Steve McQueen net worth
What is Steve McQueen’s net worth?
Steve McQueen was an American actor and cultural figure in the 1960s and 1970s. At the time of his death, Steve McQueen had a net worth of $30 million. That’s the same $100 million today. Steve is known for his roles in films such as “Thomas Crown,” “The Great Escape,” and “Grit.” In the mid-1970s, Steve McQueen was the highest paid actor in the world. The $12 million he paid for 1974’s “The Towering Inferno” was the equivalent of $66 million today. He also owns a valuable collection of cars, motorcycles and watches. Cars, watches and motorcycles owned by Steve McQueen are very valuable these days.
early life
Steve McQueen was born on March 24, 1930, as Terrence Stephen McQueen. He was born in Beach Grove, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family and was mainly raised by his maternal grandparents. His father William, an aerobatic pilot, left his mother Julia Ann six months after meeting her. Julia left the child to her parents, who spent his childhood on the farm. When he was eight, his mother took him to Indianapolis to live with her and her new husband. However, his new stepfather beat McQueen, causing him to later move to the streets and start committing petty crimes.
Over the next few years, McQueen moved back and forth from his mother’s house to the street and back to the farm, before his mother sent him to the California Teen Boys Republic in Chino. McQueen later joined the Marine Corps and was arrested after taking unauthorized leave. In the years that followed, he devoted himself more fully to the Marine Corps until his honorable discharge in 1950.
Profession
McQueen used financial assistance from the GI Bill to sign up for performance training at Sanford Meisner’s Neighborhood Playhouse and HB Studios in New York City. During this time, he was able to make money by competing in weekend Harley and Triumph motorcycle races. He then moved on to minor roles in productions such as “Wedding Members” and “Peg o’My Heart”.
In 1955, McQueen moved to California to be closer to Hollywood. His first breakout role came when he appeared on the NBC Western series “The Wells Fargo Story.” He then landed roles in other series such as “Wanted: Dead or Alive” and “Tracking.” These roles helped McQueen become a household name. Then he grabbed the next break when Frank Sinatra offered him a role in the movie “Never So Little.”
Since then, McQueen has landed major film roles. His first blockbuster was The Magnificent Seven, followed by the 1963 film The Great Escape. Subsequent films include “In Love With Stranger,” “Nevada Smith,” “The Cincinnati Kid” and “Grit.” He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in “Sand Pebbles,” the only such nomination of his kind in his lifetime.
In 1968, he starred in Bullitt and Thomas The Crown. His career continued into the 1970s, and by the time of the 1972 film Getaway, McQueen was the highest-paid actor in the world. In 1974, however, McQueen essentially disappeared from the show in order to focus more fully on racing motorcycles. It was not until 1978 that he returned to the film industry with the film “Enemy of the People”. His last two films were the westerns Tom Horn and The Hunter, both released in 1980.
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highest paid actor in the world
For 1974’s “The Towering Inferno,” Steve earned a salary of $12 million. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a staggering $66 million. This salary puts Steve by a mile as the highest-paid actor in the world. Even after his death in 1980, he held the title for many years.
personal life
McQueen started dating Gia Scala while attending acting school in New York. Their relationship eventually ended, and he started dating actress and dancer Neil Adams. The couple married on November 2, 1956, and had a daughter in 1959 and a son in 1960. They remained married until their divorce in 1972. Several women claimed they had an affair with McQueen during his marriage to Adams.
In 1973, McQueen married actor Ali MacGraw, his co-star in Getaway. Their relationship ended in divorce in 1978. Two years later, in January 1980, McQueen married model Barbara Mindy.
McQueen’s workout routine includes weightlifting, running and martial arts. He also had some drug and alcohol addictions and was known to regularly drank alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. McQueen has been racing motorcycles and racing cars throughout his acting career. He also has a large collection of classic motorcycles as well as vintage and exotic cars. He also flies and owns multiple planes.
real estate
In 1979, Steve and Barbara Mindy purchased a 15.5-acre ranch in Santa Paula, California, about a 1.5-hour drive northeast of Los Angeles. They married in 1980 in the farm’s living room. The property features a 4,500-square-foot hangar where Steve keeps his car and motorcycle collection. Another benefit for Steve is the property’s proximity to Santa Paula Airport, where he houses his Stillman 75 biplane.
car collection
Years after his death, Steve’s car and motorcycle collection will prove to be very valuable. He owns around 130 motorcycles and dozens of incredible cars, from Ferraris to Porsches and Jaguars.
In 2006, his 1937 Crocker motorcycle sold for $276,000.
In 2007, his 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lussa Berlinetta sold for $2.3 million.
watch
Steve owned dozens of watches and was a brand ambassador for Tag Heuer throughout his life. To this day, Tag Heuer still pays Steve’s estate to use his image in their advertising. One of six Monaco references. The 1,133 watches he wore in the 1970 film “Le Mans” sold at auction for $2.208 million.
die
In 1978, McQueen quit smoking because of a cough. However, the cough persisted and he eventually discovered he had pleural mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure for which there is currently no cure.
After discovering evidence of widespread metastases, McQueen sought controversial treatments in Mexico that ultimately did not cure him. Although doctors in the United States told him the tumors were operable, he developed many tumors in his abdomen and flew to Mexico to remove a tumor in his liver. Shortly after the operation, McQueen died of a heart attack in November 1980, while he was still in Mexico.
McQueen was cremated and his ashes were scattered across the Pacific. McQueen has been an icon since his death and was inducted into the Big West Performers Hall of Fame and Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He has also appeared in numerous museum exhibitions, produced documentaries about his life, and has been portrayed in feature films.
