Revealed: Don Ameche's Assets & Salary - Is the Star a Billionaire? Net Worth 2026: Career Earnings & Assets

As one of the most talked-about figures, Don Ameche has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What Was Don Ameche's Net Worth?

Ameche got his break when a lead actor for a stock company production of the play "Excess Baggage" did not show up to perform. A friend of Don's persuaded him to stand in for the missing actor, and Ameche did so. He enjoyed the experience and decided to pursue more work. He was cast in the lead role in "Jerry for Short" in New York. Following that experience, he joined a vaudeville tour.

By the late 1930s, Don started landing roles in Hollywood. He was brought to Hollywood by 20thCentury Fox producer Darryl Zanuck. He often played romantic leads opposite many of the top female stars of the era. In 1939, he played the title character in "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell." The film led to the use of the word "ameche" as juvenile slang for a telephone. The same year, Don also was the leading man in "Hollywood Cavalcade" and played the real-life figure Stephen Foster in "Swanee River." In 1940, he appeared in three major films – "Lillian Russell," "Four Sons," and "Down Argentine Way." That year, he was voted the 21st-most-popular star in Hollywood.

Don Ameche was an American actor, comedian, and vaudevillian who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 1993. That's the same as $10 million in today's dollars. In the early 1940s, Don was one of the highest-paid actors in the world. In 1943, SEC filings by Fox showed that Ameche was the studio's highest-paid star, with annual earnings of $247,667. Earning $247,667 in 1943 is the same as earning $4.5 million per year today. The only person who earned more at the studio was company President Spyros Skouras, who made $253,000.

In 1941, Ameche appeared in films like "That Night in Rio," "Moon Over Miami," "Kiss the Boys Goodbye," "The Feminine Touch," and "Confirm or Deny." The following year, he appeared in "The Magnificent Dope" and "Girl Trouble." In 1943, Don starred in "Happy Land." The following year, he appeared in "Wing and a Prayer" and "Greenwich Village."

In 1945, Ameche appeared in "It's in the Bag!" and "Guest Wife." In 1946, he had a role in "So Goes My Love," followed by a role in "That's My Man" in 1947. He finished the decade by appearing in "Sleep, My Love" in 1948 and "Slightly French" in 1949.

Don Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici on May 31, 1908, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He later began going by Ameche when he began working in entertainment. His father, Felice Amici, was a bartender from Montemonaco, Marche, Italy, while his mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, was of Scottish, Irish, and German ancestry. Don was the second oldest of eight children, and he grew up with his three brothers and four sisters. He attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Wisconsin, he participated in theater and developed his interest in acting.

Ameche then moved to Chicago, where he began a career in radio by joining the show "Empire Builders." In 1932, he became the leading man on two other Chicago radio programs – the dramatic anthology "First Nighter" and the soap opera "Betty and Bob."

Don Ameche's career spanned nearly 60 years and started out in vaudeville. Ameche starred in several films, including "Dante's Inferno," "Ramona," "One in a Million," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "The Three Musketeers," "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell," "Moon Over Miami," "Heaven Can Wait," "Wing and a Prayer," "Greenwich Village," "Columbo: Suitable for Framing," "Trading Places," "Cocoon," "Harry and the Hendersons," "Coming to America," "Cocoon: The Return," and "Corrina, Corrina." Ameche won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for "Cocoon" in 1985. In 1960, he received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television and Radio. Don Ameche passed away on December 6, 1993, at 85 years old, from prostate cancer.

Ultimately, Don Ameche's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.