Celebrities’ Real-World Salaries if They Were Not Stars

For many celebrities, it would take them mind-blowing number of years to reach the same net worth they are worth today if they had to survive in the “normal” job market, relying on their degrees.

kourtney-kardashian-celebrities-salaries-if-not-stars

Kourtney Kardashian. Broadimage/Shutterstock

We all know that lots of people aren’t doing a job directly related to their university degrees, but did you know that many celebrities are also in the same boat? This makes us wonder what would happen if they weren’t famous and if they had to survive in the “normal” job market, relying simply on their degrees like we do?

Interested to find out how much celebrities could earn from their university degrees if they weren’t famous, SEO provider Reboot utilized  Payscale.com  and estimated the potential 2023 annual salary of 27 celebrities based on their university degreesrevealing the mind-blowing number of years they would need to reach their current net worth if they took an alternative job!  

 

How Long It Would Take Celebs to Reach their Current Net Worth 

 

Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin ranked first as the celebrities who would take the longest to reach their current net worth, if they had to earn their fortune based on a university degree alone! 

He graduated from University College London with a degree in Ancient World Studies. The British singer would be most likely to be a museum curator like other graduates with the same degree. 

It is estimated that he would be earning an annual salary of £40,000 this year, which would have required him to work 3,293 more years in order to reach his current net worth! 

Prince WIlliam ranked second. Despite his current net worth standing at £83 million, most typical Geography graduates would earn £33,000 on average in 2023 after 17 years of work experience. 

If Prince William was born into a different family, he may have instead become an architectural technologist - meaning that it would have taken him 2,494 years to become as rich as he is now. 

In third place is actress Emma Watson, who graduated from Brown University with a degree in English literature. 

With her English degree and interests in journaling and reading books, she could have become a writer after graduation, earning potentially a salary of £31,000 this year. 

That means it would take her 2,257 years to reach the same net worth she has now if she didn’t step into the acting industry playing Hermione Granger. 

 

Top ten celebrities and their likely salaries if they were not stars:

Celebrity

University

College/university degree

Potential job role

Predicted salary 2023 £

Number of years to reach current net worth 

Chris Martin

University College London

Ancient World Studies

Museum curator

40,000

3,293

Prince William

University of St Andrews

Geography

Architectural technologist

33,000

2,494

Emma Watson

Brown University

English literature

Writer

31,000

2,257

Bradley Cooper

Georgetown University

English

Editorial assistant

49,379

1,667

John Legend

University of Pennsylvania

English, African American literature

Writer

56,786

1,449

Tom Hiddleston

University of Cambridge

Classics

Archivist

30,000

1,098

Kourtney Kardashian

University of Arizona

Theatre Arts and Spanish

Production Manager, Theater

50,202

1,066

Gerard Butler

University of Glasgow

Law

Lawyer

65,000

1,013

Natalie Portman

Harvard University

Psychology

Clinical psychologist

79,007

938

Eva Longoria

California State University

MA Chicano studies

Higher education lecturer

73,804

894

 

Celebrities Who Would Earn the Most With their University Degree

 

As a medical graduate and an officially licensed physician for a few years, it was estimated that American actor and comedian Ken Jeong would be earning £157,646 a year now if he chose to pursue his medical career. 

American actress Mayim Bialik, graduated with a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA, ranked second as the celebrity who would earn the most with university degrees (£134,147).

Rapper 2 Chianz, in third place, would be earning approximately £86,414 as a clinical psychologist in the US based on his degree in Psychology. 

 

Top ten celebrities who would earn the most with their university degree:

Celebrity

College/university degree

Potential job role

Predicted salary 2023 £

Ken Jeong

Medical degree

Doctor / General Practitioner

157,646

Mayim Bialik

PhDin neuroscience

Neuroscientist

134,147

2 Chainz

Psychology

Clinical psychologist

86,414

Christy Turlington

Masters in Public Health

Healthcare Consultant

83,122

Natalie Portman

Psychology

Clinical psychologist

79,007

Eva Longoria

Masters in Chicano studies

Higher education lecturer

73,804

Wanda Sykes

Marketing

Marketing executive

70,777

Gerard Butler

Law

Lawyer

65,000

John Legend

English, African American literature

Writer

56,786

Issa Rae

African and African-American studies

Broadcast journalist

51,025