Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks at the National Archives Foundation on September 25, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)
Lin-Manuel Miranda is a man of many talents: actor, playwright, singer, rapper, and composer being among the most notable. He first gained notoriety for his play In The Heights, which earned him four 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical, but it wasn’t until the release of Hamilton in 2016 that Miranda became a globally recognized figure. Now, Miranda is a ubiquitous force in the entertainment industry, lending his talents to stage, television, and film with equally impressive results.
His latest venture, the Disney film Moana (2016), has earned Miranda his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Song (“How Far I’ll Go“), which he will be performing tonight at the 2017 Academy Awards. With this endless well of commercial success and a busy schedule of projects lined up, Miranda’s career has caused many to ask the question: how much money does he make? According to Earn That Necklace, Lin-Manuel Miranda has an estimated net worth of $10 million. Read on to find out where he’s made his money and how he spends it.
1. Hamilton Has Grossed Over $85 Million
Hamilton accumulated staggering pre-sale numbers in 2016. According to Playbill, the show took in an estimated $30 million before it even opened to the public, before going on to set the record for most money grossed in a single week ($3.3 million) when it was released. To date, Hamilton has grossed over $85 million, and a sizable portion of that goes directly to the show’s creator and star, Miranda. While his total salary is still undisclosed to the public, Miranda reportedly earned a 7% cut of the weekly box office revenue, which, when tallied up, equates to roughly $100,000 a week.
There is also the matter of song royalties, which will continue to load Miranda’s pockets through each subsequent Hamilton revival. The show is scheduled to hit the road for a U.S. National Tour in March, while a West End production of Hamilton is slated to premiere in October at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
2. He Raised Money for Planned Parenthood
Outside of his musical ventures, Miranda often contributes to fundraising campaigns. He was an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton during the election, and reworked the lyrics to the Hamilton song “The World Is Wide Enough” during a performance at one of her benefit fundraisers. But perhaps the most notable of Miranda’s charitable activities is his work with Planned Parenthood. His mother, Luz Towns-Miranda, is on the board of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and as such, Miranda has contributed his time and celebrity status to help raise money for the birth control organization.
In December 2016, Miranda released a statement saying that if one donates $10 to Planned Parenthood’s “Beacon of Hope” , they will enter a competition to win free tickets to go see Hamilton on Broadway. Given the show’s worldwide success, the ploy worked, and Miranda reportedly raised thousands of dollars in donation money. Check out his promotional video above.
3. He Is The CEO Of 5000 Broadway Productions
Lin-Manuel Miranda attends the “Grease: Live” Panel on August 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty)
Miranda is the founder and CEO of 5000 Broadway Productions. The entertainment company is the foundation for most of his work, like the upcoming adaptations of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles novels. According to The Wrap, Miranda and Lionsgate will produce a feature-film version of the first novel, with a spinoff TV series to follow.
5000 Broadway has also supported various other stage productions, including Vestments of the Gods (2014), a modern-day take on Sophocles’ Antigone that directly addresses LGBT bullying, and A Burial Place (2016), a drama that revolves around painful secrets. Both plays are penned by Miranda’s close friend and fellow playwright Owen Panettiere. Miranda’s sister, Luz Miranda-Crespo, is the chief financial officer of 5000 Broadway Productions.
4. He Received The MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’
Miranda was a recipient of the MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ Award in 2015. Officially known as MacArthur Fellows, the grant provides $625,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to artists of exceptional and culturally important talent. According to the MacArthur site, Lin-Manuel Miranda is “well-versed in the structure and history of musical theater,” and “expands its idiom with the aesthetics of popular culture and stories from individuals and communities new to Broadway stages.”
The Foundation went on to praise Miranda for “the daring pairing of street culture with America’s founding narrative [Hamilton],” and the way he captures the “defiant spirit of the American Revolution, and cross-racial casting connects the present day to the diverse immigrant society of the thirteen rebel colonies.” The $625,000 stipend is being paid out over five years, which adds sizable boost to Miranda’s net worth. Plus, with no strings attached, recipients are allowed the use the money in any way they see fit– a freedom that Miranda has seemingly put to good use.
5. He Has Won Multiple Awards
Miranda’s Academy Award nomination tonight is only the latest in a long, wildly decorated career. In The Heights was the first of his celebrated work, as he took home a Tony Award for Best Original Score and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2009. It was with the release of Hamilton, however, that the bulk of his 68 award nominations originated, including a record-tying 14 nominations at the 2016 Tony Awards. The show wound up winning a whopping 11 in total, while Miranda himself won Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Musical. Hamilton also swiped up Best Musical Theater Album at the Grammys that year.
Still, the most impressive of Miranda’s accolades to date was when he won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize. His production of Hamilton was only the ninth musical in history to land the prestigious award, as it was deemed by the Pulitzer to be the year’s most “distinguished play by an American author.” In his acceptance speech, Miranda said “It is a tremendous honor to even be considered for this very prestigious award… to win today for Hamilton is beyond my wildest dreams.” Miranda also took home a $10,000 cash bonus.