Net Worth Ranker
What Is Ricardo Montalbán’s Net Worth?
At the time of his death in 2009, Ricardo Montalbán had a net worth of $10 million. His career spanned seven decades, during which he gained fame as a film and television actor. His roles included Mr. Roarke on “Fantasy Island,” Khan Noonien Singh in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” and Armando in the third and fourth “Planet of the Apes” films.
Ricardo Montalbán’s Career Milestones
Ricardo Montalbán’s career began in the early 1940s. He initially appeared in soundies on film jukeboxes in New York before returning to Mexico to pursue acting. His role in the 1943 romantic drama film “Santa” made him a star in his home country. His filmography included titles like “Five Were Chosen,” “The Escape,” “Nosotros,” and “The Hour of Truth.”
In 1947, Montalbán made his Hollywood debut in the MGM musical “Fiesta,” playing a bullfighter opposite Esther Williams. His role led to a long-term contract with MGM. He was subsequently paired with Williams in the musicals “On an Island with You” and “Neptune’s Daughter.”
Montalbán secured his first Hollywood leading role in Anthony Mann’s 1949 film noir “Border Incident.” He also starred in the war film “Battleground,” directed by William Wellman, the film noir “Mystery Street,” directed by John Sturges, and the sports drama “Right Cross,” also directed by Sturges. He also starred opposite Jane Powell in the musical “Two Weeks with Love.”
In 1951, he appeared in “Mark of the Renegade” for Universal before returning to MGM for the Western “Across the Wide Missouri.” In 1952, Montalbán starred opposite Shelley Winters in William Wellman’s “My Man and I.” His final films for MGM were “Sombrero” and “Latin Lovers” in 1953.
Throughout the 1950s, Montalbán appeared in films such as “The Saracen Blade,” “Untouched,” “The Queen of Babylon,” and “A Life in the Balance.” He also starred in “Three for Jamie Dawn,” “Desert Warrior,” and the Academy Award-winning “Sayonara.” In the 1960s, he starred in “Let No Man Write My Epitaph,” “Rage of the Buccaneers,” “The Reluctant Saint,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” “The Money Trap,” “The Singing Nun,” “Sol Madrid,” “Blue,” and “Sweet Charity.”
In the early 1970s, Montalbán played Armando in “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” and “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.” He also appeared in the Western “The Train Robbers.”
In 1982, Montalbán starred in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” reprising his role as Khan Noonien Singh from the “Star Trek” television series. He also made a cameo in “Cannonball Run II” in 1984. In 1988, he played the villain Vincent Ludwig in “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”
Montalbán returned to the big screen in 2002 with “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams,” reprising his role in “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” in 2003. His final film role was in the animated film “The Ant Bully” in 2006.
Montalbán’s television career began in the 1950s with appearances in anthology series such as “The Ford Television Theatre,” “Climax!,” and “Playhouse 90.” In the early 1960s, he guest-starred on “Bonanza,” “The Untouchables,” “The Virginian,” “Ben Casey,” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” Throughout the decade, he appeared on “Dr. Kildare,” “I Spy,” “Ironside,” and “The High Chaparral.” He also debuted as Khan Noonien Singh in the “Space Seed” episode of “Star Trek.”
In the first half of the 1970s, Montalbán appeared on “Gunsmoke,” “Here’s Lucy,” and “Hawaii Five-O,” and starred in the television film “The Mask of Zorro.” He had a recurring role on “Executive Suite” and a guest role in “How the West Was Won,” for which he won an Emmy Award.
Montalbán’s most famous television role was as Mr. Roarke on “Fantasy Island,” which aired from 1978 to 1984. After that, he played Zach Powers on “The Colbys” from 1985 to 1987. In the early 1990s, he appeared on “B.L. Stryker,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Dream On,” and “The Golden Palace,” and starred on “Heaven Help Us.” He then focused on voice acting, with credits including “Freakazoid!,” “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” “Dora the Explorer,” and “Kim Possible.” Montalbán’s final television role was in “American Dad!” in 2009.
In 1970, Montalbán co-founded the Nosotros Foundation, later purchasing the Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood and renaming it the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre.
Details on Ricardo Montalbán’s Hollywood Mansion
In 1986, Ricardo Montalbán completed construction on a large mansion in the Hollywood Hills, located at 1423 Oriole Avenue. The mansion, designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, took 2-3 years to construct.
After Ricardo Montalbán’s death, his daughter Laura inherited the mansion. She transferred the home to her husband in 2009 for a payment of $9 million. The property, known as “Casa Montalbán,” was subsequently razed, and a new 13,000-square-foot mansion was built by 2012.
In 2012, the new mansion was purchased by an LLC for $38.98 million. The owner behind the LLC was Jho Low, who used money embezzled from the 1Malaysia Development Berhard Fund (1MDB) to purchase the property.
Federal authorities seized the property and listed it for $24.5 million in July 2019. It ultimately sold for $18.5 million in March 2020. The property remained abandoned between 2013 and 2020.
Personal Life and Death
Ricardo Montalbán was married to Georgiana Young from 1944 until her death 63 years later. They had four children: Laura, Mark, Anita, and Victor.
On January 14, 2009, Ricardo Montalbán passed away from congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 88. He is interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
