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Chris Tucker has been entertaining audiences for over two decades. He first came to prominence in the 90s doing various stand-up performances on the HBO comedy series Def Comedy Jam. He later starred in the super successful Rush Hour films alongside martial artist and stuntman Jackie Chan.
But at the height of his popularity, Tucker's net worth plummeted. Thanks to some unwise choices, incorrectly processed paperwork, and ignored debt, the Hollywood star lost several millions of dollars. This, of course, brought his net worth way down. Thankfully for Chris, even in the midst of his major loss, he still had a few assets he could hold onto, such as his home in Georgia.
This did not make the transition much easier, though, and Tucker had to spend years working hard to get his net worth back into the green after his lengthy battle with the IRS.
Updated on May 18, 2023: Chris Tucker took a few years off from Hollywood, not appearing in any movies or television shows. His first big screen appearance since 2016 took place earlier this year as he acted in the sport drama Air alongside Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman. While Tucker did not snag a starring role, it did help him get his mojo back.
The actor and comedian is currently working on the upcoming sequel Rush Hour 4, in which he will reprise his role as Carter. As of now, the film is still in development, so we do not know when it will hit theaters. He has been continuing his comedy career, and is in the middle of his 2023 tour around the United States. His net worth in 2023 is stable at a cool $5 million.
Chris Tucker Was Hit With A Huge Tax Bill
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When Rush Hour became a success, Tucker negotiated an eye-watering $20 million salary to appear in the sequel. He later received a handsome salary for Rush Hour 3 and secured 20 percent of the gross receipts.
The 51-year-old managed to work out a deal that made him more than $60 million in contracts at the peak of his career. The actor and comedian took home more than $50 million from the Rush Hour franchise alone.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Tucker began owing the IRS taxes from the beginning of 2011. It was estimated that Tucker owed $11 million for the 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005 tax years. By the time 2014 rolled around, that number grew to a massive $14 million. Ultimately, he settled the debt in 2014. However, a series of bad real estate deals also put him on the skids. In 2014, he reportedly claimed that he did not make enough money to pay his bills.
Chris Tucker Was Sued By The IRS In 2021
In 2014, Tucker settled a $2.5 million tax debt with the U.S. government. His representatives blamed "poor accounting and business management." But in November 2021 it was reported that the IRS was suing Tucker for $9.6 million in back taxes.
Court documents obtained by the Radar Online read: "Mr. Tucker is a comedian and actor who was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the late 1990s and early 2000s, starring in the 'Rush Hour' film series. The early tax years at issue in this case date back to this time."
But Chris Tucker's career is said to be on the up. The actor has been rumored to reappear in the upcoming sequel Rush Hour 4.
Chris Tucker Is Back To A Positive Net Worth Of $5 Million
Tucker's big breakout role was as stoner Smokey alongside rap legend Ice Cube in the Friday movies. The part earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance. The film received a positive critical reception and has garnered a large cult following over the years.
But if you think Tucker may reprise the role to pay off the man - you would be wrong. The father-of-one is now a born-again Christian, and as a result of his faith, has vowed to no longer use profanity in films or comedy routines.
In an exclusive interview with All Urban Central, Tucker revealed that he had become much more watchful of the content he puts out.
"I never was a raunchy, raunchy comic, but I didn’t think about what I was saying because I was young. Being a Christian helps me in comedy. I have to talk about other stuff," Tucker explained. "Normally, most comics talk about easy stuff ⏤ maybe cussing or saying something raunchy. I have to dig deeper to find something that’s still funny and not raunchy. It’s harder. I like the challenge."
"Back then, I gotta tell you, one of the reasons why I didn’t do the second one was because of the weed. I said, man, that movie became a phenomenon. I don’t want everybody smoking weed — and I never really told people this because I kind of forgot about it, but it was one of the reasons why I didn’t do it. Because I said, ‘I don’t wanna represent everybody smoking weed.'”.
Last year, writer and producer Ice Cube revealed Chris Tucker turned down a lot of money to appear in a new Friday film. "We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12m to do Next Friday but he (Tucker) turned us down for religious reasons. He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore," he tweeted.
Nowadays, Tucker is back in the green, with a net worth of $5 million.