Jonathan Taylor Thomas Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What Is Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ Net Worth?

With a net worth of $12 million, Jonathan Taylor Thomas is recognized as an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol. He rose to fame in the 1990s, becoming one of the highest-paid teenage actors globally. Jonathan achieved television stardom through his role on Tim Allen’s sitcom “Home Improvement,” subsequently securing numerous film and television engagements. One of his most notable performances was voicing the young lion cub Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King.” Although he continues to act and direct on occasion, he has mostly stepped back from the public eye since then.

Early Life

Born Jonathan Taylor Weiss on September 8, 1981, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he later adopted “Thomas,” his older brother Joel’s middle name, crafting the well-known name “Jonathan Taylor Thomas,” also known as “JTT.”

Jonathan enjoyed a relatively ordinary childhood for the first eight or nine years of his life. His career in entertainment began in the late 1980s when he started modeling for local print advertisements in Sacramento, where his family had relocated. After securing a few roles in TV commercials, he landed a voice role for the character Spot in the children’s series “The Adventures of Spot,” which aired for three seasons and paved the way for his acting career.

Acting Career

Jonathan Taylor Thomas received his first major acting opportunity in 1990 when he played Greg Brady’s son in “The Bradys,” a spinoff of the ’70s sitcom “The Brady Bunch.” However, “The Bradys” was short-lived, airing for only a month.

The next year, he appeared in an episode of the FOX sketch comedy series “In Living Color,” where he portrayed a fictionalized version of Macaulay Culkin in a sketch poking fun at Michael Jackson:

This performance sparked an idea in a previously overlooked studio executive, leading to JTT being cast as Randy Taylor, the middle child on “Home Improvement.” His television brothers were portrayed by Zachery Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith, with Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson playing the roles of his parents. Interestingly, Jonathan is just a month older than Zachery Ty Bryan, who played his older sibling in the series.

Throughout its eight-season run from 1991 to 1998, Jonathan appeared in 179 of the 204 episodes of “Home Improvement.”

In 1994, he lent his voice to Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King,” which achieved stunning success at the global box office, grossing $968 million. Adjusted for inflation, that equates to roughly $1.9 billion today, making it the highest-grossing animated film in history.

“Lion King” Salary

While the exact amount Jonathan Taylor Thomas earned for “The Lion King” remains unclear, an anecdote offers some insights. In the movie, Jonathan voiced Simba’s speaking lines, while Jason Weaver sung the character’s vocals. Years later, Jason disclosed that he initially received an offer of $2 million for his contributions to “The Lion King,” translating to about $3.5 million in today’s terms. He notoriously TURNED THAT SALARY DOWN, preferring $100,000 up front plus a larger share of the backend royalties. Jason has confirmed that over the decades, his royalty earnings have significantly surpassed the initial $2 million salary offer. Given Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ immense popularity in 1994, one can reasonably speculate he was offered at least a comparable sum to Jason Weaver, but as we…

It’s unclear what his actual salary was or if he received a larger upfront salary or royalties instead.

Other Work

He took on various film roles, collaborating with Chevy Chase in “Man of the House,” starring in the Mark Twain adaptation “Tom and Huck” (where he received a salary of $600,000), and voicing Pinocchio in the (mostly) live-action “The Adventures of Pinocchio” in 1996. That same year, he also reprised his role as Pinocchio in the video game adaptation of the movie.

Throughout this time, Thomas sporadically acted in different TV shows, featuring in one episode of “Ally McBeal,” two episodes of “Smallville” (one in 2002 and the other in 2004), and three episodes of “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.” In 2005, he made an appearance on “Veronica Mars.” His film credits from this period include the posthumously created Ed Wood screenplay “I Woke Up Early the Day I Died,” the festive movie “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and the crime film “Speedway Junky,” which was somewhat outside his usual family realm. The most recent film he worked on is the 2005 Chinese animated movie “Thru the Moebius Strip,” where he provided his voice for Prince Ragis in the English-language version.

After taking an extended hiatus from television and film, Thomas reunited with his “Home Improvement” father, Tim Allen, on Allen’s sitcom “Last Man Standing,” appearing in four episodes and directing three. These episodes mark some of his limited directorial credits, following a short film he directed in 2006 titled “The Extra.” As indicated in one of the quotes below, he has shown a greater interest in behind-the-camera work, such as directing, rather than returning to the limelight he occupied in his youth. Nonetheless, he hasn’t completely detached from the entertainment industry; in 2017, he was inducted into the SAG-AFTRA union board despite his sparse screen credits after “Last Man Standing.”

During a March 2013 interview with “People” magazine, Thomas shared that even though he departed from Hollywood at the peak of his acting career, he has no regrets about his decision:

“I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break…I never took the fame too seriously…It was a great period in my life, but it doesn’t define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers.” In another interview, Thomas conveyed hesitance towards the notion of returning to acting: “I think at this point, I’d eventually like to work behind the camera. That’s not to say I would never act again, I’m not quite sure to be honest.“

College

By 1998, Thomas had started to lose interest in the entertainment industry, leading him to leave “Home Improvement” to concentrate on his education. Two years later, he graduated (with honors) from Chaminade College Preparatory School and subsequently enrolled at Harvard University. He spent his third year studying abroad at St. Andrews University in Scotland, eventually earning his degree from the Columbia University School of General Studies in 2010.

Personal Life

Being the nephew of playwright/actor Jeff Weiss, Thomas has mentioned that he has lived as a vegetarian for a significant portion of his life. He continues to maintain a low profile while remaining a consistent topic for various “where are they now?” segments in newspapers and magazines. Unlike many former child stars, he has opted out of public-facing social media accounts, and it remains uncertain where he currently resides, though it appears he has moved away from Hollywood.

Real Estate

In June 2000, Jonathan purchased a home with a lagoon view in Westlake Village, California, for $683,000. He still possesses this property today, having attempted to sell it between 2015 and 2016 for approximately $2 million.