Though he had already starred in several projects before landing the role of Joey Tribbiani on Friends, it was the NBC sitcom that would propel the Hollywood actor to become a household name around the world, appearing in a whopping 235 episodes and banking an astounding $1 million for the show’s ninth and tenth series in 2004.
There's a reunion special set to be filmed this summer, with LeBlanc and his fellow cast members looking to earn an astounding $2.5 million, respectively.
His character’s popularity on Friends saw LeBlanc land his very own show, appropriately titled Joey, that very same year, and though it didn’t have the same kind of momentum as its predecessor, the 53-year-old remained one of the highest-earning actors in showbiz - and rightfully so.
In an interview with The Times, LeBlanc told the publication that he mainly acts for the money, and considering how much he’s been able to pull in after the end of Friends, he’s certainly done a good job at picking the right projects as his current net worth stands at $80 million. But where has his money been coming from as of late?
Matt LeBlanc’s Fortune
After earning roughly $18 million from the final series of Friends, LeBlanc was quick to book his next project, Joey, which only lasted for two seasons, and though it was never disclosed how much he made from the short-lived spinoff, it’s believed that the numbers would have been anywhere between $500,000 to $750,000 per episode.
In 2006, Joey concluded after 46 episodes. He took a lengthy break from acting for unknown reasons, but by 2010, LeBlanc took on a new role in filmmaking: executive producing. His first commercial film was Jonah Hex, starring Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, and Josh Brolin, before going on to produce the TV movie The Prince in 2015.
2011 brought upon yet another TV show for the likable star who played himself in the Showtime series Episodes, which was undoubtedly the most successful run for LeBlanc since the end of Friends, running for six years and producing a total of five seasons.
In 2013, LeBlanc joined former Friends co-star Lisa Kudrow on her comedy show Web Therapy, playing Nick Jericho for five episodes before landing the role of Charlie Darby in 2014’s Lovesick.
In 2016, the Massachusetts native executive produced and starred in the CBS television show Man with a Plan - again, it’s unclear how much money he was earning for each project behind the camera, but it’s fair to assume that he certainly wasn’t making less than what he’s worth based on his credentials and star power.
In May 2020, however, the network announced it had canceled the show after four seasons - it was later reported that while the final season achieved satisfactory ratings, it still wasn’t enough to keep it running based on the production costs that came with hiring major stars like LeBlanc himself.
Don’t feel too bad for him though - the actor has more than enough money to last him a lifetime.
Over the years, LeBlanc has owned a handful of properties in the US, including an enormous mansion in Pacific Palisades, which he later put on the market for $8.7 million in 2016 after finding himself too busy overseas in London as the presenter of Top Gear - a recurring position he held from 2012 to 2019.
And in case you’ve been living under a rock - or just too occupied with the current coronavirus pandemic - in February 2020, it was announced that the Friends cast would be reuniting for a one-hour HBO Max special that would earn Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and LeBlanc a cool $2.5 million.
Not bad for one hour’s worth of work, right?
Due to the pandemic, the reunion, which was supposed to take place in May 2020, was put on hold for the time being, with producers yet to confirm a new release date for when fans can catch the cast back in actions for a special reunion episode - but it’s believed that the special will still go ahead this summer.
Bob Greenblatt, the head of WarnerMedia Entertainment, shared in a statement: “We do think there’s a value to having a big, raucous live audience to experience these six great friends coming back together.
We didn’t want to just suddenly do it on a web call with six squares and people shooting from their kitchens and bedrooms.”
Schwimmer, who recently appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, told the talk show host that the cast is currently looking to film the episode in August.
“It’s supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August, but honestly we’re going to wait and see another week or two if we all determine it’s really safe enough to do. And if not, then we’ll wait until it’s safe.”
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