It Was More Than Muscles That Made Jean-Claude Van Damme One of the Wealthiest Action Stars
Jean-Claude Van Damme, also popular as JCVD is a celebrated martial artist and action hero who rose to fame in the 80s and 90s, appearing in popular action movies, and TV shows. The actor's first big break came with the movie "Bloodsport", which catapulted his fame to another level. Van Damme earned a $25,000 paycheck for the movie which solidified his position in the industry. His journey to the Hollywood Walk of Fame began with the movie's success at the box office, and his salary swelled to $75k for projects like, "Kickboxer", "Death Warrant" and "Black Eagle."
He became a household name in the 90s, garnering a massive fortune. Here's an account of his net worth, career, and more.
What is Jean-Claude Van Damme's net worth?
The retired movie star has a net worth of $40 million, which is mostly derived from all the projects he was a part of in his prime. The martial artist born in Brussels, Belgium, in the year 1960, forayed into the world of martial arts at the tender age of 10. His father got him enrolled at a Shotokan Karate school, where he learned the style that he is now known for. He joined the Centre National de Karate when he was only 12, and trained for four years before making it to the national Karate Team. He was a celebrated martial artist with over 40 wins and only four defeats, even before he stepped into Hollywood.
Jean-Claude Van Damme's acting career and salary
Van Damme moved to the United States when he was just 22 pursuing the dream of joining Hollywood. His first-ever role was that of an extra in the movie "Breakin" in 1984, but his breakthrough movie was just around the corner. While waiting tables at a Los Angeles restaurant, Van Damme impressed producer Menahem Golan, landing the lead role in "Bloodsport". The success of "Bloodsport" brought him into the limelight, and he went on to bag films like "Double Impact" (1991), for which he made a staggering $600,000. He went on to earn another $1.5 million for "Universal Soldier" and $3.5 million for "Hard Target," as per Celebrity Net Worth.
An earthquake saved his fortune
The first installment of "Bloodsport" was essentially a biopic of a man named Frank Dux, but Van Damme didn't play Dux in his directorial debut "The Quest" which was the second part. It was reported that Van Damme was sued by Frank Dux for this, since he claimed that they had a verbal agreement to share the profits and credits for the film's script, as per The Things.
When asked for proof, Dux said that he had an audio recording, which he later failed to produce, saying that it had been destroyed by an earthquake. That's how Van Damme saved $900,000, thanks to an earthquake.
A look into his real estate investments
Earning big bucks in Hollywood, Van Damme paid $6 million for a brand new spec mansion in Marina Del Rey that featured six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, eight fireplaces, a home gym, an elevator, a billiard room, a rooftop spa, and also a garden attached to it. The actor sold the house to rapper Ice Cube in 2016 for a cool $7.25 million.