Profession/Career: | Actor, Producer, Writer, Comedian |
Net Worth: | $165 million |
College: | University of Southern California (USC) |
Major/Degree: | Sports Journalism |
Real Name: | John William Ferrell |
Date of Birth (Age): | July 16, 1967 (55 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Irvine, California |
Heights: | 6ft 3 in |
Frequently Associated With
- Zach Galafianakis
- Saturday Night Live (SNL)
- John C. Reilly
- Kevin Hart
- Chad Smith
- Adam McKay
- Viveca Paulin
- Patrick Ferrell
What is Will Ferrell’s Net Worth?
As of 2022, Will Ferrell’s net worth is a cool $165 million.
His earlier money comes from the time he spent as a Saturday Night Live cast member, but the majority of his net worth by and large comes mainly from the movies he’s starred in and produced over the years.
Will Ferrell’s Early Life
Will Ferrell early life consisted of a positive outlook throughout. He was born to a famous musician father Roy Lee Ferrell Jr. who was a keyboardist for the Righteous brothers, and to a mother Betty Kay who was an elementary school teacher. When he was just 8 years old, his parents divorced, and he reminisces how he thought at the time that it was awesome he could celebrate two separate Christmases instead of just one.
Will always stated that his suburban neighborhood in Irvine was a dull and lackluster experience, and he always had to make up for it with his comedic talent and imagination.
He said of himself, “I wasn’t a class clown or anything like that, but I remember being with my teacher Mr. Chad in the first grade, and he told the class that they were going to do some exercises that day. He meant they were doing math exercises, but I stood up and started to do some jumping jacks. I still don’t know what possessed me to do that to this day, but my friends all cracked up at it.”
In high school, he played for the school football team and read the high school’s morning announcements using various character voices. He also went to USC for sports journalism and worked as a sports commentator for awhile before his joined the entertainment industry.
Did Will Ferrell Grow Up Poor?
Will Ferrell did not grow up poor. He was born and raised in Irvine, California, which has some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of California. It’s a city that’s recently been flooded with investor home purchases due to how safe and desirable the city is.
However, it doesn’t necessarily mean he was filthy rich growing up. He did say that growing up, he had a limited budget, although that measure is often relative. Even wealthy kids will often have a budget set by their parents, even if only to learn a valuable life lesson about money management.
How Will Ferrell Got Started In Comedy
Will Ferrell In The Groundlings
Although Will Ferrell has always been into comedy, he didn’t have much success until 1994, when he join the improv group The Groundlings. Between the Groundlings, taking classes and auditioning for tv shows, Ferrell also got a job at an auction house via his friend and future wife, Viveca Paulin.
Will Ferrell In Saturday Night Live
While being in The Groundlings, a producer for SNL saw Will Ferrell perform and loved him. He was asked to audition for Lorne Michaels, who also loved him. Will Ferrell joined SNL in 1995 and stayed for a whole 7 years, until 2002. While in SNL Will Ferrell gained popularity and fans everywhere, he also created countless amazing characters. By the time he left, he became the highest-paid SNL cast member at $350,000 salary for the season.
Will Ferrell’s Biggest Break
Although he was famous before the movie, his real big break in terms of monetary compensation came from the success of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)where he made $7 million from that movie alone. Since then, he’s consistently made double or more that amount for each film he’s starred in.
Will Ferrell’s Wife
Will Ferrell is married to Viveca Paulin, who is also an actress and producer. Her home country is Sweden, and the two of them split their time between Los Angeles, New York City, and Sweden. Viveca has appeared in several films including:
- Money Talks
- A Night at The Roxbury
- Ralph Breaks The Internet
Will Ferrell’s Family

Will and his wife have three children together. From oldest to youngest, they are:
- Magnus (born in 2004)
- Mattias (born in 2006)
- Axel (2010)
He also has a younger brother by the name of Patrick Ferrell who is also an actor and a director. He has appeared alongside Will in the movie Elf, as well as in A Night at the Roxbury, which you may recall Will’s wife Viveca having been in.
Will Ferrell’s Philanthropy
One of Will Ferrell’s favorite charities to donate to is Cancer for College. It’s a charity that gives scholarships to young cancer survivors, and he has consistently and continues to consistently make charitable contributions to the organization.