Was Shakespeare Rich? What We Know About the Famous Playwright’s Wealth

To many, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest dramatist of all time. His works—at least 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems—capture the range of human emotion and conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years.

But about 150 years after the Bard of Avon died in April 1616, some began to question his genius. They wondered: Was Shakespeare was the real author of his plays? In fact, it’s a question some are still asking today. One chief concern among skeptics is Shakespeare’s modest beginnings and spotty educational records.

Indeed, Shakespeare’s family fell on hard times during his youth, and we know he didn’t attend university. But partly because of his success as a playwright, poet, and actor, Shakespeare seemingly enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, particularly in his later years. Here’s everything we know about the Bard’s wealth throughout his life and all the ways he made a living.

Shakespeare didn’t grow up wealthy

Born in April 1564, Shakespeare was the oldest surviving child of John Shakespeare, a glove-maker and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local heiress to land. John held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John’s middle- to upper-middle-class fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s when Shakespeare was a teenager.

William Shakespeare’s childhood home, as seen in the 1880s

The family’s hard times coincided with the end of Shakespeare’s formal education, but lack of tuition wasn’t the reason. Scholars have surmised Shakespeare most likely attended the King’s New School, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, where he lived. The school was free for local boys, and students learned reading, writing, and the classics, including Latin. Shakespeare is believed to have been enrolled until he was 14 or 15. At this point, it’s possible he began an apprenticeship.

Eventually, John recovered some of his fortune and was granted a coat of arms in 1596, which made him and his four sons official gentleman. By this time, Shakespeare was already married with a family and career of his own.

His marriage to Anne Hathaway included a dowry

In November 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was the eldest of Richard Hathaway’s seven surviving children. As a yeoman, Richard owned some property that he farmed. He died the year before Shakespeare and Anne were married but left his daughter an ample dowry in his will.

The house where Anne Hathaway grew up, which her brother expanded after inheriting the property from their late father

The couple likely relied upon this inheritance as they started a family. Their daughter Susanna was born in May 1583 followed by their twins, Judith and Hamnet, in February 1585.

In the seven years after the twins were born, little is known about Shakespeare’s life. This is wide speculation about what he was doing or how he was earning a living during his “lost years.” One theory posits Shakespeare might have gone into hiding for poaching game from local landlord Sir Thomas Lucy. Another possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire. Some scholars believe he was in London, working as a horse attendant at some of London’s finer theaters before breaking on the scene.

Acting and writing were key sources of income

By 1592, there is evidence Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright in London and possibly had several plays produced.

Early on, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention and patronage of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first and second published poems: Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594). In fact, these long narrative poems were Shakespeare’s first published works. Wriothesley’s financial support was a helpful source of income at a time when the theaters were shuttered due to a plague outbreak.

In 1594, Shakespeare joined Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the London acting company that he worked with for the rest of his career. Later called the King’s Men, it was considered the most important troupe of its time and was very popular by all accounts. Some sources describe Shakespeare as a founding member of the company, but whatever the case, he became central to its success. Initially, he was an actor—making between 60 to 70 pounds a year, according to some estimates—and eventually devoted more and more time to writing.

Records show that Shakespeare, who was also a company shareholder, had works published and sold as popular literature. His first published plays, Titus Andronicus and Henry VI Part 2, were printed in 1594 in quarto, an eight-page pamphlet-like book. By the end of 1597, Shakespeare had likely written 16 of his 37 plays and amassed some wealth. Roughly six years later, Shakespeare is believed to have stopped acting in the King’s Men productions, instead focusing on his playwriting work.

Shakespeare owned part of the Globe Theater

The Globe Theatre today marks the third iteration of the famous theatrical venue.

By 1599, Shakespeare and several fellow actors built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe Theater. Julius Caesar is thought to be the first production at the new open-air theater.

Owning the playhouse proved to be a financial boon for Shakespeare and the other investors. According to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare could have earned around 200 pounds in a good year in his capacity as a company shareholder. However, it’s important to note that there were regular theater closures, so his take-home pay wasn’t a consistent 200 pounds annually.

Later in life, the playwright became a notable landowner

Thanks to his success in the theatrical world, Shakespeare was eventually able to invest in personal property holdings, too. In 1597, civil records show the 33-year-old purchased one of the largest houses in Stratford, called New Place, for his family. The price tag was 120 pounds.

Around the turn of the 17^th century, Shakespeare became a more extensive property owner in Stratford. When his father died in 1601, he inherited the family home. The next year, he purchased about 107 acres for 320 pounds.

In 1605, Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him about 60 pounds a year from his cut of the agricultural profits. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him uninterrupted time to write his plays. By the time of his death 11 years later, Shakespeare had collected more than 600 pounds from this land.

Shakespeare also invested in a London property. He and three others purchased Blackfriars Gatehouse in March 1613 for 140 pounds, though they required a 60-pound mortgage to complete the sale. Shakespeare never lived in the house, and it’s possible he purchased it to rent.

He left most of his estate to his eldest daughter

In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna, who by then was married. Judith, his younger daughter, received 300 pounds over the course of three years.

His wife, Anne, was entitled to a third of his estate, and Shakespeare additionally bequeathed her his “second-best bed.” This phrase has drawn speculation that she had fallen out of favor or that the couple wasn’t close. However, there is very little evidence the two had a difficult marriage. Other scholars note that the term “second-best bed” often refers to the bed belonging to the household’s master and mistress, the marital bed, and the “first-best bed” was reserved for guests.

So, was Shakespeare rich?

Like so much of his personal life, our insight to Shakespeare’s wealth is murky at best. And it can’t be overlooked that we have little way to convert what we do know about his finances into today’s dollars (or pounds, for that matter). Still, scholars believe Shakespeare was eventually well-off, especially when compared to his fellow actors and playwrights.

“He was certainly wealthy,” said Elizabeth Dollimore of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. “He wasn’t like a modern-day celebrity or a footballer who just has an impossibly enormous bank balance, but he was certainly better-off than your average Joe by quite a way.”

And while the key to his wealth was his savvy property investments, he couldn’t have made them without his success in the theater first.

Adrienne Donica

Deputy Editor

Adrienne directs the daily news operation and content production for Biography.com. She joined the staff in October 2022 and most recently worked as an editor for Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, and Bicycling. Adrienne has served as editor-in-chief of two regional print magazines, and her work has won several awards, including the Best Explanatory Journalism award from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Her current working theory is that people are the point of life, and she’s fascinated by everyone who (and every system that) creates our societal norms. When she’s not behind the news desk, find her hiking, working on her latest cocktail project, or eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. 

Biography.com Editors

Staff Editorial Team and Contributors

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us