In recent years, there has been far more to Ashton Kutcher’s financial success than the money he has earned from his work onscreen. Is he a billionaire?
It is highly unlikely that Ashton Kutcher is a billionaire. He has, however, made a significant amount of money as a venture capitalist, investing in companies such as Airbnb and Uber. Forbes estimated the value of his portfolio somewhere in the region of $250 million.
For more on Ashton Kutcher’s successes on and off the silver screen, read on.
Making Millions
Ashton Kutcher has been a Hollywood star for more than 20 years and his path to success begins even further back.
He enrolled at the University of Iowa, intending to major in biochemical engineering as a way of helping find a cure for his brother Michael’s heart condition. Ashton got in trouble for partying, even getting kicked out of his apartment.
He took a job working in the cereal department at his local General Mills plant in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, as well as donating blood in order to pay his tuition fees.
He was discovered by a model scout while at a bar and encouraged to enter a modeling competition, which he won, and soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
His modeling career was successful, even appearing in Calvin Klein commercials, but being cast in “That ’70s Show” was his major breakthrough.
His eight-year run on the Fox sitcom raised his profile greatly, leading to roles in comedy movies such as “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and “Just Married”. Although these early roles typecast Kutcher somewhat as a dimwit, there was always more to him.
He produced and starred in MTV’s “Punk’d”, a hidden camera show in which he pranked celebrities, and launched his own production company, Katalyst Films. Katalyst are responsible for a number of reality shows such as “Beauty and the Geek”.
He replaced Charlie Sheen on “Two and a Half Men” in 2011, on a one year contract believed to be worth in the region of $20 million.
Sound Investments
Kutcher’s financial success in acting provided him with the necessary money to become an investor. He is primarily focused on technology investment, appropriate for somebody who portrayed Steve Jobs in 2013’s biopic “Jobs”.
It is generally believed that Kutcher invests more money into technology than any other Hollywood star.
Together with Guy Oseary, the talent manager of such acts as Madonna and U2, Ron Burkle, a successful businessman, and fund manager Chris Hollod, Kutcher co-founded A-Grade Investments.
Kutcher, Burkle, and Oseary combined to invest about $30 million in 2010 and have come close to increasing this tenfold. In 2016, Forbes valued the firm’s portfolio at approximately $250 million.
For Kutcher, who has been one of the highest-paid stars on TV during the course of his career, the money he has made from his business ventures away from the screen dwarfs his acting salary.
One of Kutcher’s biggest success stories is his role as an early investor in Uber. He has also invested money in Skype, Airbnb, Spotify, Shazam, Pinterest, and others.
Kutcher’s popularity and public presence helped him draw further investment in A-Grade; he was the first person to reach a million followers on Twitter and his strong track record of smart investments earned him the trust of some of the rich and famous.
Despite the perception of Kutcher by some, likely those who continue to confuse his true character for his early-2000s screen roles, his success cannot be denied.
This growth of wealth seemingly hasn’t changed Kutcher, who is dedicated to a number of charities. In addition to donating money to several other charitable groups, he also co-founded Thorn, an organization that develops technology to fight against sexual abuse of children.
While Ashton Kutcher might not be a billionaire, there’s no reason to believe he can’t become one.
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