Ben Affleck and Matt Damon look back on the financial reality check they faced after the success of Goodwill Hunting.
Appears in a recent episode of The Howard Stern Showthe longtime collaborators pondered receiving a $600,000 payday for writing and starring in the 1997 film and quickly learned how much they might not like it.
When Stern asked if they had “blown through the money,” Affleck responded, “Well, it turns out, Howard, you have to pay things called taxes.”
Damon added that the realization came quickly. “It was a big wake-up call,” he said, recalling their confusion over how the money was distributed. “We were like, ‘We understand this guy gets half, but who else gets half?'”
Affleck summed it up with a joke that stuck. “It was like having an ex-wife right away. You just have to share, share, share,” he said, before clarifying that the comment was not directed at anyone specific.
The two actors were in their mid-20s at the time and fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. They previously shared that they kept a joint bank account and split the proceeds evenly. After taxes and brokerage fees were deducted, they were left with about $110,000 each.
Affleck later described the aftermath during a 2023 appearance The Drew Barrymore Show. He said they each bought Jeep Cherokees for $55,000 and used the remaining money to rent a $5,000-a-month house near the Hollywood Bowl. Within six months the money was gone.
Despite the early financial missteps, Goodwill Hunting launched both men into long, successful careers.
