Matt Groening is an American professional writer, cartoonist, producer, and animator with an estimated net worth of $600 Million

Earnings History

While The Simpsons has existed since the late 1980s, not much was known about Matt Groening’s earnings from the show until recently. In 2022, Forbes listed Groening and James L. Brooks with estimated annual incomes of $105 million each. While both creators receive a salary every year for serving as executive producers on the show, it’s the streaming deals that are responsible for the bulk of this figure.

When The Walt Disney Company acquired 20th Century Fox and several of its assets for $71 billion in 2019, all thirty seasons of The Simpsons were added to the Disney+ platform. In 2024, it was reported that the show had already generated over $1 billion through the deal, increasing Brooks and Groening’s earnings to an estimated $135 million in 2024.

While this is just two years’ worth of earnings for Groening’s four-decade-long history in the industry, it still accounts for $240 million in income. 

Before Wealth & Fame

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, it didn’t take long for Matt Groening to become obsessed with drawing and comics. While attending Lincoln High School, he would regularly fill his class notebooks with his doodles and cartoon drawings. After graduating from Lincoln, Groening enrolled at The Evergreen State College in Washington. 

Before creating The Simpsons, Groening moved to Los Angeles, California, and worked several jobs to support himself. The most notable of which was his job at Licorice Pizza, which was once a popular chain of record stores. He also worked as a deliveryman for a portable toilet company.

The Simpsons

If you couldn’t already tell from Groening’s earnings, The Simpsons is the primary reason for his success and wealth, and it all began in 1986. Groening was offered an opportunity by James L. Brooks to pitch short-form animated content for The Tracey Ullman Show. At the time, he’d already developed a comic strip called Life in Hell, which was the project that gained Brooks’ attention.

When asked to adapt Life in Hell for a TV audience, Groening was reluctant, worrying he would lose ownership of the strip. With those worries in the back of his mind, he developed an idea on the spot, right before he was about to pitch it – a dysfunctional cartoon family loosely based on his own family. The characters were even named after his family members:

• Homer (his father’s real name)
• Marge (his mother’s name is Margaret)
• Lisa and Maggie (his sisters’ names)
• Bart (inspired by his older brother, Mark)

The idea was a hit, and the short-form content proved popular on The Tracey Ullman Show. Several years later, in 1989, the first official season of The Simpsons aired, featuring its debut episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”

By the end of the 1990s, the show had already aired eleven seasons and 235 episodes, gaining more and more popularity as the years went by. The show’s leading cast members could sense how big The Simpsons had become and began their first of many pay disputes. At the time, at least 23 of the characters were voiced by just six actors:

• Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Abe, Krusty the Clown, Barney…)
• Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty, Selma)
• Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders) 
• Yeardley Smith (Lisa)
• Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders…)
• Hank Azaria (Apu, Chief Wiggum, Moe…)

Real Estate

Malibu Home

In February 1996, Matt Groening paid $1.2 million for an 8,346-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Malibu, California. The property, which sits on 1.27 acres, was initially built in 1965. In October 2006, Groening sold the house to Larry Sands for $9.75 million, making a substantial profit in just ten years of ownership.

However, we should mention that according to public records, when the property was sold, it was in Groening’s ex-wife’s name, which could potentially mean she received the property in the divorce proceedings. After considering agent fees and property taxes, Groening or his wife likely profited between $7 million and $7.5 million.

Venice Home

Matt and Deborah Groening also previously owned a 5,509-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-bathroom home in Venice, California. The last recorded sale price was $310,000 in June 1987. In a similar scenario to the Malibu home, the title was transferred into Deborah’s name in November 2006, but she is believed to still own the property. It’s now worth approximately $4.9 million.

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Matt Groening’s career:

• Life In Hell (Comic Strip, 1977-2012)
• Wet Magazine (1978)
• The Tracey Ullman Show (1985)
• The Simpsons (TV-Show, 1989-present)
• National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award (2002) – Won
• Futurama (TV-Show, 1999)
• Hollywood Walk of Fame (2012)

Introduction

Katie Holmes is an American professional actress, producer, and director with an estimated net worth of $25 Million. 

Dawson’s Creek Salary

Several reports suggest that Katie Holmes earned approximately $30,000 per episode in the early seasons of Dawson’s Creek. However, the exact timeline has never been confirmed, and the same goes for the latter seasons, when she reportedly earned as much as $175,000 per episode. Based on this information, we can deduce that Holmes potentially earned $390,000 for Season One and $4.2 million for Season Six.

That said, her earnings for the seasons in between are a little harder to pinpoint. During this period, she starred in 91 episodes, and we estimate that her total earnings from seasons two through five likely landed somewhere between $7 million and $12 million. If this were the case, Holmes should have earned somewhere between $12 million and $17 million in total from all 128 episodes of Dawson’s Creek. However, these are just our best estimates and not to be taken as fact.

Divorce Settlement

After only six short years together, one of Hollywood’s most widely recognized couples, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, divorced in July 2012. Holmes officially filed for divorce on June 29, 2012, citing irreconcilable differences. A significant aspect of the divorce was the custody arrangement of their daughter, Suri Cruise, who was six years old at the time. Holmes was granted primary custody, while Cruise received generous visitation rights.

