The Rock’s road to success: How Dwayne Johnson built his US$800 million empire

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson never planned on being a movie star, nor did he expect to co-found a production company, or to be one of the top players in the tequila industry, or to co-own the XFL American football league.

And yet, here he is: a rare instance of a footballer-turned-pro-wrestler-turned-actor-turned-entrepreneur. The 52-year-old is the most-followed American man on Instagram, with 395 million fans watching his every move, was named People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ in 2016, and has topped Forbes’ highest-paid actor in Hollywood list multiple years.

Currently, Johnson’s network is estimated to be around US$800 million, earning him the title of the second-richest actor in the world for 2024. Reflecting on his immense empire in 2021 to Vanity Fair, Johnson said of his success, "It sits me down. That was never the goal. The goal was just: I didn’t want to be broke. And I didn’t want my family to be broke anymore. And it’s a blessing, man."

Humble beginnings

It can be easy to dismiss Johnson as just another A-lister peddling products and cashing in on celebrity endorsement deals; however, once you dig a little deeper, it becomes blatantly obvious that he is absolutely anything but. Instead, this is a hyper-savvy businessman, a hard worker so tireless in his approach to building his legacy that he utilizes every single hour.

"I think these days there could be a tendency for people to think that things come easy," he said. "It does not. No, it’s actually quite the opposite.

"You know, I stay up at night, putting in the work, but also really deeply contemplating the next move and the multiple moves and the impact and effect that this one thing will have."

Financial insecurity was ever-present for Johnson growing up. His father, Rocky Johnson, was a professional wrestler (as was his grandfather, Peter Maivia) and while he was a legend in the industry, that didn’t necessarily equate to a stable income.

Moving to Hawaii as an adolescent with his mother, who was earning a living cleaning hotel rooms, Johnson was arrested numerous times for crimes including petty theft, check fraud, vandalism and assault. He recalls being evicted with his mother from their Honolulu apartment at age 15 as a formative moment – ultimately driving his ambition from that day onward.

"It broke my heart," he told Fortune in 2014. "I remember saying to myself, ‘I will do anything and everything I possibly can to make sure we never get evicted again.’"

They relocated to Nashville, where his father was wrestling, and Johnson set a plan in motion.

"What does that mean?" he reflected. "What does it mean to be successful? Well, the successful men I admired – [Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone ] – all built their bodies."

He began working out – lifting weights and focusing on improving his fitness – and with the training, also found mental clarity and discipline.

At Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Johnson discovered he had considerable talent as a defensive tackle footballer, which resulted in a recruitment to the University of Miami. With the 1991 national championship under his belt, it seemed Johnson’s NFL career was inevitable – until a back injury sent him to the sideline in his final year.

A two-month stint with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as a 22-year-old in 1995 followed, before he was cut abruptly from the team. Johnson, his pride damaged and his prospects dashed, ended up back with his parents in Tampa, with just US$7 to his name (he would go on to name his production company Seven Bucks Productions as an ode to that moment).

A second chance

While taking the same path as his father wasn’t part of the plan, when forced to reconsider his options, Johnson decided a foray into wrestling made sense.

"Before I even got to the big, bright lights of WWE, I was wrestling in flea markets, carnivals [and] used car dealerships," he told Forbes in 2023.

"When you start your career like that – struggling, hustling, scratching, clawing for 40 bucks a match – you come into any venture with a greater appreciation. But also I think a greater willingness to rip yourself open, rip the face off of something and really go for it."

Gradually, Johnson gained momentum. Both his fanbase and paychecks increased, and in 2000, after four years with the WWE, he was approached by Saturday Night Live to host a show. His charisma blew audiences (and Hollywood execs) away, and from there, Johnson’s career snowballed.

His first feature film appearance, in 2001’s The Mummy Returns proved so popular that he was given his own spinoff to star in. Playing the eponymous character in 2002’s The Scorpion King, Johnson set a Guinness World Record as the highest salary paid [US$5.5 million] for a debut starring role.

By 2004, he had left the WWE to pursue acting full-time. He found his niche on screen as a lovable beefcake with a heart of gold, predominantly within the comedy and action genres – from Be Cool in 2005 and Get Smart in 2008 to The Other Guys in 2010, San Andreas in 2015 and the cult Fast and The Furious franchise between 2011 and 2019 – before also discovering his particular talent and appeal within the children’s category, including Tooth Fairy in 2010 and Moana in 2016.

