Taylor Bisciotti
$1 million
Aaron Paul’s net worth is estimated at $30 million, built primarily through his Emmy-winning role as Jesse Pinkman on AMC’s Breaking Bad (2008–2013), a string of film and television roles across two decades, and his co-ownership of mezcal brand Dos Hombres alongside co-star Bryan Cranston.
Updated March 2026: According to a March 2026 analysis drawing on industry earnings data, Aaron Paul’s net worth stands at approximately $30 million, reflecting sustained income from entertainment projects, streaming residuals, and the continued growth of Dos Hombres Mezcal, which raised $15 million in growth-equity investment in December 2025, per Forbes.
Aaron Paul was born Aaron Paul Sturtevant on August 27, 1979, in Emmett, Idaho — a month premature, delivered on his parents’ bathroom floor while his father was away. He is the youngest of four children born to Darla (née Haynes) and Robert Sturtevant, a Baptist minister. Growing up in a religious household, Paul participated in church plays from a young age, which first sparked his interest in performance.
He attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho, where he joined the theater department in eighth grade and became set on an acting career. After graduating in 1997, Paul drove from Idaho to Los Angeles in a 1982 Toyota Corolla with $6,000 in savings. One of his first breaks came from an unexpected source: an appearance on the CBS game show The Price Is Right, which aired on January 3, 2000 — he was listed under his birth name and lost his Showcase bid.
Before landing television roles, Paul supported himself by working as a movie theater usher at Universal Studios in Hollywood. In 1996, he had entered the International Modeling and Talent Association competition in Los Angeles, finishing runner-up and signing with a manager — the first professional foothold that helped him secure early commercial work for brands including Juicy Fruit, Corn Pops, and Coca-Cola’s Vanilla Coke.
Aaron Paul’s screen career began in the late 1990s with small roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1999) and Melrose Place (1999), followed by minor film parts in Whatever It Takes (2000) and K-PAX (2001), in which he played the estranged son of Jeff Bridges. Mid-decade work included a role as Tom Cruise’s brother-in-law in Mission: Impossible III (2006).
His first sustained TV success came on HBO’s Big Love (2007–2011), where he played Scott Quittman across 14 episodes. But the role that transformed his career came in 2008, when he was cast as Jesse Pinkman on AMC’s Breaking Bad, opposite Bryan Cranston. Jesse was originally scripted to die in the first season; creator Vince Gilligan reversed that decision after seeing the chemistry between Paul and Cranston. Paul appeared in all five seasons (2008–2013) and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series three times — in 2010, 2012, and 2014 — becoming the only actor to that point to win the award three times in the same category.
Post–Breaking Bad, Paul headlined Need for Speed (2014), voiced Todd Chavez on Netflix’s animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020, also serving as executive producer), and led the Hulu drama The Path (2016–2018). He starred in Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told (2019–2023) and played Caleb Nichols across three seasons of HBO’s Westworld (2020–2022).
In 2019, Paul reprised Jesse Pinkman in Netflix’s feature-length sequel El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which premiered globally on October 11, 2019. He returned to the Breaking Bad universe again for the final season of Better Call Saul in 2022, reprising Jesse alongside Bryan Cranston. More recently, Paul appeared in Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 3, “Beyond the Sea” (2023), voiced a lead character in the 2025 video game Dispatch, and contributed a voice role to Invincible Season 3 (2025).
Aaron Paul married filmmaker and activist Lauren Parsekian on May 26, 2013, at a wedding in Malibu that became known for its uniquely personal touches — Paul emailed every guest the lyrics to “Beauty” by The Shivers and asked them to learn the song to sing together during the ceremony. The couple legally changed their family surname from Sturtevant to Paul in December 2022, formalizing the name Paul had used professionally throughout his career.
They have two children: daughter Story Annabelle Paul, born February 6, 2018, and son Ryden Caspian Paul, born April 2022. Bryan Cranston — Paul’s closest friend and Breaking Bad co-star — is godfather to Ryden. Paul has spoken openly about the couple’s commitment to family: at WSJ Tech Live in November 2025, he described making a pact with his then-6-year-old daughter to put down his phone whenever he was with her, a moment reported by People magazine.
The Paul family relocated to Paris, France in late 2025 while their Los Angeles home remained listed for sale. They also own a 24-acre rural property in Ojai, California, purchased for $3.5 million in 2021, and a custom log cabin near McCall, Idaho, built with reclaimed Amish barnwood and featured in an Architectural Digest home tour.
Paul has been a vocal advocate for SAG-AFTRA members on the issue of streaming residuals. On the picket line in September 2023, he publicly stated that he receives zero residual compensation from Netflix for Breaking Bad‘s ongoing streaming — a statement reported by Entertainment Weekly — which drew widespread attention to the scale of the residuals dispute.
Aaron Paul’s net worth is estimated at approximately $30 million as of 2026. The bulk of his wealth derives from his 62-episode run on Breaking Bad, where he earned up to $200,000 per episode in the final seasons, supplemented by film work, long-running streaming television roles, and his co-ownership of Dos Hombres Mezcal with Bryan Cranston. The mezcal brand raised a $15 million equity round in December 2025, reflecting meaningful valuation for Paul’s stake.
Aaron Paul’s wife is Lauren Parsekian, a filmmaker and co-founder of the anti-bullying organization Kind Campaign. The couple married on May 26, 2013, in a ceremony in Malibu, California. They have been together for over 12 years and have two children, Story Annabelle and Ryden Caspian Paul.
Aaron Paul is 46 years old, born on August 27, 1979, in Emmett, Idaho. He was born a month premature and is the youngest of four children. As of his last birthday in August 2025, he turned 46. He grew up in the Boise area and graduated from Centennial High School in 1997 before moving to Los Angeles.
Aaron Paul stands 5 feet 8 inches tall (173 cm). He is one inch shorter than the average American male, a fact that initially concerned AMC executives during casting discussions for Breaking Bad — per IMDb trivia, creator Vince Gilligan had to convince studio executives that Paul was right for the role of Jesse Pinkman regardless of his physical stature.
Aaron Paul’s salary on Breaking Bad escalated from a modest per-episode fee in Season 1 to approximately $150,000–$200,000 per episode by the show’s final two seasons. His total earnings from Seasons 4 and 5 alone are estimated at $4.35–$5 million for those 29 episodes. For the 2019 Netflix sequel El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Paul reportedly earned between $500,000 and $650,000, serving as the film’s lead. Despite Breaking Bad‘s massive Netflix streaming audience, Paul disclosed in September 2023 that he receives no residual compensation from the platform under the pre-SAG-AFTRA strike contract terms.
As of late 2025, Aaron Paul and his family relocated to Paris, France, while their Los Angeles home remains listed for sale. The Los Angeles property is the historic Seyler House — a 4,026-square-foot Spanish Revival estate on Aberdeen Avenue in Los Feliz, originally built in 1922 by architect Stiles O. Clements. Paul purchased the home for $6.95 million in 2019 from actor Jim Parsons and listed it for $9.995 million in summer 2025, later reducing the asking price to $8.195 million, per TMZ. The couple also own a 24-acre retreat in Ojai, California, purchased in 2021 for $3.5 million, and a log cabin near McCall, Idaho.
Aaron Paul has two children with his wife Lauren Parsekian. His daughter, Story Annabelle Paul, was born on February 6, 2018. His son, Ryden Caspian Paul, was born in April 2022. Bryan Cranston serves as godfather to Ryden — Paul asked Cranston on Cranston’s birthday if he would take on the role, and Cranston accepted. Paul and his family legally changed their surname from Sturtevant to Paul via the Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2022.