Wesley Snipes, from serving a prison term to building a massive fortune

Wesley Snipes has been in the entertainment industry for three decades. He has literally starred in all movie genres, proving that he’s not only gifted, skilled and talented but also versatile. According to the Guardian, he has starred in thrillers like King of New York; action movies like New Jack City and sports comedies like White Men Can’t Jump. 

Also, Snipes has starred in LGBT comedies as drag queen Noxeema Jackson in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, arthouse romances as commercials director Max Carlyle in One Night Stand and dramas as architect Flipper Purify in Jungle Fever.

At the peak of his career in 2004, Snipes had a reported salary of $13 million for producing and starring in the third Blade blockbuster, Blade: Trinity. Four years later, he was involved in a massive tax evasion scandal. The actor was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $5 million for willfully failing to file millions of dollars worth of past tax returns. Attempt to set aside the judgment in an appeal did not succeed.

After serving his three-year jail term, Snipes made a successful return to the entertainment industry. He has so far starred in a number of movies and made TV appearances. They include The Expendables 3 in 2014 and Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq. Perhaps, the biggest movie he has featured in since his return was acting with Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name, and the sequel Coming 2 America. 

Celebrity Net Worth reports that he has a net worth of $10 million. Snipes attributed his success to “coming out a clearer person” after serving his jail term.

“Clearer on my values, clearer on my purpose, clearer about my relationship with my ancestors and the great god and the great goddess above, and clearer on what I was going to do once I had my freedom back,” he told the Guardian.

“The biggest thing I got from it was learning the value of time and how we often squander it … I understand that very clearly now, having been away from my family and loved ones two and a half years,” the father of five added.

In addition to acting, he is the owner of a security firm which provides security for VIPs and focused on hiring personnel with law enforcement and martial arts backgrounds. He also owns a film production company, which has produced films like A Great and Mighty Walk: Dr John Henrik Clarke, according to Celebrity Net Worth.