow he’s recovered from—and then some.
Related: Mel Gibson Issues Bold Response to His Newly Appointed Role in Politics
