Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards
Will Smith detailed his goals in life moving forward after dodging a question about his net worth, after the actor closed his charity almost two years to the day he infamously punched Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
The Oscar-winning actor, 55, in conversation with Complex Correspondent Speedy Morman was asked in a 360 with Speedy segment published Tuesday whether the reported $350 million net worth, gathered through a Google search, was accurate.
“I don’t even know the human being,” the King Richard actor replied. “I don’t discuss such things.”
Morman asked Smith if he’s “aligned” with a lavish lifestyle after more than three decades in the spotlight, and wondered about his relationship with money.
Smith said he is in the “downsizing phase” of his life because his mentality has shifted from collecting to giving.
Will Smith, 55, detailed his goals in life going forward after dodging a question about his net worth in an interview with Complex published Tuesday
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 2 Wednesday marks the two-year anniversary of Smith's infamous punch of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, which has had significant professional ramifications for the actor](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580113_513_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
Wednesday marks the two-year anniversary of Smith’s infamous punch of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, which has had significant professional ramifications for the actor
The Emancipation star said he has seen other successful celebrities change their lives around the age of 50, citing Jim Carrey as an example of a “drastic public transformation like that.”
Smith said, “What happens is you realize that none of it can make you happy.”
He added, “Once you’ve bought everything you want and there’s literally nothing else on earth you want to buy… there’s nothing material can do to satisfy you.”
The Wild Wild West star said he is in a “scary” phase of his life where “there is literally nothing that can make you happy,” citing relationships, money and children.
He added: ‘That happy is an internal, full frontal contact with your dark knight of the soul and you reconcile that you have to make happy in (your head) – you have to make happy in (your heart) – with none of the that stuff.
‘You have to be happy with the people you love – you can’t try to take it from them… that is to say… it’s not for the faint of heart.’
The interview with was published on Tuesday, when Variety reported that Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, 52, are closing their charitable organization, the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, after a massive drop in donations since the 2022 Oscars.
The outlet, citing tax records from ProPublicanoted that the nonprofit lost major corporate donors such as American Airlines and CAA.
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 4 The Oscar-winning actor, speaking to Complex correspondent Speedy Morman in an interview published Tuesday, was asked if the reported net worth of $350 million, gathered through a Google search, was accurate.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580115_367_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
The Oscar-winning actor, speaking to Complex correspondent Speedy Morman in an interview published Tuesday, was asked if the reported net worth of $350 million, gathered through a Google search, was accurate.
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 6 The King Richard actor replied: 'I don't even know the human being...I don't discuss such things'](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580117_140_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
The King Richard actor replied: ‘I don’t even know the human being…I don’t discuss such things’
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 8 Smith said he is in the “downsizing phase” of his life because his mentality has shifted from collecting to giving](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580120_716_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
Smith said he is in the “downsizing phase” of his life because his mentality has shifted from collecting to giving
The charity, which started in 1996, received $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021, before an 83 percent freefall to $365,870 in 2022 following the infamous incident.
The couple had been considering closing the foundation prior to the incident involving Rock, a source told the outlet, as they had hoped to channel their primary efforts on the charity front to private donors.
Wednesday marks two years since Smith infamously punched Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars on March 27, 2022, in which he punched comedian Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The joke was about her shaved head saying, “Jada, I love you, GI Jane 2, I can’t wait to see it!” in a reference to the 1997 film in which Demi Moore had a shaved head. (Pinkett Smith has been diagnosed with alopecia, which causes hair loss.)
Smith then walked on stage and punched Rock, then returned to his seat and yelled at him twice, “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth!” in front of a stunned audience.
Later in the evening — in his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role as tennis patriarch Richard Williams in King Richard — Smith apologized to the Academy and other nominees but made no reference to Rock.
Smith subsequently apologized several times for the incident and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, before receiving a ten-year ban from the Oscars.
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 10 Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are closing their charity, the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, after a massive drop in donations since the 2022 Oscars](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580122_970_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are closing their charity, the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, after a massive drop in donations since the 2022 Oscars
![Will Smith sidesteps question about $350M net worth after shuttering flailing charity two years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock at Academy Awards 12 Smith is nearly two years removed from his infamous incident at the 2022 Oscars, in which he punched comedian Chris Rock after making a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1711580124_190_Will-Smith-sidesteps-question-about-350M-net-worth-after-shuttering.jpg)
Smith is nearly two years removed from his infamous incident at the 2022 Oscars, in which he punched comedian Chris Rock after making a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In an apology he issued about the incident in an online clip in July 2022, Smith said his wife had “nothing to do with” his attack on Rock.
“I made my own choice based on my own experiences, on my history with Chris,” he said. “I want to say sorry to my children and my family for the heat I caused all of us.”
He added: ‘I contacted Chris and the message that came back is that he is not ready to talk and if he is he will get in touch. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.”