Details of the settlement revealed that Holmes would reportedly not receive spousal support from Cruise but would instead receive roughly $400,000 per year, approximately $33,000 per month, for the next 12 years in child support for Suri until Suri turns 18. In addition, Cruise would pay all of Suri’s health care and educational costs and set up a trust fund for her, which she could partially access at 18 but not fully until her thirties.

The divorce was notably quick, with the settlement reached just 11 days after Holmes filed. Both parties kept the settlement details confidential, common in high-profile divorces. Suri turned eighteen years old in 2024, and thus, Holmes is no longer receiving child support from Cruise.

Real Estate

In August 2014, Katie Holmes paid $3.8 million for a 6,200-square-foot, six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home in Calabasas, California. The property is situated on 0.48 acres of land at the very end of a private cul-de-sac, and features an outdoor pool and half-court basketball court. In November 2019, she relisted the property for sale, asking for $4.63 million. However, in early 2020, she reduced the price to $4.25 million and eventually let it go for just over $4 million.

Considering that agent commissions were probably at least $200,000, plus roughly $250,000 in total property taxes, Holmes likely lost several hundred thousand dollars on the sale.

Highest-Grossing Movies

Here’s a complete list of Katie Holmes’ ten highest-grossing movies:

1. Batman Begins – $375 million (2005)
2. Ocean’s Eight – $298 million (2018)
3. Jack and Jill – $150 million (2011)
4. Phone Booth – $98 million (2002)
5. The Giver – $67 million (2014)
6. Woman in Gold – $62 million (2015)
7. Logan Lucky – $48 million (2017)
8. The Gift – $45 million (2000)
9. Thank You for Smoking – $39 million (2005)
10. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – $38 million (2010)

Introduction 

Guy Sebastian is an Australian professional singer and songwriter with an estimated net worth of $11 Million. 

The X Factor & The Voice Salary

A large portion of Guy Sebastian’s wealth and income has been generated through his work as a judge and coach on reality TV competitions. Unfortunately, none of his salaries have been confirmed for his roles on Australian versions of The X Factor and The Voice. However, we know that other stars have been confirmed as earning several million dollars per season. Between 2010 and 2016, Sebastian starred in five seasons of The X Factor Australia, and from 2019 to 2024, he starred in six seasons of The Voice Australia. These roles potentially could have earned him at least eight figures in total.

Endorsement Deals

Aside from music and television, Guy Sebastian also earns an income from brand endorsements. While some sources have listed estimated figures for several of Sebastian’s brand deals, these are only estimates, and none of them have been confirmed as accurate. 

Some of his earliest endorsements include collaborations with brands such as Nescafé, Optus, and Toyota, where he typically appeared in advertisements for the companies and posted promotional content on his social media profiles. One particular report mentions a $500,000 paycheck for working with Nescafé, but this source doesn’t appear to be trustworthy.

In 2016, Sebastian became a brand ambassador for Air Asia, which was an excellent fit for the musician given his mixed Australian and Malaysian heritage. Guy worked with the brand for a year, promoting long-haul travel campaigns and participating in various advertisements and charity events.

Here’s a list of all the confirmed brands that Guy Sebastian has endorsed:

• Air Asia / Air Asia X
• Canon Australia
• Foxtel Play
• Nescafe
• Optus
• Toyota

Former Manager Embezzlement

Guy Sebastian’s former manager and owner of the company, 6 Degrees, Titus Day, managed him for roughly eight years from 2009 to 2017. During that time, there were reportedly no issues between Sebastian and Day. However, in 2018, Sebastian fired Titus after reviewing his accounts and discovering discrepancies between the amounts owed to him and the amounts he received. Sebastian’s accounts were structured so that payments from any live music performances would be sent to a trust first, managed by 6 Degrees. 

That year, Sebastian filed a civil lawsuit against Day, alleging he embezzled roughly $650,000 from the musician over the eight years of management. The proceedings lasted several years, but eventually, in 2022, Titus Day was placed on trial, facing 50 counts, for allegedly embezzling as much as $900,000. He was found guilty on 34 counts, sentenced to four years in prison, and ordered to repay $624,000 in funds fraudulently taken from Sebastian. 

In 2023, Day appealed the decision, the ruling was overturned, and as of this year, the case is awaiting a retrial. 

Real Estate

In 2013, Guy Sebastian and his wife paid $3.11 million for a five-bedroom home in Maroubra, New South Wales, Australia, just outside of Sydney. The acquisition came just after they sold their four-bedroom house in Clovelly for $2.22 million. Three years later, they began demolishing their new home to rebuild, which caused considerable conflict between the couple and their neighbors. One neighbor claimed that Sebastian’s new build was a “fortress” and that the demolition works had forced him to sell his house after an exterior wall was damaged.

Car Collection

Sebastian has many lavish cars. One of his most notable purchases is a Toyota Land Cruiser 200. He and his family spend a lot of time fishing and hiking, and his Toyota suits his lifestyle.