River Jude Phoenix, born on the 23 August 1970, was an American actor, activist and musician who became famous for his roles in the movies “Stand By Me”, “Running on Empty” and “My Own Private Idaho”. He passed away in 1993.
So how much is Phoenix’s net worth? Adjusted to late 2016, it is reported to have been over $5 million, acquired from his years as an actor and as a musician, which spanned just over 10 years..
River Phoenix Net Worth $5 million
Born in Madras, Oregon, Phoenix was the son of carpenter John Bottom and Arlyn Dunetz, and was the oldest brother to siblings Liberty, Summer, Rain, and Joaquin. While growing up in Oregon, his parents decided to join the religious group called Children of God, for whom the family was sent to Caracas, Venezuela to serve as missionaries. Years later, due to a change of leadership, the Bottoms decided to return to the United States and start a new life. John decided to change the family’s last name from Bottom to Phoenix to start anew.
In 1977, upon returning to the US, Phoenix’s mother was able to land a job at a television station and it was during this time that they were encouraged to get into acting. While working as a secretary, Phoenix’s mom was able to hire an agent and soon he was booking a couple of jobs on television.
At a young age, Phoenix participated in commercials, but in 1982 he was able to land his first acting role on television, a part in an upcoming television series entitled “Seven Brides for Seven Brother”, playing one of the brothers in the show. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for a season, but this became the starting point of his career in television and movies, and started his net worth as well.
After doing a couple of television shows – “Family Ties”, “Hotel”, and “Surviving”, in 1985 Phoenix was cast in the movie “Explorers”, in which he played a teen inventor. A year later, he was again back on the big screen, starring in the film “Stand By Me”, a movie adaptation of one of Stephen King’s novels; his performance in the film received such positive reviews that he became an overnight sensation, with a corresponding boost to his net worth.
More movies came streaming in for Phoenix in the 80’s, including “The Mosquito Coast”, “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon”, “Little Nikita” and “Running on Empty” in which he once again impressed both fans and critics. His numerous movies established him as one of the best actors in his generation, and tremendously increased his wealth.
Other films that Phoenix made that also made waves included “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “My Own Private Idaho” and “Dogfight”.
Aside from acting, Phoenix was also known for his skills in music. He created his band called Aleka’s Attic with his sister Rain, and together they wrote and recorded a couple of songs, but unfortunately were not able to release an album.
In 1993, during a night out clubbing with his then girlfriend Samantha Mathis and siblings Rain and Joaquin, Phoenix took a mixture of drugs and died due to acute multiple drug intoxication. Phoenix was just 23 years old when he passed away.
