Getty Actors and spouses Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner following their reconciliation, Britain, April 24th 1972.
The spotlight is shining back on Robert Wagner in the death of his wife, Hollywood legend Natalie Wood, now that an investigator has labeled Wagner a “person of interest.”
What is Robert Wagner’s net worth? His star wattage arguably wasn’t quite at the level of Wood’s, as she is one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons. However, Wagner, who is now age 87, starred in a series of movies and television shows throughout the years that brought him wealth and fame.
Natalie Wood: Death in Dark Water, which features rare interviews with investigators, will air on Saturday, February 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The program contains rare interviews with investigators as it explores what happened to Natalie Wood when she drowned in 1981 after a night on a yacht with Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Robert Wagner’s Wealth Is in the Millions of Dollars
GettyRobert Wagner & Natalie Wood
The Richest and other sites peg Robert Wagner’s net worth as being around $15 million, money that derives from his television shows and movie appearances. However, it’s possible that Robert Wagner’s net worth could be even higher.
In 2007, Wagner and his long-time partner Jill St. John sold a six-bedroom Brentwood, California “ranchette” for $15 million, according to Daily Variety. The house was 4,556 square feet, with 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and came with a guest house that itself was 2,448 square feet, with 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.
Over the years, Wagner has helped support three daughters with his fortune: Courtney Wagner, his daughter with Natalie Wood; Natasha Gregson Wagner, Natalie’s daughter with Richard Gregson; and Katy Wagner, the daughter of Wagner and another woman he married in between his two marriages to Natalie (Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner married, divorced, and then remarried in what was a famously tempestous relationship.)
2. Wagner Starred in the TV Show ‘Hart to Hart’ & Austin Powers
GettyUS Actor Robert Wagner(2ndL) gets a kiss from daughter Courtney(2ndR), and wife actress Jill St. John(L), and daughter Katie(R) look on during an unveiling ceremony for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 16 July, 2002 in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, CA.
According to The Richest, “Best recognized as Number Two in Austin Powers trilogy of films, Robert Wagner is a stage, screen, and TV actor with a total net worth of $15 million.” However, some might dispute the Austin Powers’ contention to argue that Robert Wagner is best known for his role alongside Stefanie Powers in the television show, Hart to Hart.
Wagner’s career as an actor started in the 1950s. Some of his first movies include Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, Prince Valiant, A Kiss Before Dying, and Between Heaven and Hell. His star rose in the 1960s when he starred in To Catch a Thief, and Switch. He began starring in the 1970s in the television show Hart to Hart. He has guest starred in top television shows in more recent years, ranging from Seinfeld and Boston Legal.
3. Wagner’s Wife, Jill St. John, Has Her Own Wealth
GettyRobert WAgner and Jill St. John,
Wagner’s long-time romantic partner, Jill St. John, whom he married in 1990, is a millionaire in her own right, although it’s not clear how or whether her finances are entangled with those of Robert Wagner. Jill St. John’s net worth is usually given as being around $10 million. She starred as a Bond Girl.
Her movie career dates to the 1950s and such films as The Lost World, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, Tony Rome, Foreign Exchange, The Concrete Jungle, and The Player. “She is most widely recognized for her Golden Globe nominated performance in Come Blow Your Horn, and as Bond Girl, Tiffany Case, in Diamonds Are Forever,” reports Celebrity Net Worth.
4. Wagner Wrote an Autobiography in Which He Discussed Natalie’s Death
GettyJill St. John and Robert Wagner.
Some of Robert Wagner’s net worth derives from the autobiography that he wrote. In the book, he discussed Natalie’s death, writing, “The last time I saw my wife she was fixing her hair in the bathroom while I was arguing with Chris. I saw her shut the door.” That’s an account now disputed by the ship’s captain, Dennis Davern.
The memoir was published in 2016. “When Natalie died I thought my life was over. My children helped me heal. I got on my feet but it was a very, very difficult and sad time,” Wagner also wrote.
5. The Couple Was on a Yacht Named ‘Splendour’ the Night That Natalie Drowned
GettyNatalie Wood and Robert Wagner.
Wood’s death was initially declared an accident. Then, the case was reopened and her cause of death was changed to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” Her death has now been labeled suspicious and an investigator declared that Wagner is a “person of interest.”
Natalie, Wagner, and Walken, along with captain Dennis Davern, had taken to the water in a yacht the couple owned called, “Splendour.” Natalie’s body was found floating in the water not far from the yacht when she vanished at night, and it’s never been determined exactly how she ended up in it, although some allege she tried to take a dinghy to shore after a night of drinking and arguing with Robert Wagner.
Davern, whose account of what happened that night has shifted over the years, now says that Wagner was the last to see Wood alive. “Dennis knows there was a huge fight on the back of the deck. He heard it. He turned on the music to try to drown out the sound of the fight just to protect them. He loved both of them,” author Marti Rulli, who wrote a book on Davern’s account, told First Coast News on February 2. “Then, when everything went quiet, he went down to the deck immediately and Robert Wagner was right by the swim step and nervous and shaking and said ‘Natalie’s missing. Go look for her.’ And Dennis did that.”
