How Much Is Jason Momoa Actually Worth?

Since starring in "Games of Thrones," actor and certified heartthrob Jason Momoa has become a household name and a Tinseltown favorite. Despite starting his acting career in smaller roles and lesser-known television series, Momoa managed to grow a career that has plopped him in blockbuster movies like "Aquaman" and earned him millions.

On top of his work in the film industry, he dedicates his time to other entrepreneurial endeavors. Evidently, all of these elements have been good to his bank account: According to Celebrity Net Worth, his net worth sits at $25 million.  

The actor may have millions to his name now, but before his days as one of Hollywood's leading action stars, he struggled to find work and make money. From his early days on a popular TV show to a hilarious Super Bowl appearance, let's see how Momoa transformed over the years and obtained his impressive fortune.

We know Jason Momoa as an actor now, but he got his start as a model... or so he once claimed. Momoa was born in 1979 in Hawaii, and after spending a majority of his childhood in Iowa, he returned to his home state for college. Per The Express, when he was still a teenager, he happened to cross paths with fashion designer Takeo Kobayashi while working at a surf shop. Legend has it, this interaction got Momoa into a modeling career, which would eventually lead to his acting career. 

Momoa tells a different version of events. When asked about his start in modeling, the "Aquaman" actor told Square Mile, "No, actually I made that s**t up! [Managers] basically just did head shots of me and said, 'hey he's the model of the year'. We just made it up." As history shows, his truth stretching worked. Momoa snagged the role of Jason Iaone in "Baywatch Hawaii," which ran from 1999 to 2001.

One might think an actor would be totally set after landing a main role on a "Baywatch" show, but it would not yet be smooth sailing for Momoa.

"Baywatch Hawaii" kickstarted Jason Momoa's acting career, but as he shared in Entertainment Weekly, his acting career almost stalled out as quickly as it began. "I fell in love with acting because of it, but it was sort of the hardest thing because people think you're from 'Baywatch,'" he said. "It's hard—no one really makes it off that show." After "Baywatch Hawaii" ended in 2001, he struggled to land an agent and ended up taking side jobs, such as being tasked with basically wrangling drunk people. As he told James Corden, he once worked as a parking lot security guy whose whole mission was to quiet down rowdy patrons as they exited a bar.

While "Baywatch Hawaii" was the thing that got him into the world of acting, Momoa doesn't really want to share the show with his kids. As he said on a 2021 "Fitzy and Wippa" appearance (via Today), "We don't say the B-word at home. We hide all of that, mate! The earlier things in my career, you can't see that."

Despite his reluctance to show his earlier work to his children, Jason doesn't steer them away from his newer films, or even appearing in them: His two kids, Lola and Nakoa-Wolf, had cameos in "Aquaman." As he made rather clear on Instagram, he couldn't have been happier to share the screen with them.

A few years after "Baywatch Hawaii" wrapped, Jason Momoa landed a role on the soap opera "North Shore." It aired for one season on Fox before ultimately getting chopped in 2005.

Not long after his stint on "North Shore," Momoa starred in Syfy's "Stargate: Atlantis," a spinoff of the "Stargate: SG-1" series. The work in the series was the actor's first long-time gig; Momoa appeared in 78 episodes of the show, but as he told Esquire, the role of Ronon Dex was not his dream job. Regardless, he utilized his time in the series to learn about acting and filmmaking, telling the publication, "It was where I learned how to shoot, how to write, how to do it all. We made twenty-two episodes in nine months. Day in, day out. The machine."

The financials of "Stargate: Atlantis" are a bit murky. At the time of its debut in 2005, the show was running alongside "Stargate: SG-1" which was incredibly popular (and ultimately spanned 10 seasons). According to Multichannel News, MGM studios had a combined $75 million budget for both shows, with the cost of each episode landing at approximately $2 million. While Momoa's exact earnings from the series is unknown, The Hollywood Reporter noted in 2015 that fresh-faced, new television actors could make between $15,000 to $20,000 each episode — but again, that was 2015, so do with that information what you will.

