Since his death, Marvel fans have wondered about Chadwick Boseman‘s net worth and what happened to his estate after he didn’t leave a will.
Boseman, who has starred in movies like Black Panther, 21 Bridges and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, died at the age of 43 on August 28, 2020, after a four-year battle with colon cancer. His family confirmed his death in an Instagram post at the time. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” his family said in a statement. “Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV. A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”
The statement continued, “It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther. He died in his home, with his wife and family by his side. The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
According to CNBC, Boseman didn’t leave a will. After his death, his wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, filed probate documents to be an administrator with limited authority over part of Boseman’s estate, which is estimated at $939,000. As CNBC notes, this number isn’t all of Boseman’s estate as his assets are subject to probate, the legal process of administering someone’s estate after death through court intervention. CNBC reports that other accounts, such as life insurance, qualified retirement accounts like 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts, may also be passed down to a beneficiary. According to the site, as of 2020, up to $11.58 million per person can be passed on tax-free to heirs.
So how much was Chadwick Boseman’s net worth and what did he make as one of Marvel’s most successful movie stars? Read on to find out.
What was Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther salary?
Image: Marvel / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection.
What was Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther salary? Boseman starred in four Marvel movies before his death: 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, 2018’s Black Panther, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Boseman played T’Challa also known as the Black Panther. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boseman made $2 million for Black Panther, which was much more than what stars like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth made for their first Marvel movies but much less than what they earned at the time of Black Panther‘s premiere. (Hemsworth and Evans made $15 million at the time for Infinity War and Endgame, according to THR.) Black Panther went on to earn $1.3 billion at the box office and became one of Marvel’s most successful releases yet. Boseman then starred in Infinity War and Endgame, which made more than $2 billion each.
In an interview on Good Morning America in 2018, Boseman talked about what playing T’Challa in Black Panther meant to him. “It was important to us, I didn’t know how other people would feel about it,” Boseman said. “I knew just from the comic book what a ‘Black Panther’ movie could be, the type of impact it could have, I knew it would be a revolutionary idea. I didn’t necessarily know that people would buy out [the seats in] theaters.” He continued, “There is a sense of pride that I’ve seen from most people when they come out of the theater that is a very unique experience across the board, whether they’re African-American or African, or white, or Asian.”
He also opened up about the reaction of seeing fans watch the movie. “It’s important because I didn’t have this growing up,” Boseman said. “I’m still a kid, you know, there’s a kid in each one of us and so I just know what it’s going to mean to you when you see it that it can give you a certain type of confidence when you walk through the world. It also makes people that look like you see you in a different light and not judge you in a particular way.” He continued, “This sort of extends that conversation about black superhero women, women in superhero movies. There’s not just one image to look at. They’re all very different and have different types of beauty and strength.”
What was Chadwick Boseman’s net worth?
Image: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.
What was Chadwick Boseman’s net worth? According to Celebrity Net Worth, Chadwick Boseman’s net worth was $4 million at the time of his death. This number included the money he made from Black Panther, Infinity War, Endgame and other Marvel movies, as well as films like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, 21 Bridges and Da 5 Bloods. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Boseman died without a will. After his death, his widow Simone Ledward Boseman, petitioned a Los Angeles court to handle his estate. A court filing after Boseman’s death showed that the “total inventoried value” of his estate was $3,881,758.31, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The site also reported that Boseman’s estate received around $200,000 in residuals a year after his death.
At a speech at Howard University in 2018, Boseman gave advice to the graduating class about pursuing their careers. “Sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is and how you need to fight it,” he said. “Whatever you choose for a career path, remember, the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose. When I dared to challenge the system that would relegate us to victims and stereotypes with no clear historical backgrounds, no hopes or talents, when I questioned that method of portrayal, a different path opened up for me, the path to my destiny.”
He continued, “To be young, gifted and Black, we all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured. Yet, you are young, gifted and Black. We know what it’s like to be told to say there is not a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on. “We know what it’s like to be a tail and not the head. We know what it’s like to be beneath and not above. And that is what we went to work with every day because we knew, not that we would be around during awards season and that it would make a billion dollars, but we knew that we had something special that we wanted to give the world. That we could be full human beings in the roles that we were playing. That we could create a world that exemplified a world that we wanted to see.”
How did Chadwick Boseman die?
Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney.
How did Chadwick Boseman die? Boseman died on August 28, 2020, after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43 years old. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled it with these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV,” his family wrote at the time in a statement on his social media. “A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wild’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.” The statement continued, “It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther. He died in his home, with his wife and family by his side. The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige also said in a statement at the time, “Chadwick’s passing is absolutely devastating. He was our T’Challa, our Black Panther, and our dear friend. Each time he stepped on set, he radiated charisma and joy, and each time he appeared on screen, he created something truly indelible. He embodied a lot of amazing people in his work, and nobody was better at bringing great men to life. He was as smart and kind and powerful and strong as any person he portrayed. Now he takes his place alongside them as an icon for the ages. The Marvel Studios family deeply mourns his loss, and we are grieving tonight with his family.”
Walt Disney Company chairman Bob Iger added in his own statement, “We are all heartbroken by the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman — an extraordinary talent, and one of the most gentle and giving souls I have ever met. He brought enormous strength, dignity and depth to his groundbreaking role of Black Panther; shattering myths and stereotypes, becoming a long-awaited hero to millions around the world, and inspiring us all to dream bigger and demand more than the status quo. We mourn all that he was, as well as everything he was destined to become. For his friends and millions of fans, his absence from the screen is only eclipsed by his absence from our lives. All of us at Disney send our prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Black Panther is available to stream on Disney Plus. Here’s how to watch it for free.
Image: Triumph Books.
For more about Chadwick Boseman, read Mia Johnson’s 2020 biography, Chadwick Boseman: Forever Our King. The book, which was published four months after Boseman’s death from colon cancer on August 28, 2020 at the age of 43, takes Marvel fans through Boseman’s career and life from how he was cast as King T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther franchise to his secret diagnosis with colon cancer in 2016, two years before the premiere of the first Black Panther movie. The biography—which donates a portion of its proceeds to Fight Colorectal Cancer, an organization dedicating to researching and raising awareness around rectal cancer—also includes dozens of full-color photographs and details about Boseman’s childhood in South Carolina and his final days before his death. “If you love Chadwick Boseman, and who doesn’t, you need this book,” one reviewer wrote.
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