Robert De Niro knew the importance of having multiple incomes from the early days of his acting career.
The Hollywood legend is celebrating his 77th birthday today (August 17) but tragically, it’s likely he won’t be going all out on it like usual as he recently revealed that his finances have been badly hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last month he appeared in court with his ex-wife Grace Hightower as his lawyers told the courtroom how the star couldn’t pay Hightower’s monthly credit card limit of $100,000 anymore.
Instead his attorneys told the court that the Goodfellas and The Godfather actor can only afford $50,000 a month now.
But what happened to the actor turned businessman who was once predicted to make a billion? Daily Star Online has taken a look back.
How he made his fortune
Actor Robert De Niro in the film “15 Minutes,” where he played a media-savvy homicide detective trying to solve a grisly double murder in New York City (Image: Reuters)
Robert was born in New York City on August 17, 1943, and went on to study acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory, and Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio.
He knew his passion from a young age and therefore, through hard work and determination, he manifested his acting career and landed his first major onscreen appearance in 1968 for the film Greetings.
From then on it appeared easy for the actor, who preaches practise makes perfect, to land gigs.
His fortune grew and grew as he starred in mega hits such as Goodfellas, The Godfather series, Taxi Driver and many more.
But it was after he played the young Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II (1974), which won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, that money really started pouring into his bank.
De Niro performs a scene in Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorsese in 1976 in New York, New York (Image: Getty Images)
Then in 1989, De Niro decided to enter the world of business and things really began taking off.
In that year he and partner Jane Rosenthal co-founded the film production company TriBeCa Productions, which also organises the Tribeca Film Festival.
He opened the restaurants Nobu and Tribeca Grill (which he co-owns with Broadway producer Stewart F Lane), the Greenwich Hotel (located in Tribeca), and the restaurant inside the hotel, Locanda Verde (run by executive chef and co-owner Andrew Carmellini).
He co-owns Tribeca Grill, a New American restaurant located at 375 Greenwich Street (at Franklin Street) in Tribeca, Manhattan. It opened in 1990.
He is also a stakeholder in Paradise Found Nobu Resort, a company planning to build a luxury resort on the island of Barbuda.
His big money divorce
De Niro and Grace Hightower were married for 21 years (Image: Getty Images North America)
In 1997, De Niro married actress Grace Hightower but it turned out to be one expensive romance.
Their son, Elliot, was born in 1998 and the couple split in 1999. The divorce was never finalised and in 2004 they renewed their vows.
In December 2011, their daughter was born via surrogate.
In November 2018, De Niro and Hightower revealed they had separated after 21 years of marriage and filed for divorce in the December of that year.
The divorce was kept very private and each party released statements recalling their respect for one another and the situation.
De Niro told reporters outside the court at the time: “Grace and I have two beautiful children together.
“We are entering a period of transition in our relationship which is a difficult but constructive process.”
“I honour Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”
Last month however it was revealed that Grace was left unhappy and took her ex-husband to court after he dropped her monthly allowance by half.
Appearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court via Skype for an emergency hearing, Hightower claimed De Niro had cut her American Express credit card limit from $100,000 to $50,000 a month – therefore revealing their agreement.
De Niro’s lawyer, Caroline Krauss, reportedly told the judge that De Niro was forced to make this cut to Hightower’s credit card limit because his finances have been so badly affected by the pandemic.
Covid-19 destroys his wealth
De Niro poses with the Life Achievement trophy in the press room during the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 19, 2020 (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Following the court case with Hightower regarding her monthly allowance, De Niro’s attorneys explained the reason why the actor has had to half his ex-wives monthly cheque from $100K to $50K a month.
Appearing at Manhattan Supreme Court via Skype De Niro and his lawyers broke down what has happened to his money, after the star once had an estimated net worth of $300million.
In court last month, De Niro’s lawyer, Caroline Krauss, reportedly told the judge that he was forced to make this cut to Hightower’s credit card limit because his finances have been so badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Krauss told the judge that Nobu and The Greenwich Hotel, the restaurant chain and hotel that the Italian star owns, have both been badly hit by Covid-19 as they have been closed or partially closed for months with next to no income.
De Niro poses in the photo room at the 68th annual Golden Globe awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California January 16, 2011 (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
His lawyer claimed that Nobu lost $3million in April and a further $1.87million in May.
According to the New York Post, De Niro was forced to borrow money from business partners to pay investors $500,000 on a capital call “because he doesn’t have the cash”.
“His accounts and business manager… says that the best case for Mr. De Niro, if everything starts to turn around this year… he is going to be lucky if he makes $7.5million this year,” Krauss told the judge, according to the Daily Mail.
Krauss said that the 2004 prenuptial agreement between De Niro and Hightower means that De Niro is only required to pay $1million a year to Hightower as long as he is making at least $15million a year. The terms, Krauss said, state that if his income falls, hers will proportionately fall too.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
