• Slide 1 of 46: To celebrate wrestler-turned-A-list actor Dwayne Johnson's 49th birthday on May 2, 2021, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at the business of being The Rock. Keep reading to get the scoop on our favorite wrestler-actor's empire and how much money he's made...
  • Slide 2 of 46: Dwayne Johnson, who was born in California on May 2, 1972, is now one of the richest men in Hollywood, but he faced poverty during his childhood. His family bounced around due to his father's work as a professional wrestler, making it nearly impossible for his mother (pictured in 2015) to keep a steady job. On Thanksgiving 2017, The Rock revealed in a lengthy Instagram post that "there was a time back in '87 when we couldn't even afford Thanksgiving dinner and [were] praying someone would invite us over [to] their house to eat." In May 2015, the wrestler-actor revealed on Instagram that "when I was 14yrs old we were evicted out of our apartment in Hawaii 'cause we couldn't afford the $180 per week rent." (At the time, his mom reportedly made a living by cleaning hotel rooms.) In 2014, he told The Hollywood Reporter that a week before they were evicted, he watched his mother's car get repossessed. He reportedly added to her troubles by joining a theft ring that targeted affluent stores in Waikiki.
  • Slide 3 of 46: Dwayne Johnson scored his first big financial break when he was just a teenager: The high school football star won a full scholarship to play for the Hurricanes at the University of Miami. He served as a defensive tackle for the college football team from 1991 to 1994 and even helped the Hurricanes claim the National Championship during his freshman year. But playing football wasn't enough for The Rock: He also completed a bachelor of general studies degree -- he had a special interest in criminology during his school years.
  • Slide 4 of 46: In 1995, Dwayne Johnson signed with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders at a yearly salary of $35,000. According to The Hollywood Reporter, after just two months, he got knocked down to the practice team, which paid just $250 a week. During that time, he reportedly shared a two-bedroom apartment with three other players, "eating ramen noodles and spaghetti and sleeping on a filthy mattress he had found ditched outside a [motel]," wrote The Hollywood Reporter. When he was cut from the team not long after that, he had just $7 to his name.
  • Slide 46 of 46: In April 2021, a poll revealed that half of the American populace would like to see Dwayne Johnson run for president. When asked about it on the "Today" show, the likable actor said, "I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that." Only time will tell if we will be saluting President Johnson in the future, but Hollywood stars becoming politicians isn't exactly uncharted territory in the United States.
To celebrate wrestler-turned-A-list actor Dwayne Johnson’s 49th birthday on May 2, 2021, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at the business of being The Rock. Keep reading to get the scoop on our favorite wrestler-actor’s empire and how much money he’s made…