Jennifer Aniston’s $300m fortune as she still rakes in millions from Friends

Jennifer Aniston has been a household name for years on end.

The Hollywood actress, 51, famously had just $80 to her name before landing the role of the century in Friends.

In fact, Jen made the decision to spend what’s left of her cash on a set of headshots to help her when auditioning for the hit US sitcom that aired in 1994.

The snaps cost her the majority of what she had, as Jen continued to work as a waitress with a dream of making it big in Hollywood.

But what she didn’t know at the time, was that $80 changed her life for the better.

The investment landed her the role of Rachel Green – a role she is set to reprise nearly 26 years after first playing her in a forthcoming Friends reunion.

Jennifer’s co-stars Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc confirmed they will reunite for the one-off special, which will see them land a cool £2 million each for their return.

But before her name was in conversations she could only dream of, it was a case of humble beginnings for the actress.

Jen often recalls her past of trying to put her name on the map in Hollywood, admitting that she almost gave up on her dream at one point.

She said that she couldn’t even get a break on a commercial, let alone land a TV role – especially a high profile one like in Friends.

Speaking about her humble beginnings, Jen confessed: “I worked at an ice cream place. And then, I waitressed for about two and a half years. All the while, I was auditioning… I couldn’t even get a commercial.”

But this was certainly just the beginning of her money-making career that helped her sit at a comfortable $300 fortune.

Friends and continuous royalties

Jennifer’s fortunes were changed forever when she was cast as Rachel Green on Friends.

She started by earning an eye-watering £17,400 per episode – which was a staggering amount compared to the $80 she had to her name.

By the end of the final season of the show, Jen and her cast mates were coining in an unbelievable $1 million per episode.

Friends finished in 2004 and the last episode was watched by 52.5 million viewers in the United States.

But despite the series ending more than 16 years ago, Jen and her cast mates continue to receive $20 million a year due to syndication rights.

After Netflix acquired the rights to the show in 2015, that number has reportedly increased to a staggering $30 million.

In 2018, the streaming giant paid a reported $100 million to keep the show on their streaming service for another year, with Lad Bible reporting that each star likely earned 2% of those earnings, $2 million each.

Hollywood films

Over the course of her career, she has successfully made the transition to sought-after movie star.

In fact, Jen was ranked her as one of America’s richest female entertainers by Forbes back in 2017, joining the likes of Madonna, and Oprah Winfrey.

Forbes also ranked her the third highest-paid actress in 2018, reporting she took home nearly $20 million that year from acting alone.

Although not all of her films are critically acclaimed, they still make a pretty penny at the box office.

Between 1997 and 2011 alone, she earned $75 million solely from her film ventures.

For the majority of those years, Jen wouldn’t accept any film that paid her less than $8 million.

If she wasn’t a household name for everyone by that time, she definitely became one after starring in Bruce Almighty, Along Came Polly and The Break-Up.

One of her highest film paychecks was the $10 million she made from the hit 2011 comedy Just Go With It, starring alongside Adam Sandler, Nicole Kidman and Brooklyn Decker.

Her other hit comedies such as The Bounty Hunter and We Are The Millers made $136 million and $270 million respectively in global box office sales.

What’s more, Jen reportedly made a whopping $5 million from We’re The Millers alone – in addition to a cool $8 million from her role in the heartbreaking film Marley & Me.

Forbes reports that Jen returns about $10.60 for every $1 paid when it comes to her movie roles.

TV series & streaming deals

Jen’s income isn’t limited to her films.

In fact, the actress picked up a sweet $1.25 million paycheck per episode for her Apple TV series The Morning Show, alongside her pal and former Friends co-star Reese Witherspoon.

The series also stars Steve Carell and Billy Crudup – with all the actors raking in major cash from the deal.

Jen served not only as an actress on the series, she was also an executive producer, and even directed some episodes.

The $1.125 per episode Jen received from the show makes that the fifth-highest amount of money ever paid to an actor on a per-episode basis.

Her own production company

After starring in countless blockbusters and TV shows, Jen decided it was time for her to call the shots.

In 2008, she and pal Kristin Hahn launched her own production company dubbed Echo Films.

Echo Films has produced several independent films, including Cake, Dumplin’ and The Switch.

Endorsements

Being one of the most sought-after celebrity endorsers in the world, Jen’s been raking in lucrative deals over the many years she’s been on our screens.

In the past, she’s been the face of brands like Smartwater, Emirates, Eyelove and Aveeno, to name a few.

It’s believed that Jen continues to make $10 million per year from endorsements alone.

She’s also launched six of her own perfumes that continue to make respectable profits for her.

Property empire

Aside from her acting ventures, Jen is a very smart businesswoman, too.

She owns a large number of homes around the world, and is known to flip houses and sell them at a profit as a side hustle (not that she really needs one).

Jen snapped up a Bel Air mansion in Los Angeles for an eye-watering $20.1 million back in 2012.

The stunning estate sits on 3.25 acres of property.

Six years before buying that property, Jen signed off on a $13.5 million Beverly Hills mansion just after her split from ex-husband Brad Pitt.

Jen went on to revamp the entire estate – costing her millions and millions to make it desirable for the market.

She then managed to sell the house for $35 million in 2011 – which still made her a huge profit despite the millions she spent on making it ideal.

Jen is also known to own at least $10 million worth of property in New York City.

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