Sylvester Stallone's net worth deserves a heavyweight title

Sylvester Stallone has one man to thank for his staggering wealth: himself.

He didn't wait for someone else to discover him and make him famous - he made it happen on his own by writing and starring in his breakout film, Rocky.

Here's what we know about Sylvester Stallone's net worth.

Stallone turned down a major payday to star in

After dabbling in softcore porn - seriously, Google The Party at Kitty and Stud's - Stallone turned to writing his own films, the first of which was Rocky. Though the screenplay was a huge hit among producers at the time, the thought of Stallone starring in the film wasn't.

"They wanted every celebrated actor at the time," Stallone said during an appearance on the Today Show. "And big-name directors, when they found out I wanted to be involved, they scattered, ran for the hills."

Stallone said he was offered $300,000 for the rights to Rocky, but turned it down because producers wanted a bigger name to star in the film instead.

"It was really insane at the time 'cause I was pretty broke," he added. Luckily, his persistence paid off, and the film earned $117 million. The entire six-part Rocky franchise has also earned a cool billion worldwide, according to Business Insider.

Stallone earned $15 million for

Since the mid-70s, Stallone has starred in more than 60 films, which averages out to 1.4 films a year. According to Ranker, a site that allows fans to vote and rank on polls, his top five fan-approved titles include Rocky, First Blood, Rocky II, Rocky IV, Rocky II.

According to The Richest, The Expendables 3 earned him a $15 million payday.

Sylvester Stallone's net worth deserves a heavyweight title

Stallones net worth hovers somewhere around $400 million

In total, those 60-plus films have earned $2 billion at the box office, according to Bankrate. Thanks to all those successes, CelebrityNetWorth.com puts Sylvester Stallone's net worth at $400 million. At 72 years old, he's still making movies, including the upcoming Rambo 5- so you can expect his net worth to keep punching above its weight class for years to come.