International Treasure: Inside The $25 Million Empire of Nicolas Cage
Anyone who has been around in the 1980s and '90s, there would be no contesting that Nicolas Cage was dominating the movie scene, starring beside some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as John Travolta, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Ed Harris, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, and a slew of other celebrities. Born in Long Beach, California, Cage has been acting professionally since 1981 and skyrocketed to fame and fortune with films like Moonstruck in 1987, starring Cher, Peggy Sue Got Married next to Kathleen Turner, and Valley Girl in 1983.
The Con Air star had amassed a great sum of money throughout his acting and directing career, ranging from more than $150 million with over 123 movies under his belt. But Mr. National Treasure went on an international splurging spree, which included 15 personal homes, 2 of which were castles, a $30 million jet, a garage of exotic cars, and a $7 million private island in the Bahamas, to name a few purchases. Now, at $25 million, let's see how Nicholas Cage has secured himself such a great fortune.
4 The Beginning of Greatness
There was no doubting that at the height of his career, Cage was one of Hollywood's brightest stars. He was named Nicolas Kim Coppola during his birth in 1964 but later changed it to Nicolas Cage, taken from the Marvel Comics superhero, Luke Cage. Another reason he changed his name was to avoid nepotism since he is the nephew of famed director Francis Ford Coppola, who is credited for his directorial genius in movies like The Godfather trilogy and Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. He is also the relative of actresses Talia Shire, Sofia Coppola, and Roman Coppola. To say the call of acting is coursing through his veins is an understatement! With a desire to act from an early age, he first attended The Beverly Hills High School before enrolling in the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. From there, it was on to the big leagues of Hollywood.
Admittedly, Cage accredits James Dean in the 1955 coming-of-age counterculture drama, Rebel Without a Cause, and East of Eden as the spark that ignited his flair for film and television. His film debut came in 1982 with a minor role in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, starring Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, and Jennifer Jason Leigh while grossing $27.1 million domestically. His potential was immediately recognized and he was offered continuous work moving forward into the 1980s.
The following year, he was living out his dream of acting like his idol, James Dean, and starred alongside Deborah Foreman in the 1993 romantic teen drama, Valley Girl, which grossed a cool $17.3 million against a $350,000 budget. The same year, he also starred in the drama film, Rumble Fish, directed by his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, opposite other rising actors such as Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, and Mickey Rourke. Then, in 1986, also directed by Francis Coppola, he captured the lead role beside Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married (1987), a fantasy-comedy drama that grossed $41.5 million. His most lucrative film to the end of the '80s would be the romantic comedy, Moonstruck (1987), starring the singer and actress, Cher, which grossed $122.1 million.
3 The Highs Of Stardom
Although it wasn't a box office bomb, Cage entered the 1990s primed to make his mark in Hollywood in the romantic crime comedy, Wild At Heart, starring Williem Dafoe and Laura Dern, which grossed $14.6 million. His next project was in the 1994 romantic comedy, It Could Happen To You, where he played loverboy cop Charlie Lang, beside Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez. The movies that followed helped to establish Cage as a solid actor, beginning with Leaving Las Vegas (1995) starring Elisabeth Shue.
His other popular '90s films include The Rock, a 1996 action thriller starring Sean Conery and Ed Harris which grossed $335.1 million; the popular action film, Face Off, alongside John Travolta, and Con Air starring John Cusack and Steve Buscemi, both released in 1997 and grossed $245.7 million and $224 million respectively. The '90s were really an unforgettable year for the Left Behind star as he won his first Academy Award for Best Actor following his epic role in Leaving Las Vegas. By 1998, Cage was officially made a Hollywood star and was inducted into the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
2 Further Success In The Movies
Riding the wave of success into the new millennium, Cage continued to take Hollywood by storm, starting with his role in The Family Man (2000), featuring Tea Leoni and Don Cheadle, grossing $124.7 million. In the same year, he starred in Gone In 60 Seconds alongside Angelina Jolie and Giovanni Ribisi and grossed $237 million. Then in 2004, another one of his most revered movies was released - National Treasure. Thanks to a well-blended mix of actors, namely Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, and Ed Harris, it was a box office success at $347.5 million. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Cage received $20 million for his role. The film made enough of an impact to spawn the 2007 sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which proved to be more successful, grossing $459.2 million.
His subsequent role in Lord Of War (2005) beside Jared Leto and Bridget Moynahan received critical acclaim and grossed $72.6 million at the box office. The following years would produce Ghost Rider (2007), starring Eva Mendes, and Bangkok Dangerous (2008), where he plays the role of a professional freelance contract killer in Bangkok, Thailand. To conclude the decade, he starred yet again opposite Eva Mendes in The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, which wasn't a box office success but still received generally favorable views. A few of his other impressive movie roles came in The Witcher (2011) which grossed $91.6 million; Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) starring Idris Elba; Left Behind (2014) starring Chad Michael Murray and Jordin Sparks, which grossed $27 million at the box office.
1 His Other Ventures, Productions, And Real Estate
Other than blowing millions of dollars from his lucrative acting career on poor real estate decisions, Cage also stepped out of the spotlight to direct his own movies being the camera. He made his director film debut with the 2002 crime drama, Sonny, starring James Franco. The film did not receive critical acclaim and flopped at the box office. However, he successfully co-produced the metafiction horror, Shadow of The Vampire (2000), which grossed a modest $11.2 million against an $8 million budget and starred Williem Dafoe and John Malkovich.
A die-hard comic book fan, Cage auctioned off a collection of 400 vintage comics in 2002 worth a whopping $1.6 million. As a joint venture with his son, Weston Coppola Cage, Nicolas also wrote a comic called Voodoo Child in 2007. In addition, he has also lent his voice to animation projects such as Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2018) which grossed $52.1 million on a $10 million budget, as well as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which was a massive box office success at $375.5 million internationally.
His real estate purchases over the years have definitely made headlines, the most outrageous being a 16th-century castle in southern Germany for $2.6 million, another castle for $10 million in England, and a $15.7 million countryside estate in Rhode Island, according to sources. Cage once owned over 10 properties worldwide but was seized by banks between 2007 and 2009, ultimately being labeled as his worst investment, in which he lost millions.
Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Roger Ebert, Celebrity Net Worth, CNBC
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