Net Worth Ranker
What Is Alan Alda’s Net Worth?
Alan Alda, the acclaimed American actor, director, and writer, has cultivated a substantial net worth of $50 million. This financial achievement is primarily attributed to his prolific career spanning over five decades in the entertainment industry.
Alan Alda’s Career and Earnings
Alan Alda’s career began in the 1950s, participating in the improvisational comedy revue the Compass Players. Alda’s television debut was on a 1958 episode of “The Phil Silvers Show”. His first Broadway play was “Only in America,” in 1959. Alda’s first film was 1963’s “Gone Are the Days!”. He appeared in the films “Paper Lion” (1968), “The Extraordinary Seaman” (1969), “The Moonshine War” (1970), “The Mephisto Waltz” (1971), and “To Kill a Clown” (1972).
Alda’s significant breakthrough arrived in 1972 when he was chosen to portray Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in the CBS series “M*A*S*H.” His participation extended across all 256 episodes of the series, garnering him numerous accolades as an actor, writer, and director. Notably, the 1983 series finale, which he both wrote and directed, stands as the most-watched episode in the history of American television.
During his tenure on “M*A*S*H,” Alda expanded his acting portfolio with appearances in films such as “Same Time, Next Year” (1978) and “California Suite” (1978), alongside television films “Isn’t It Shocking?” (1973) and “Kill Me If You Can” (1977). Following the conclusion of “M*A*S*H,” Alda ventured into writing, directing, and starring in the 1986 film “Sweet Liberty” and the 1988 film “A New Life.” Subsequently, he featured in films like “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989) and “Whispers in the Dark” (1992), as well as the television movie “And the Band Played On” (1993).
In 1995, he played the President of the United States in “Canadian Bacon.” Alda co-starred in 1996’s “Flirting with Disaster.” He starred in the films “Murder at 1600” (1997), “Mad City” (1997), and “The Object of My Affection” (1998). In 1999, he guest-starred on five episodes of NBC’s “ER,” earning a Primetime Emmy nomination. In 2000, he appeared in the film “What Women Want,” then portrayed Republican politician Owen Brewster in 2004’s “The Aviator” and received an Oscar nomination for his performance. From 2004 to 2006, Alda appeared as Senator Arnold Vinick on 28 episodes of NBC’s “The West Wing,” a role that earned him an Emmy.
Later in his career, Alda appeared in the films “Resurrecting the Champ” (2007), “Flash of Genius” (2008), and “Nothing but the Truth” (2008) and guest-starred on “30 Rock” in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2013, he guest-starred on six episodes of “The Big C,” followed by five episodes of “The Blacklist” from 2013 to 2014. He reunited with his “Flirting with Disaster” co-star Ben Stiller in 2011’s “Tower Heist,” which also starred Eddie Murphy, and teamed back up with his “The Object of My Affection” co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd in 2012’s “Wanderlust.” In 2015, Alda co-starred with Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” and appeared in the film adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel “The Longest Ride.” He has guest-starred on “Broad City” (2016), “The Good Fight” (2018–2019), and “Ray Donovan” (2018–2020), and he earned critical acclaim for his performance in the 2019 film “Marriage Story.”
At the height of his “M*A*S*H” success, Alan Alda commanded a salary of $300,000 per episode from 1980 onwards (seasons 9, 10, and 11). This translated to approximately $6 million per season. Adjusted for inflation, this would be equivalent to earning around $20 million per season in today’s dollars for three seasons. This made him the highest paid actor on the series, but also the highest paid actor on television.
Real Estate Holdings
In 2000, Alan and Arlene Alda acquired two adjacent apartments in Manhattan’s Park Millennium building for $4.9 million. The two units measured 1,528 square feet and 878 square feet. In 2008, the couple expanded their holdings by purchasing another adjoining apartment, spanning 1,284 square feet, for $3 million. The Aldas have also owned homes in Watermill, New York, and the Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, and Brentwood areas of Los Angeles. They sold their 3,169 square foot Bel Air home for $1 million in 2003 and their 3,072 square foot Brentwood residence for $1.395 million in 2005.
Personal Life and Charitable Activities
Alan Alda married Arlene Weiss on March 15, 1957, and together, they have three daughters: Eve (born December 12, 1958), Elizabeth (born August 20, 1960), and Beatrice (born August 10, 1961). In 2018, Alda disclosed his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, which he had been living with for three years prior.
Alda is passionate about charitable work, and in 2005, he narrated the special “Fighting for Life” for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. He has supported Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, and HELP USA. In the early 1990s, he and Arlene formed the Jenjo Foundation, which focuses on “early childhood, youth development, violence prevention, and microenterprise organizations that serve the needs of women and families.”
Alda’s commitment to science is evident through his hosting of the series “Scientific American Frontiers” from 1993 to 2005. In 2010, Stony Brook University appointed him as a visiting professor, a year after he established their Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He has served on the boards of the Future of Life Institute and World Science Festival. In 2014, the Society for Technical Communication recognized him as an Honorary Fellow. He was awarded the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public (2014), the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal (2016), and the Distinguished Kavli Science Communicator award (2021).
Alda is an advocate of women’s rights and co-chaired the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign with First Lady Betty Ford.
Awards and Recognition
Alan Alda’s contributions to the entertainment industry have been acknowledged through numerous awards and honors. He has been nominated for 16 Golden Globes, securing six wins for his role in “M*A*S*H.” Additionally, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in “The Aviator.” Out of 34 Primetime Emmy nominations, he has won six, with five awards attributed to “M*A*S*H” and one to “The West Wing.”
Alda’s achievements extend to an American Movie Award for “The Seduction of Joe Tynan” in 1980, and he was recognized as Favorite Star – Male in 1982. He has earned three Directors Guild of America awards for directing episodes of “M*A*S*H,” as well as seven People’s Choice Awards, including Favorite Male TV Performer (five times) and Favorite All-Around Male Entertainer (twice). The Writers Guild of America honored him with a Valentine Davies Award in 2000 and the Episodic Comedy award for the “M*A*S*H” episode “Dear Sigmund” in 1977.
In 2019, Alda received the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Gold Derby Awards in 2009. He was named Male Star of the Year at the Golden Apple Awards in 1974 and 1979. For the “Dreams” episode of “M*A*S*H,” he won a Humanitas Prize in 1980, and that year, he was also named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the Year. He received a Founders Award from the International Emmy Awards in 2012 and the Dick Cavett Award at the 2018 Hamptons International Film Festival.
Further accolades include a Grammy nomination for Spoken Word Album for “Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself,” Tony nominations for “The Apple Tree,” “Jake’s Women,” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for “Glengarry Glen Ross.” He has been awarded honorary degrees from institutions such as Saint Peter’s University, Fordham University, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Stony Brook University. In 1994, Alan Alda was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
