Jackie Chan Net Worth

Chan Kong-sang, better known to film goers as the actor Jackie Chan, was born on April 7, 1954. His parents were Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, who had fled to Hong Kong as refugees from the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. Charles and Lee-Lee Chan were employed by the French ambassador to Hong Kong. Chan grew up for several years in the French legation in the Victoria Peak neighborhood of Hong Kong.

Chan initially attended the Nah-Hwa Primary School in Hong Kong. He failed his first year, and his parents withdrew him from school.

In 1960, Charles Chan migrated to Australia, taking a position as head cook at the American Embassy. From age 7, Jackie Chan attended the China Drama Academy, a Peking opera school conducted by Master Yu Jim-yuen. The school placed little emphasis on academics. Instead, Jackie Chan was trained in martial arts, acrobatics, singing, and dancing for ten years.

Chan was one of the best students of the academy, and was gifted at both martial arts and acrobatics. He performed in the school performance group, Seven Little Fortunes, using the stage name Yuen Lo. Two other group members, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, became close friends of Jackie Chan, and went on to have significant acting careers of their own.

After finishing at the China Drama Academy, Chan rejoined his family in Australia. Chan briefly attended Dickson College and worked in construction jobs. One of the other construction workers, named Jack, befriended Chan, and so Chan acquired the nickname “Little Jack” or Jackie.

How Did Jackie Chan Start His Career As A Hong Kong Actor?

Even as a young child, Jackie Chan appeared in minor parts as a child actor. In 1962, at age eight, he was cast with some of his classmates from the China Drama Academy in the film Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Two other film roles followed, in 1963 and 1966. In 1971, Chan appeared as an extra in a kung-fu film, A Touch of Zen. He was given a contract with the Great Earth Film Company as a result of his work.

Sammo Hung helped his friend Jackie Chan get minor parts in two Bruce Lee films. In the 1972 film Fist of Fury, Chan played as an extra and as a stunt double for the villain Hiroshi Suzuki, played by Riki Hashimoto. In 1973, Chan played a minion who was killed by Lee’s character in the film Enter the Dragon. In 1974, Chan was hired as a martial arts choreographer for The Young Dragons.

Jackie Chan continued acting and performed in a number of pictures in Hong Kong. Chan’s major breakthrough came in 1978 with the film Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. He was allowed complete control over his own stunt work, and he used the freedom to create the comedic kung fu genre. A second film in 1978, Drunken Master, established Chan as a major star in Hong Kong and Chinese cinema.

How Did Jackie Chan Start His Career In The American Film Industry?

Although Chan enjoyed popular success in the film industry in British Hong Kong, he had yet to enjoy similar success in the United States. His first major opportunity came in the early 1980’s. He had a minor part in the film Cannonball Run, opposite Burt Reynolds, but his work was largely ignored by American critics. After the failure of the film The Protectors in 1985, Chan returned to Hong Kong, and continued to make films there.

While in Hong Kong, Chan acted in several successful film franchises, including Project A, and the Police Story movies. He also starred in the sequel to Drunken Master, Drunken Master II.

While Chan’s films made him a very popular film star in Europe and Asia, and had gained a certain cult following in the United States, mainstream success in the United States had eluded him. In the mid-1990’s, Jackie Chan tried to break into the American film industry for a second time. He refused villain roles. The 1995 film Rumble in the Bronx led to further opportunities, and the release of Police Story 3: Supercop, under the American title Supercop, finally gave Chan success in the American theater.

In 1998, Chan scored a major success with his co-star Chris Tucker in the film Rush Hour. The film earned $130 million just in the United States, and led to more opportunities for Jackie Chan.

Starting in 1999, Chan branched into new genres of acting and film production, producing and starring in the film Gorgeous, a romantic comedy with few martial arts sequences.

A number of other movies followed, including Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, Rush Hour 2, The Tuxedo, The Medallion, and Around the World in 80 Days followed over the next five years. By 2004, Chan was one of the most recognized film stars in the world, even though not all of his films were commercial or critical successes.

In 2003, in order to gain more control over his film-making process and create a wider range of opportunities for his acting skills, Jackie Chan created JCE Movies Limited. Chan has focused on creating more dramatic roles while retaining many of the old commercially successful movie franchises, like Rush Hour.

In 2010, Chan played Mr. Han, in the remake of The Karate Kid alongside Jaden Smith.

Even after a career spanning six decades, Jackie Chan continues to be active as an actor and film director. In 2016, Chan appeared in Railroad Tigers, an action comedy. In 2017, he starred in The Foreigner, a thriller. He has also appeared in the science fiction film Bleeding Steel. In 2021, Chan worked on Project X-Traction with co-star John Cena.

What other projects has Jackie Chan worked on?

In 2000, Chan appeared for the first time on video game consoles, when he helped create a PlayStation game, Jackie Chan Stuntmaster. Chan performed as a voice actor for the game, and used his skills as a martial artist to perform the motion capture work of the game.

In 2008, Chan performed as a voice actor in the role of Master Monkey in Kung Fu Panda, alongside co-stars Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Jack Black.

In the Chinese version of the 1998 Disney cartoon Mulan, Chan voiced the role of Shang, and performed the song “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” In the American version, the role was performed by B.D. Wong, and the song was performed by Donny Osmond.

He sang the Nat King Cole standard, “Unforgettable” with Ani DiFranco on the album “When Pigs Fly.”

In the late 1990’s, Jackie Chan officially changed his name to Fang Shilong. The family name of Fang has a long and distinguished history in China, and can be traced back over 1400 years to an important official in the Chinese Imperial government.

His autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan, was written in cooperation with Jeff Yang.

How Much Money Has Jackie Chan Earned From His Films?

Jackie Chan has earned the equivalent of over $145 million in the Hong Kong box office. He has earned over $72 million in South Korea, and over $607 million in Japan. In China, his films have earned over $2.03 billion, and in the US, Chan has earned over $1.84 billion for his films.

The combined box office revenues have given Chan an income of over $70 million per year. He has been described as the second highest paid actor in history. His net worth is estimated at $400 million.

What Charitable Activities Does Jackie Chan Support?

Jackie Chan is well-known for his generous charitable donations. In 1988, he created the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation to donate scholarship money to children in Hong Kong and China. In 2005, he created the Dragon’s Heart Foundation to provide assistance throughout China to children by building schools, donating books, school fees and uniforms. The Dragon’s Heart Foundation also provides assistance to the elderly with medical devices and warm clothing.

Chan has also been active in relief for environmental disasters, as well as campaigning for environmental and animal rights causes, and founded Save China’s Tigers.

Jackie Chan’s Personal Life

Chan married Taiwanese actress Joan Lin in 1982. Their son, Jaycee Chan, was born the same year. In the late 1990’s, Chan had an affair with Elaine Ng Yi-Lei. The couple had a daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam. The scandal was widely reported in the Hong Kong press at the time.

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