None of the roles Momoa had under his belt could prepare him for the stardom he garnered when he was cast as Khal Drogo in HBO's acclaimed series "Game of Thrones" in 2011. Momoa's portrayal of Khal Drogo made him incredibly popular at the time, and while his storyline was limited to one season, it helped to cement him as a serious actor.

Despite the actor appearing in a high-budget series — according to Variety, each Season 1 episode cost approximately $6 million — he found himself in a difficult situation not long after he left the show (RIP Drogo). While one might assume such a gig would be an instant boon to an actor's career, Momoa has said time and time again that he didn't get a lot of auditions after his time on Essos. "Not a lot of people thought I spoke English," he shared on a 2020 episode of "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." "It was very challenging. It's like, what do you do with Drogo? You're not going to put him in a comedy. ... It's really pigeonholed."

Momoa told InStyle that this bump in his career was tough on his family. "I mean, we were starving after 'Game of Thrones.' I couldn't get work. It's very challenging when you have babies and you're completely in debt," he said.

When Jason Momoa was cast as Aquaman in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" in 2016, he was catapulted back into the spotlight. While his role in the film was a supporting one, it did pave the way for the actor to be involved in other films as the superhero character, such as "Justice League" in 2017 and the billion-dollar hit "Aquaman" in 2018. "Aquaman," of course, really boosted his celebrity status — and yes, his net worth. The film smashed box office records and became the highest-grossing DC film of all time, earning $334.8 million in domestic sales with a total of $1.1 billion worldwide, according to Deadline. The actor's income from "Aquaman" reflected the film's incredible budget and astonishing earnings, with Momoa reportedly getting $15 million for his role as the superhero, per Newsweek.

The film's sequel, "Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom" is set to release in 2023, with Momoa reprising his role as the film's lead character once again. While the exact budget of the upcoming film is unknown, given the success and huge cost of the first film, "Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom" will likely follow in its predecessors footsteps.

Regarding the character, Momoa said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2021 that he enjoys playing the superhero, though he can get carried away with the action sequences. "I love my job and I get a little too excited — then the age thing, you know, I'm an aging superhero right now," he shared.

When he's not kicking butt as "Aquaman" or making fans swoon on talk shows, Jason Momoa occupies his time by making the world a better place. Outside of acting, Momoa has a water company called Mananalu. Yep, Aquaman is an aqua man. The company sells purified water in aluminum bottles with the goal of reducing plastic waste in oceans and on the planet in general, according to the official website. Mananalu is dedicated to its environmental cause, pledging to remove one plastic bottle before it hits the ocean when one Mananalu aluminum bottle is purchased.

The inspiration behind the actor launching the company started with the dream of becoming a marine biologist as a child, per Mananalu's website. Momoa may not be a marine biologist, but he is using his platform as an actor to help the planet in any way he can. In April 2022, Hawaiian Airlines became a partner with Mananalu, agreeing to swap out the traditional plastic water bottles with Momoa's aluminum ones for their Premium Cabin customers, as reported by Hawaii's Khon2 News.

The company and its mission is personal to Momoa. In a YouTube video promoting the brand, he said, "I feel like it's my responsibility, it's my mission to clean up the oceans, clean up the land, [for] my kids, for yours, for the world."

Jason Momoa met "The Cosby Show" actor Lisa Bonet, his ultimate childhood crush, in 2005 at a Los Angeles jazz club, per Net-A-Porter. The two were together 17 years before splitting in January 2022. During their relationship, the couple welcomed two children. Despite their split, the pair continue to maintain a positive family dynamic for their kids, with Momoa telling Access Hollywood in March 2022, "We're family forever."

While they were together, the two lived in a mansion in the Topanga Canyon neighborhood, as reported by the Daily Mail. The home, valued at $3.5 million in 2022, is located just outside of Los Angeles and has a handful of unique amenities that perfectly align with Momoa's larger-than-life, outgoing personality. As noted in Men's Journal, the home boasts both a rock climbing wall and a skateboard ramp. The "Game of Thrones" alum's love for all things outdoors started long before his fame. He told the publication, "I've been climbing since I was 14. Skateboarding since I was 8. I love the outdoors, camping, I mean — obviously you saw the Airstreams. I used to live out of that one."