The dream team

Integral to Johnson’s thriving empire has been the team working behind the scenes, most notably his business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia. Having met as students at the University of Miami, Garcia and Johnson fell in love, married and had a daughter, Simone (now 23 and signed with the WWE), in 2001.

By 2007, the pair had filed for divorce, but the decision was amicable, and they continued to share a mutual admiration for each other. Just a year after the separation, Garcia stepped into the role of Johnson’s manager, and a new version of their relationship began to take shape.

"The thought was always, ‘How can we put a corporate structure around this beast called Dwayne Johnson?’" Garcia told Fortune. "What can we set up so that this man, when he no longer wants to be in front of the camera, can have a lot to offer?"

In 2019, Johnson married singer-songwriter Lauren Hashian, with whom he had two more daughters, Jasmine, eight, and Tiana, six. While the family dynamic and blending of work and life may be unconventional, there’s no denying it is paying off in dividends.

"Life is amazing, life is messy, life is what you make of it," Johnson admitted. "I’m happy to say we’re all together working nicely, but it took a lot of work. With Dany, it was going through the sludge of divorce and then having the clarity to say, ‘We’re still friends, we respect each other; let’s do business. And let’s do big business.’"

Creating companies

Their first endeavor together was the formation of Seven Bucks Productions in 2012, in an effort to take creative control of Johnson’s acting career. The multi-platform company has since been responsible for films grossing more than US$4.6 billion. They have co-produced a string of blockbuster hits starring Johnson, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in 2017 – which took the record as the second highest-grossing Sony film ever released (US$943 million) – and Black Adam in 2022 (US$393 million).

2020 served as a particularly big business year for Johnson, acquiring the XFL American Football League for a reported US$15 million (which then merged with USFL to become the United Football League in 2024).

A self-proclaimed tequila enthusiast, that same year Johnson founded Teremana, a small-batch style, ‘ultra-premium’ tequila. Teremana broke records from the get-go, with 2023 marking the milestone of achieving the title of the fastest premium spirits brand to sell one million nine-liter cases within a 12-month period in the United States. It has now expanded into several countries around the world and accumulated more than 17 major spirits awards.

"I love building," Johnson explained to Vanity Fair. "And I love creating products and brands that have a certain quality to them to deliver to people. But I think the stripped-away answer here is: I love it. I love what I do. Honestly, I love building from scratch with these two old dinosaur hands."

In 2021, Johnson turned his attention to yet another wildly successful new venture, this time to one that, for all intents and purposes, made a lot of sense. ZOA Energy began as a zero-sugar natural energy drink and has since expanded to include a pre-workout protein powder.

Given Johnson’s background in pro-wrestling, as well as his predilection for developing his physique at the gym, it’s a product that he can market particularly well. ZOA boasts repeat purchase rates of 50 percent, with 30 percent of ZOA consumers new to the energy drink space, and in November 2024, Molson Coors bought the majority share for US$53 million, demonstrating its enormous earning potential.

When opportunity knocks

As well as his major companies, Johnson also lends his expertise and highly bankable name to a range of other projects. These range from the obvious – his Project Rock Collection for Under Armour and ongoing endorsement deals with Ford and Apple that earn him additional tens of millions each year – to the unexpected, such as the release of his affordable skincare and shampoo line Papatui, which is sold at Target stores across the United States.

Philanthropy is also a focus, as evidenced through his children’s charity, the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, as well as regular substantial donations to causes close to his heart, such as a joint donation of US$10 million with Oprah Winfrey to help victims of the Maui fires in 2023.

While his portfolio may be eclectic, it is clear that each venture is carefully considered and cleverly crafted, all contributing to the overarching image that is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – as well as ensuring that he never ends up back where he started.

"There was a time in my life when opportunities were so few and far between they were like little cracks in the wall," Johnson said to Fortune. "I would scratch and claw and bite and do anything to make sure that I grabbed that opportunity by the throat and did not let it go.

"They’re a bit more frequent these days, but I still look at it like it’s a crack, and I attack it. I’m a long way away from ever getting evicted again, but man, I think about that so much. That’s where my ‘We’ve got to make sure this happens’ and ‘Let’s go’ type of energy comes from."