What is Wesley Snipes Net Worth and Who are His Wife and Kids

What is Wesley Snipe’s Net Worth?

Wesley Snipes is an American actor, martial artist, and film producer best known for his portrayal of the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy. In 2006, Snipes found himself on the wrong side of the law for tax evasion. As a penalty, he spent 3 years behind bars, from 2010 to 2013. Shortly after his release, he returned to acting, appearing first in 2014’s ensemble action film, The Expendables III. Life has, however, not been the same for him in Hollywood as he has only managed to land a few movie roles; about one per year. However, the black belter hasn’t given up just yet. In 2016, he added “author” to his repertoire and has been doing a little bit more in the production side of things.

Here is everything you should know about the Blade star’s net worth, initial success, downfall, and recent endeavours, as well as his family life, wife, and kids

Wesley Snipes Early Life

Wesley Trent Snipes was born on July 31, 1962, in Orlando, Florida to a father who was an aircraft engineer and a mother who was a teacher’s assistant. Snipes and his sisters were raised by their mom and grandmother in South Bronx, New York. His passion for acting developed in his childhood but he also had an affliction for martial arts as he began training at the age of 12. He has so far earned a 5th-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and a 2nd-degree black belt in Hapkido.

Snipes attended LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and Performing Arts in New York. However, he graduated from Jones High School in Orlando. College education saw him return to New York City where he studied drama at the State University of New York in Purchase. He graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Analysis of His Net Worth and Career Earnings

Luckily, Wesley Snipes didn’t have to do much to attract eyes from Hollywood. His career enjoyed a swift start shortly after he was discovered in a competition during his graduation year. That same year, he landed his debut film role in Wildcats (1986) for which he reportedly received $30,000. He achieved another career boost when he appeared in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video for Michael Jackson’s “Bad”. His portrayal of MJ’s nemesis in the video caught the attention of filmmaker Spike Lee whom he would later work with in future successful projects.

Snipes got his first major box office hit with the 1989 sports comedy film, Major League. The film grossed almost $50 million against an $11 million budget. Thanks to Spike Lee, he got his first major role in the interracial romantic movie, Jungle Fever (1991). The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $43 million against a $14 million budget. Yet another hit was New Jack City (1991) where the lead role was specifically modelled after him.

The actor further solidified his movie-star status throughout the 1990s making it his most successful period in the industry. He awed fans in action roles and proved his versatility with drama and comedic roles. Also, he began receiving high 7 figures per role. He received $7 million for Drop Zone (1994) and earned $5.5 million and $7 million respectively for his appearance in Money Train (1995) and The Fan (1996).

Wesley Snipes struck gold portraying the Marvel Comic character Blade in the movie of the same name. Blade (1998) grossed over $150 million against a $40 million budget. Its success developed a cult following and influenced two sequels. Blade Trilogy brought in over $400 million worldwide. Snipes who had the dual role of the lead actor and fight choreographer/producer was able to land a deal entitling him to a slice of the movie’s entire proceeds.

In an attempt to diversify his income, Snipes joined forces with his brother to establish Royal Guard of Amen-Ra, a security firm that provides trained bodyguards to VIPs. However, JustRichest.com cannot confirm how much Snipes makes from this venture. He also owns a production company, Amen-Ra.

Tax Evasion and Blade Trinity Drama

While Wesley Snipes was receiving big fat paychecks for his numerous roles (earning over $37 million from 1996 to 2004), he willingly refused to give Uncle Sam his share. After years of waiting patiently, Uncle Sam decided to come after him in 2006. The IRS uncovered that Snipes had not filed tax returns from 1999 to 2004. Worse, he used forged documents to request a false tax refund of about $12 million for the years 1996 and 1997. Snipes used the “861 arguments” for his defense while blaming a group of accountants for misleading him.

After a lengthy battle, the court in 2008 dropped felony charges for his attempt to defraud the government. However, he was found guilty of three misdemeanour counts of failure to file tax returns. Thus, he was sentenced to 3 years behind bars and ordered to pay $14 million in back taxes. His appeal was thrown out. Meanwhile, his co-defendants were found guilty of the aforementioned felony charges. As a result, one of them was sentenced to 10 years, and the other 4 years.

After serving 90% of his sentence, Snipes was released on April 2, 2013. His remaining time was completed on house arrest.

Prior to the tax evasion scandal, the actor had become his own undoing. His frequent brash behaviour on the set of Blade: Trinity (the third instalment of the Blade franchise) caused director David S. Goyer to exclude him from some decisions. As a result, Snipes got even more pissed and sued Goyer and New Line Cinema for denial of cast decisions and failure to pay his full wage. The terms of their settlement were concealed from the public. However, while Snipes might have been technically right, his actions were enough to tarnish his image in Hollywood and his absence from the game for three years only exacerbated the situation.

