‘Yellowstone’ has made Kevin Costner one of the highest paid actors on television. This is how he earns and spends his millions.

Kevin Costner has graced movie screens for over 40 years.

Costner began his professional acting career in the early 1980s, and while he was famous for being cut from one of his early movies, “The Big Chill,” it wasn’t long before the actor became a household name. Known for his roles in “Silverado,” “The Untouchables,” “Bill Durham,” and “Field of Dreams.”

AccordingForbesIn 1991, after his directorial debut, “Dances in Wolves,” which took home Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, the actor earned $50 million.

In the years that followed, Costner took on roles in such blockbusters as “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “JFK,” and “The Bodyguard,” all of which would have rewarded the Oscar-winning actor handsomely. .

In recent years, the actor has starred in movies like “Hidden Figures,” “Molly’s Game,” and “Man of Steel.”

 

Costner is raking in more than $1.3 million per episode of “Yellowstone.”

Costner only has a handful of TV credits to his name, so it’s no surprise that the actor was paid quite a bit when he agreed to star in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western drama “yellow stone.”

ByDiskWhen the Paramount Network series began in 2018, Costner signed a contract that netted him $500,000 per episode.

Fortunately for him, he was able to renegotiate his contract after the show became a hit because he had only signed a one-season deal.

As “Yellowstone” grew and became thethe biggest cable showso did Costner’s paychecks.

Now, the series, which is already halfway through its fifth season, has made the actor the highest-paid actor on television since, according to Variety,he is winning$1.3 million per episode. Most seasons have been 10 episodes, although the fifth season (if ever complete) will be 14.

Although it has been confirmed that the show will end with its current season,Disk reported in February, amid news of a behind-the-scenes dispute between the actor and the show’s co-creator Taylor Sheridan, that Costner was looking to increase his salary to $1.5 million for a potential sixth season.

For over 15 years, the star has been recording and performing as part of his band, Kevin Costner & Modern West.

The actor founded the nine-piece country rock band in 2007 and has embarked on several tours, the latest of which was in 2021. They are alsowhat can be reservedfor corporate events, private parties and weddings for an undisclosed fee.

The band has released five studio albums, “Untold Truths” which was released in 2008, “Turn It On” in 2010, and “From Where I Stand” which came out the following year in 2011. The last two albums have been linked to Costner’s roles in “Hatfields & McCoys” and “Yellowstone.”

In the mid-1990s, Costner launched an environmental cleanup company that earned him a huge salary in 2010.

In 1995, the “Field of Dreams” star began developing oil-water separation technology through a company called Costner at Nevada Corporation.

As a result of theDeepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Costner commercialized his device and landed a $52 million contract with BP, who lent 32 of his centrifugal oil and water separators.

Costner previously owned a casino and restaurant in South Dakota, but it closed in 2017.

Costner opened the Midnight Star Casino and Restaurant in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1991 due to his “deep love for deadwood and Black Hills of South Dakota and their historical significance in our country’s history”.

He had discovered the area while scouting locations for “Dances With Wolves”.

At the time, gambling had recently been legalized in Deadwood.

However, casino.orgHe pointed out that at the time the venue was closed, gambling was down 3.5%, meaning it might not be generating enough revenue. eventually sold to a buyerin 2020.

In 2020, Costner invested an unknown amount of capital in a new audio entertainment travel app.

The actor is credited as an investor, co-founder and podcast host for Autonomousan immersive storytelling and audio entertainment road trip app, which first launched under the name HearHere in 2020.

The company raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by outdoor and recreational vehicle retailer Camping World in 2022, according toTechCrunch.

When Costner co-founder Woody Sears appeared on an episode of “Shark Tank” in 2023, asking for $1 million in exchange for 5% of the company’s shares, hehe told the sharksthat the app had more than 500,000 active users and had generated $200,000 in gross revenue in 2021 and more than $700,000 in 2022.

Costner has also used his money to endorse many of the Hollywood movies he’s starred in.

For the 1990 epic western “Dances with Wolves,” which he directed, produced and starred in, Costner used $3 million of his own money.

It turned out to be a wise investment as the movie, which had a budget of $22 million, ended up becoming a huge hit, winning two Academy Awards and taking home $184 million at theunited states box officeand $424 million in total worldwide.

In 2014, it also providedthe whole budget—$9 million—for “Black or White,” a drama that also starred Octavia Spencer, Bill Burr and Anthony Mackie. The film more than doubled its investment, remodeling$21.5 million.

However, the star hasn’t always backed winners. Hereportedlycontributed to the 1997 post-apocalyptic action film “The Postman,” which was a notable flop at the box office,returning only $20.8 millionwith a budget of more than $85 million.

Costner’s 1994 divorce from his first wife reportedly resulted in an $80 million settlement.

When the “Bodyguard” actor split from his college sweetheart-turned-first-wife Cindy Silva in 1994, it was during his peak-earning years, resulting in one of the most expensive celebrity divorces of all time. .

AccordingForbesSilva, with whom Costner shares three children, received $80 million, a substantial part of his net worth.

HeLos Angeles Timesreported in May that Costner is nowget divorced for the second timeafter Christine Baumgartner filed to dissolve her marriage of 18 years. It is not known how much it will cost the actor.

Costner has an impressive portfolio of properties. He has a $145 million home in Santa Barbara and a ranch in Colorado that he rents out for $36,000 a night.

Costner and his family’s primary residence is in Ventura, California, which is worth an estimated $145 million, according to online mail.

Costner also owns a modest 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house on the same street, which he bought for $28.5 million in 2006 (it was on the market for$60 millionin 2017).

The most impressive of the Costner homes, however, is located near downtown Aspen, Colorado.

Known as Dunbar Ranch, named after his character from “Dances With Wolves,” the 160-acre property features 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms in its main house, while there are more rooms in its lake house and a river house.

It also features a baseball field, sledding hill, private ice rink, tubing rink, and facilities for horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, and fishing.

Costner purchased the land on which the property is located to$30 million in 2000 and these days, he rents it out for $36,000 a night, according to a listing on Aspen Resort Luxury Rentals.