Flying in the face of most narratives about child actors, Macaulay Culkin’s adult life looks astonishingly close to a happy ending. Sure, there were some rough moments. Most notably, at 14, he took his parents to court to ensure that they wouldn’t have control of the trust fund built on his box office successes.

Not many stories about celebrity children sitting in front of a judge across the court from their parents in the hopes of securing a conservatorship come to a pleasant conclusion, but as of 2023 Culkin seems happy and has just unveiled his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

That said, his days as a child actor are now long behind him, so how much is he worth in 2023?

Macaulay Culkin could buy and sell you

Culkin has remained in control of the money he earned as a child. He described on Ellen what he called a “slip of paper” meeting – the kind you see in movies, where a stern businessman slides a scribbled note with a dollar value written on it across the table. After trading his childhood for effective retirement in middle school, he had an estimated personal value higher than most of us can reasonably imagine.

How much? According to Celebrity Net Worth, around $18 million. That’s money coming from across the ‘90s, including a $10,000 paycheck for Home Alone and, just two years later, 45 times that amount for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Do you remember the movie Getting Even with Dad? Of course, you don’t. Nobody does. It made $35 million on a $30 million budget, but Culkin collected an $8 million payday for starring in the picture.

Today, the former child star treats work like a hobby, acting when he wants to and pursuing other interests. Meanwhile, what do the rest of us get for setting Joe Pesci on fire? A five-year sentence and a work release job writing internet articles about Macaulay Culkin, that’s what. There’s no justice.

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