At seventeen, this celebrity was imprisoned many times, ejected from his house, and once had just Rs 250. Today, he is valued at Rs 6600 crore

The movie business is full with tales of exceptional unknowns who rose from poverty to greatness by a mix of skill, determination, hard work, and good fortune. A select few endure and achieve that illusive success, while many perish. This current celebrity, a near-billionaire, is one such success tale. He was previously a small-time crook who was kicked out by his own family.

The actor who, at the age of 17, saw many arrests

Dwayne Johnson was a football player, wrestler Rocky Johnson’s son, and a causeless rebel before he became known as The Rock. Dwayne was raised in Hawaii and, at the age of 14, faced eviction from his family. As a result, he resorted to crime as a means of support. The actor claimed in an earlier interview with Muscle and Fitness that he had been detained “eight or nine times” by the time he was 17 due to his participation in a local thievery ring in his hometown. He would rob travelers of expensive jewelry and technology with the help of his cronies.

When Dwayne Johnson was abandoned and without money

Even with his “criminal” habits, Johnson was eager to leave that life behind. He improved his physical appearance, which helped him be awarded a football scholarship to the University of Miami. After that, he signed a contract with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders. Nevertheless, the triumph was fleeting. Johnson was fired by the club during his very first season there. “I was cut from the team, told I wasn’t good enough — and sent home with $7 (Rs 250 in those days) to my name,” the actor said in a Facebook post from years ago.

The ascent to superstardom and popularity of Dwayne Johnson

For Johnson, professional wrestling was his salvation. He joined with the world’s biggest wrestling organization, World Wrestling Federation (now known as Entertainment), in 1996. After becoming the now-famous identity of The Rock in 1997, he quickly rose to prominence within the organization and won many world titles until making his initial retirement in 2004.

 

After making a brief appearance in The Mummy Returns in 2001, he went on to play major parts in Walking Tall and The Scorpion King. However, he didn’t have commercial success until he made a cameo in the Fast and Furious film in 2011. He contributed hits to the following years, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, San Andreas, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Baywatch, and additional Fast franchise appearances.

After he made $89.4 million in 2018 alone, Forbes crowned him the highest-paid actor of all time in 2019. He broke his own record in 2023 when he upped his profits to $123 million. According to Forbes, he has amassed an enormous fortune of $800 million (about Rs. 6600 crore) via his wrestling performances, movies, and companies.