Following his separation from Bonet, he moved out of the home and into something more mobile to accommodate both his work obligations and love for travel.

Divorces are never easy, but for Jason Momoa, having a souped-up van can certainly lessen the painful blow of separating from a spouse. After moving out of the mansion he shared with ex-wife Lisa Bonet, Momoa moved into an RV, which cost the actor at least $750,000, according to Page Six. This isn't your average RV, as the near million dollar price tag definitely indicates.

Momoa's RV was made by EarthRoamer, a Colorado-based company that specializes in luxury RVs and off-road vehicles, per its official website. The model, the EarthRoamer XV-LTi 026, is equipped with four-wheel drive and features luxurious amenities like a king-sized bed, outdoor kitchen, and even an induction cooktop for days spent indoors, as reported by Architectural Digest.

It is unknown when Momoa purchased the vehicle, but he has not been shy about showing it off. At the "Aquaman" premiere in 2018, the actor pulled up to the event not in a fancy limousine with an entourage, but in his custom RV with then-wife Bonet. The whereabouts of Momoa and the RV remain to be seen, but Page Six speculates that he is parked at a friend's house nearby his old home.

Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet were together for nearly two decades before they split in January 2022, as reported by People. Despite Momoa being known for his outgoing, open persona, the actor has kept much of his personal life private over the years, including his relationship with Bonet. Bonet herself has remained mostly out of the spotlight since her days on "The Cosby Show" but has brought in money through appearances in TV shows like HBO's "Girls" and Showtime's "Ray Donovan" in 2016. As of 2022, Celebrity Net Worth lists Bonet's net worth at $10 million.

Prior to their divorce, the "Aquaman" star secured a role in Apple TV+'s sci-fi series, "See" in 2019, which is earning him upwards of $600,000 each episode, according to Variety. The financial terms of the couple's separation as well as any information regarding sharing his income with Bonet is unknown. 

Jason Momoa is known mostly for his roles on screen, but the actor also takes part in behind-the-scenes work for movies and commercials. In 2010, he founded Pride of Gypsies, an alternative production company that aims to take a different approach to modernized filmmaking, as noted by its official website.

The mission of the company is simple, and reads in part, "our pursuit for magnificent adventures is infused with innovation and excellence that improves the human spirit." Pride of Gypsies has produced four titles so far, including three feature films that starred Momoa: "Road to Paloma," "Braven," and "Sweet Girl." Though Momoa's company doesn't have the reach or influence of larger companies in Tinseltown, his films have had solid theatrical releases, grossing hundreds of thousands at the box office. His 2018 film "Braven," which he starred alongside Garret Dillahunt, grossed $826,472 worldwide, according to The Numbers.

Outside of his business ventures, Jason Momoa has also taken on an endorsement deal during one of the biggest sports events in American sports. Outside of the competitive football playing, the Super Bowl is known for its high-budget commercials that often feature celebrity cameos. In 2020, Momoa endorsed nationwide mortgage company Rocket Mortgage and appeared in a unique, albeit unsettling, commercial that included the actor shedding his clothes and layers of his skin, per Vanity Fair.

As the commercial starts, Momoa is driving behind the wheel of a car and says, "What does home mean to me? It's my sanctuary. It's the one place I can let my guard down." As he enters his home, he begins to take off his clothes, starting with his shoes and pants, but then it takes an unexpected twist. Insider reported at the time, "Momoa proceeds to remove (faux) layers of his arm muscles and stomach, then sheds a chunk of his long hair to reveal a balding head." The commercial garnered plenty of buzz from watchers at the time, and ended up being one of the most popular commercials of the Super Bowl.

The exact numbers of Momoa's gig with Rocket Mortgage are unknown, but given that the commercial landed #5 on USA Today's top list of ads in 2020, it undoubtedly added a good chunk of money to Aquaman's deep pool of cash.