Post-Prison And Comeback Attempts

After being released from prison, Snipes looked like he could go ahead to offset his immediate poor record and achieve another rapid rise to stardom when he starred in the 2014 box office hit, The Expendables III. However, the exact opposite was the case as Snipes didn’t get any role for the rest of the year. In 2015, Spike Lee gave him a role in Chi-Raq which despite the buzz was a huge box office bomb. Snipes turned to the TV for help but his role in the series, The Player was only short-lived lasting only 9 episodes to qualify it as an instant failure.

The actor then put his Maandi Media DMM in a deal with WWE Studios to produce at least two films, one of which is entitled The Temple (2017). Though WWE Studios isn’t exactly a big player in movie production, they’ve managed to make a couple of box office hits, including Halle Berry‘s The Call (2013) which grossed $68.6 million against a $13 million budget, and Oculus (2014) which made $44 million from $5 million. Snipes was left hoping his movies can further add to that list.

Also, in a bid to restore his glory, Wesley Snipes dabbled in writing. He published his first-ever novel, a supernatural thriller called “Talon of God” in December 2016 and he hopes to adapt the story into a movie. Additionally, the vampire-human hero took to social media to hint at the return of the Blade series but later clarified that the decision is hugely dependent on Marvel. No doubt, a new Blade movie would help kick things back in his favour.

Highlights of All His Income Sources

Meet His Wife and Children

Wesley Snipes is currently in his second marriage. His first marriage was to April Dubois. The duo were together for five years before parting ways. More than a decade after the union ended, he married his current wife Nakyung Park. He has a total of five children from both marriages.

April Dubois

• Relationship to Snipes: Ex-wife
• Marriage Timeline: 1985 – 1990
• Occupation: Unknown

April Dubois is the first woman to have caught the eyes of Wesley Snipes. While details of the circumstances surrounding how they met are not public knowledge, the couple are believed to have been so much in love when they exchanged vows in 1985. Their marriage went on to last for a period of five years before they decided to go their separate ways for unknown reasons.

But while the love between the pair had died, they would forever be connected with each other as a result of the child their marriage produced. April has since lived a low-key life and hasn’t been featured in the media. She appears to be a very private person, choosing to not share much information related to her personal or professional life.

Jelani Asar Snipers

• Relationship to Snipes: First Son
• Date of Birth: 1988
• Occupation: Child Actor

Jelani Asar Snipers is Wesley’s firstborn son. While the exact date of his birth is not known, it is public knowledge that his parents welcomed him to the world in 1988. In 1990, at the young age of two, Jelani made a cameo appearance in his father’s film, Mo’ Better Blues. While many have been able to go ahead and build on that to have an acting career, Snipes’s son looks to have chosen a different part outside of the spotlight. Like his mother, not much else is known about him and what he has been up to ever since.

Nakyung Park

• Relationship to Snipes: Second/Current Wife
• Year of Marriage: 2003
• Date of Birth: September 1, 1977
• Occupation: Painter
• Nationality: South Korean

In 2003, Wesley Snipes gave marriage a second try when he tied the knot with his girlfriend, painter and artist Nakyung Park, on the 17th of March 2003 in a civil ceremony in Hackensack, New Jersey at the County Court House. The duo had been dating since the late 1990s. She is the daughter of the renowned South Korean entertainment executive, Park Cheol.

The duo have been happily married ever since even despite them having faced some adversity that came in the shape of Snipes being incarcerated for failing to file federal income tax returns. Together, they have four children; three sons and a daughter.

Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes

• Relationship to Snipes: Second Child and Son
• Date of Birth: N/A
• Occupation: Unknown

Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes is Wesley’s first child with Nakyung Park. While his date of birth is not known, it is believed that he was born either in 1999 or 2000, before his parents got married.

Iset Jua-T Snipes

• Relationship to Snipes: First Daughter and Third Child
• Date of Birth: July 31, 2001
• Occupation: Unknown

Like her older brother, Iset Jua-T Snipes was born before her parents wedded on July 31, 2001. Going by her age, Iset would have finished high school and probably be in the university if she chooses to follow the path of education. There is no word that she has chosen to follow the career paths of either of her parents.

Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes

• Relationship to Snipes: Third Son and Fourth Child
• Date of Birth: May 26, 2004
• Occupation: Unknown

Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes, who was born in 2004, is the first of Nakyung Park and Wesley Snipes children to be born after they became man and wife. There is no further information about him.

Alimayu Moa-T Snipes

• Relationship to Snipes: Fourth Son and Fifth Child
• Date of Birth: 2007
• Occupation: Unknown

In 2007, Park gave birth to her and Wesley’s last child, a son named Alimayu Moa-T Snipes. Like his siblings, not much is also known about him.

Awards and Nominations

Wesley Snipes has been nominated for several awards for his outstanding performances and he has managed to win a few along the way. He also has a Motion Picture Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.