Dave Bautista’s net worth is estimated at $20 million. He amassed his mouthwatering net worth through his career as a professional wrestler, actor, and mixed martial artist. A portion of it also came through endorsement deals.
Dave Bautista is an American actor and retired professional wrestler who is famous for his achievements in the WWE. Here is a look at how he made his money.
What is Dave Bautista’s Net Worth Today?
Dave Bautista’s net worth is $20 million, which is quite a whopping sum. He was able to make such huge money through his earnings from the many lucrative careers that paid him huge sums. However, a bulk of his net worth was made from his many years of handwork in the wrestling industry. As much as wrestling was his major source of income, he also broadened his profile, which caused a meteoric rise in his net worth.
How Did Dave Bautista’s Net Worth Accrue?
Dave Bautista’s net worth was able to grow through his numerous lucrative careers, which include professional wrestling, acting, mixed martial arts, endorsement deals, and more. Here is a trace of how he was able to build his net worth through his career.
Professional Wrestling
Dave Bautista kicked off his journey as a professional wrestler in 1999, and by 2000, he had signed with World Wrestling Entertainment, then known as the World Wrestling Federation. He was sent to the WWF developmental territory known as Ohio Valley Wrestling where he performed under the name Leviathan. He recorded many wins at the start of his career until he lost to Kane after Steve Austin helped the latter win.
While still in developmental territory, Dave won the Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Championship and was promoted to the WWE’s main roster a few months later. During his active years in wrestling, he fought under various subsidiaries of World Wrestling Entertainment, including Ohio Valley Wrestling, Raw, and SmackDown.
The former wrestler also won various titles. He is a two-time WWE Champion, a four-time World Heavyweight Champion, 3a three-time World Tag Team Champion, and one-time WWE Tag Team Champion among others. By 2019, he retired from wrestling due to creative differences. Meanwhile, his earnings throughout his professional wrestling career are not known, but based on reports, he earned over a million yearly.
As of 2004, Dave received the sum of $813,000 from the WWE as yearly compensation. As the years went by, there was an increase, which made his compensation rise to $840,000 annually.
List of Brands That Dave Bautista Performed For
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Raw
- SmackDown
Mixed Martial Arts
Prior to retiring from World Wrestling Entertainment, Dave Bautista registered with a Mixed Martial Art School, where he trained with Cesar Gracie to become a Brazilian jiu-jitsu performer. He later negotiated a contract with Strikeforce, an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization, but it failed, as the company was sold.
However, Dave Bautista still had one performance in MMA at CES MMA: Real Pain in Providence, Rhode Island, with Rashid Evans, who was replaced by Vince Lucero. Dave Bautista won the fight with a technical knockout at 4:05 in the first round. Meanwhile, his net worth increased through his performance, but his exact earnings are unknown.
Dave Bautista’s Net Worth Increased Through His Acting Gigs
Dave Bautista ventured into acting while he was still active in wrestling, making a cameo appearance in an uncredited role in Relative Strangers, a 2006 American comedy film. He went on to appear in several onscreen projects like My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption, Kickboxer: Vengeance, Army of the Dead, and more. The ex-wrestler also has notable movies that he has appeared and they include Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and more.
How Much Did Dave Bautista Get Paid for Guardians of the Galaxy?
In 2014, Dave Bautista starred in Marvel Comics, Guardians of the Galaxy, where he played Drax the destroyer. His role as Drax the destroyer had him appear as a human resurrected as a green warrior with the main aim of killing the villain, Thanos. He possessed powers such as super-strength, flight, and energy blasts which he used in fighting enemies.
The movie was one of his major breakthroughs and had him make appearances in Volumes 2 and 3. His net worth received a great increase as he earned a whopping sum of $1.4 million in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and $3 million for volume 2. Though the exact amount that he earned in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is not known, he must have bagged a fortune through it.
How Much Was Dave Bautista Paid for Avengers?
Dave Bautista proved his acting prowess through his movie roles in previous years, which earned him a spot in other notable roles. In 2018, he inked a role in the Marvel Comics superhero team film Avengers: Infinity War, and by 2019, he appeared in Avengers: Endgame as Drax the Destroyer. He earned over $4 million for his role in both films which boosted his net worth excessively.
A Rundown of Dave Bautista’s Highest-Earning Movie Roles
Dave Bautista has appeared in numerous notable movies, which have successfully added huge sums to his bag. Here is a rundown of his other highest-earning roles, though the exact amount that he earned from them is not public knowledge.
- Stuber
- Riddick
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dune
- Spectre
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Riddick
- The Man with the Iron Fists
- Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
- Heist
Other Ways Through Which Dave Bautista’s Net Worth Grows
Dave Bautista’s net worth has also increased through his endorsement deals. He is the brand ambassador of Smirnoff, a vodka brand owned by the British company, Diageo. Dave Bautista’s physique has also earned him a spot on the first cover page of the GQ brand and Men’s Health magazine. Meanwhile, he has numerous other endorsement deals that he earns from, which he has not made public.
The former wrestler has also broadened his portfolio and is the co-owner of DC Society Ink, a tattoo studio that he established with his own personal tattoo artist, John Kural. He opened the studio in January 2020 at 1108 W Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, United States. The studio has about nine artists who work in it and is sure to make profits in the future. In addition, he also authored a book in 2007 titled Bautista Unleashed, which has recorded lots of sales.
A Rundown of Dave Bautista’s Sources Of Income
- Professional Wrestling
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Acting
- Endorsement Deals
- Business
- Book
