Net Worth: Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes Net Worth and Salary: Wesley Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist who has a net worth of $10 million. He was one of the most prominent actors of the ’90s, starring in memorable films like White Men Can’t Jump, Demolition Man, and the Blade trilogy. He has founded his own film and television production company and is also an author.

Early Life: The actor was born Wesley Trent Snipes on July 31, 1962. Although born in Florida, he grew up in New York City. After attending a performing arts school in New York, he moved back to Orlando before graduating from high school. While the performing arts were obviously a focus area for Snipes from an early age, he was also deeply involved in martial arts. From the age of 12, the actor began his lifelong dedication to martial arts.

Wesley Snipes would continue to move around the United States throughout his youth. After returning to Orlando to complete high school, he once again returned to New York to attend college. Eventually he traveled to Los Angeles to attend Southwest College.

Early Career: College in Los Angeles brought Wesley Snipes to the heart of the film industry. It wasn’t long before he was spotted by an agent and started booking roles. His first major film appearance was in a film titled Wildcats , and more success was soon to follow. A guest appearance on the Miami Vice show helped him make a name for himself, as did his role in Michael Jackson’s iconic music video for the single “Bad.” This music video featured Snipes playing Jackson’s nemesis — and director Spike Lee couldn’t help but point that out.

Mainstream Success: The association with Spike Lee won Snipes roles in films such as Jungle Fever and Mo’ Better Blues . While Wesley Snipes was clearly an actor of incredible range, he also attracted a certain type; either a drug dealer or a crime boss. The actor played these types of roles in movies like New Jack City and Sugar Hill. Snipes also won a role in the film Kings of New York .

Shift Into Action Movies: After establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with, Wesley Snipes leaned more towards action movies and gave himself a chance to show off his true martial arts skills. During this phase of his acting career he appeared in films such as Passenger 57 , Money Train, The Fan , US Marshalls , Rising Sun and perhaps most notably Demolition Man alongside Sylvester Stallone. However, Snipes also showcased his comedic talents during this period with films such as White Men Can’t Jump and To Wong Foo.

The Blade Trilogy: Wesley Snipes found his greatest commercial and financial success with The Blade Trilogy, which began in 1998. The first film in the series grossed $150 million worldwide, which led to the making of two more films; Blade II and Blade: Trinity . The final film in the Blade series marked the beginning of a period of relative uncertainty for Wesley Snipes.

Income Tax Issues: In 2006, just two years after the publication of the Blade trilogy , Wesley Snipes was charged with conspiracy to defraud the US government and another charge of making false claims against the US. He was also charged in six other counts for failing to file tax returns. The conspiracy charges alleged that Snipes filed fraudulent tax returns for tens of millions of dollars in refunds. In addition, Snipes was accused of not filing tax returns from 1999 to 2004. Between 1996 and 2004, Snipes earned $37.9 million from his acting career and appears to have paid no taxes during that entire time.

In 2008, Snipes was cleared of all felonies. However, he was found guilty of three misdemeanor charges for failing to file tax returns. The actor was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison and released in 2013. He served the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. In addition to his prison sentence, Wesley was ordered to pay the IRS $17 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.

Life after release from prison: After his release from prison, Wesley Snipes jumped right back into the acting world with a role in the film The Expendables 3 . He has also starred in films such as Chi-Raq and Dolemite is My Name . As of 2020, Wesley Snipes is slated to work on the film Coming 2 America.

Martial Arts Involvement: Wesley Snipes holds a fifth degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and a second degree black belt in Hapkido. In addition, Snipes was trained in the arts of Capoeira, Shaolin Kung Fu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing.

Projects outside of acting: Wesley Snipes also started his own security company. The company focused on VIP security, hiring mostly police and martial arts backgrounds. Wesley Snipes also started his own film production company which has produced films such as A Great and Mighty Walk: Dr. John Henrik Clarke .

Personal life: Wesley Snipes has five children. His first son was born to his first wife, April Snipes. Wesley Snipes married Nikki Park, a painter, in 2003. The couple have four children together. Although Snipes was raised Christian, he converted to Islam in 1978. A decade later he left the religion.