Al Pacino Explains How He Went Broke Twice Despite Starring in Numerous Iconic Films

Al Pacino opened up about his multiple financial struggles throughout his career and despite being a successful Hollywood star.

“When I finished making The Godfather, I was broke, not that I had ever had any money, but now I owed money,” the actor, 84, wrote in his memoir Sonny Boy, per Page Six. “My manager and agents got their cuts of my salary while I had to live on support from [ex-girlfriend] Jill Clayburgh.”

Pacino starred in the iconic 1972 drama alongside Marlon Brando and Dianne Keaton, reportedly making $35,000 for his portrayal of Michael Corleone in the first installment. In 1974, he reprised his role for the sequel in part because he needed the extra cash. Despite having consistent work at the early stages of his career, Pacino says he struggled to make ends meet due to his changing lifestyle.

“I had about ninety grand in the bank and that was it,” he penned. “I had a lifestyle to boot. I had my home in the country, which I didn’t want to give up. I was spending and not earning; I was putting out but I wasn’t bringing in.”

While dating Keaton, 78, Pacino claimed that the actress told his lawyers that Pacino was an “idiot” and that he needed to be taken care of. The Oscar winner ultimately agreed with his then-girlfriend’s assessment, confessing that he “didn’t understand” how managing his money and career worked.

Pacino admitted that as he found more success on screen, his team grew as well. In addition to paying for his staff, Pacino also had three children to care for including daughter Julie Marie, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Jan Tarrant, and twins Anton and Olivia, whom he welcomed with ex Beverly D’Angelo. (Pacino became a father for a fourth time in June 2023 with his and Noor Alfallah’s son Roman.)

“My staff was getting bigger, and I was taking care of two homes, my apartments, and an office, and supporting the households of my children,” he wrote in the book. “I was spending three or four hundred thousand dollars a month, which is a lot of moolah.”

Pacino did manage to find financial relief at one point, though he alleged that the influx of cash came from an unnamed accountant who was later found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme and served time in prison. As a result, Pacino says he ended up broke for a second time.

“I had fifty million dollars, and then I had nothing,” he said. “I had property but I didn’t have any money … The kind of money I was spending and where it was going was just a crazy montage of loss.”

While Pacino had a generous bank account, he owned 16 cars, 23 cell phones and paid “$400,000 a year” to a landscaper for a house he did not reside in.

“I wasn’t even signing my own checks — the accountant signed them and I just let them go by. I wasn’t looking and he didn’t tell me how much I had or where it was going,” he continued. “And I wasn’t keeping track of who got what. It was all about: Let’s keep this dumb actor going, and I was keeping track of who got what. I was all about: Let’s keep this dumb actor happy, just keep him working, and will reap.”

Pacino’s second financial struggle occurred later in life — the actor noted that “the big paydays” he was previously used to “weren’t coming around anymore.” To make ends meet, he ultimately decided to accept a role in Adam Sandler’s 2011 comedy Jack and Jill.

“To be honest, I did it because I didn’t have anything else. Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it,” Pacino wrote. “I love Adam, he was wonderful to work with and has become a dear friend.”

After Jack and Jill, Pacino shared that he did some more “really bad films” that he ultimately did not name. Pacino confessed that going through multiple financial woes in his life has helped him focus on his estate now, leading him to enlist the help of people who are “way smarter” than him.