Kevin Costner‘s estimated net worth in 2025 is $200 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth. During his divorce proceedings from ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, the court documents estimated his net worth to be $400 million. His ex-wife claimed in court that he makes an estimated $1.53 million every month and added that they had family expenses of over $550,000 per month (via Us Weekly).
Costner’s money came from his TV and movie salaries and his real estate portfolio. He was one of TV’s highest-paid actors in 2023 because of his Yellowstone Season 5 salary. From 1991 to 1993, he topped Forbes’ highest-paid actors list, thanks to his hit movies of that time. Here are all of Costner’s highest-paid roles ranked.
5. Waterworld (1995) – $14 million
Kevin Costner rejected the lead role in The Shawshank Redemption to reunite with Kevin Reynolds in his costly project, Waterworld. The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the ice caps melted, and the sea water has engulfed the planet’s surface. Costner played the unnamed anti-hero character, The Mariner, in the film.
However, things did not go well for the two friends in the 1995 film. The film resulted in a major break in their friendship that took years for them to mend. Behind the scenes of the film, tensions between Costner and Reynolds were on the rise.
The film had planned a 96-day schedule but the production was extended by nearly three months, resulting in a 150-day shoot. As a result, the budget of the film ballooned from a planned $100 million to a whopping $175 million (via Forbes).
According to The Wall Street Journal, Costner was paid $14 million for the role in the movie. Waterworld became a huge flop despite being one of the highest-grossing films of 1995. Costner allegedly struggled with the production due to his divorce from his then-wife, Cindy Silva. According to PEOPLE, he had to pay an $80 million settlement to Silva.
It was reported to have lost millions of dollars for Universal Pictures at the time (via NY Times). However, it eventually became profitable after its home video sales and TV broadcast rights (via Deadline).
Waterworld is now available for streaming on Starz.
4. The Bodyguard (1992) – $20 million to $30 million
Kevin Costner’s movie with Whitney Houston doesn’t receive the same love today that the audience once gave it. Mick Jackson’s romantic thriller from 1992 only had a 38% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film’s box office numbers told a different story.
The Bodyguard was about a singer-actor Rachel, played by Houston, who hires the ex-Secret Service agent Frank, played by Frank, to protect her from a stalker. The client and the protector eventually get romantically involved. Critics found it to be a cheesy, melodramatic movie.
According to The Baltimore Sun, Costner reportedly made somewhere between $20 million and $30 million from the movie. The film’s commercial performance was nothing short of outstanding as it made a whopping $411 million on a production budget of $25 million (via The Numbers).
Houston was a busy singer at the time, but Costner was ready to do anything to accommodate her. Costner held up production for a full year for Houston (via Parade).
The Bodyguard is now available for rent on Amazon and AppleTV.
3. Yellowstone (2018-2024) – $29.9 million
Kevin Costner was TV’s highest-paid actor, thanks to his role as John Dutton in Yellowstone. Costner didn’t return to his high-profile role in the second part of the fifth season, despite his humongous salary of $1.3 million per episode. Costner had a falling out with creator Taylor Sheridan over the creative control of the series.
The actor announced his exit from the series in 2023 and went on to focus on his passion project, Horizon. Yellowstone killed off John Dutton in the ninth episode of Season 5. Before his unceremonious exit, Costner and Sheridan ruled the television ratings with the Western show.
Casting Costner in a TV show didn’t come cheap. When he first appeared in the show in 2018, he made $500,000 per episode (via Puck). According to Taste of Country, Costner was making $1.3 million per episode at the beginning of Season 5. According to these calculations, Costner made $29.9 million from 47 episodes of the show.
He told the court during his divorce hearings that negotiations with Paramount for a potential sixth season fell apart after they rejected his demand of $12 million for the season (via Daily Mail). He was also an executive producer on the series.
Yellowstone is now available for streaming on Peacock.
2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) – $40 million
One of the first major roles in Kevin Costner’s career came in the film Fandango, directed by Kevin Reynolds. Both Costner and Reynolds have since maintained a friendly relationship. Their friendship even prompted the actor to drop a John McTiernan project and join Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
According to the Daily Mail, Costner’s salary was $40 million for the action-adventure movie. The humongous salary came from a deal that earned him a percentage share of the movie’s profits. The outlet also reported that he was paid some additional amount in 2014 after he filed a lawsuit alleging the producers hadn’t paid him the full 15 percent cut of the movie’s profits.
Costner was brutally trolled for his performance due to his accent, but the film still made huge bucks for the producers. Made on a budget in the range of $48-60 million, the movie went on to earn $390.5 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is now available for rent on Amazon and AppleTV.
1. Dances With Wolves (1990) – $50 million
Kevin Costner proved himself capable of handling a Western project as a director and actor with his 1990 Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves. He was so confident in his project that he was unwilling to change a thing about it despite three directors rejecting it.
Costner shared with Deadline that he had put all his money into the movie before setting out to find a director. When he couldn’t find anyone who could agree with his script, he went on to helm the movie.
According to the Daily Mail, Costner’s salary for the movie was only $3 million. However, the success of the movie and his additional role as the filmmaker brought him quite a fortune from the movie. Forbes ranked him as the highest-paid actor for the year 1991, reporting his earnings to be $59 million (via Tampa Bay Times).
Interestingly, his Robin Hood earnings, based on profit percentage, were still being calculated, and his salary for JFK was reportedly less than $10 million. It meant that the earnings came from Dances With Wolves, which reportedly earned him $50 million.
It paid off heavily as the film became the fourth highest-grossing film of 1990, along with its seven Oscar wins. Costner’s film earned $424.2 million at the worldwide box office against a $22 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Costner, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing.
Dances With Wolves is now available for streaming on HBO Max.
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