Wesley Trent Snipes was born on 31 July 1962, in Orlando, Florida USA. Wesley is an Afro-American actor who has appeared in a number of well-known movies such as “Demolition Man”, “7 Seconds” and “White Men Can’t Jump”. However, many people recognize him best as the vampire hunter in the “Blade” trilogy.
So just how rich is Wesley Snipes? Due to a successful acting career, Wesley Snipes’ net worth is estimated by sources at $10 million, accumulated over a career beginning when he was 23 years of age.
Wesley Snipes Net Worth $10 Million
Wesley was actually raised in The Bronx, New York City, but eventually finished his education at Jones High School in Orlando, Florida, before moving back to New York. In his youth, Snipes practiced martial arts, and when he was 23 a talent agent noticed him in a martial arts competition. From that moment his life took a positive turn, and Wesley Snipes had the opportunity to show his strength in a quite different field – the film industry. His debut movie was “Wildcats” in which he starred with Goldie Hawn. Subsequently Snipes appeared in an episode of the television series “Miami Vice”, in the film “Streets of Gold” and in a Michael Jackson music video “Bad”. The film director Spike Lee saw the video and decided to offer Snipes a few roles in his movies. Consequently, Wesley Snipes become more noticed, and his net worth rose considerably. Even though the majority of Wesley Snipes movies are action thrillers, he has also starred in a few comedies, such as “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Thanks for Everything”. Snipes will appear in the upcoming movie “Expendables 3”.
Wesley Snipes is not only an actor, but also a film producer. In 1991, Snipes established his own production company, “Amen-Ra films” and its subsidiary “Black Dot Media”. Moreover, together with his brother Snipes established a security firm “The Royal Guard of Amen-Ra”, which offers protection to celebrities. As a result, Wesley Snipes net worth has significantly increased.
It is worth mentioning that while being a successful actor, Wesley Snipes has not neglected martial arts. Snipes has a 5th degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He also practices kung fu, jiu-jitsu, capoeira and other styles of martial arts. It is no wonder that in the majority of films Snipes portrays tough guys such as athletes, police officers and drug dealers.
Away from the screen, thanks to his good looks Wesley Snipes has dated plenty of beautiful Hollywood actresses, for instance, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez. Snipes was married to April Spice , with whom he has a son, but his second marriage to the painter Nakyung Park has proven successful, and they have four children.
Despite his successful career and considerable capital, Wesley Snipes has had money related problems. The IRS discovered that Snipes had been avoiding paying taxes since 1996. In the period from 1996 to 2004 the actor earned $37.9 million dollars but had neglected to pay taxes and even forged documents. Subsequently, Wesley Snipes was sentenced to prison, spending 90% of a three year sentence in jail, and a fine of $17 million, to the IRS. Before going to prison, Wesley Snipes had a $53 million dollar capital, which was then considerably diminished.
Despite money troubles in the past Wesley Snipes is still wealthy. He owns a number of luxurious cars, big houses and apartments. He also owns the rights to the “Blade Trilogy”.
