Jet Li has made his name in Chinese cinema as well as in Hollywood as one of the finest actors. Not only this, he is also one of the most renowned martial artists of his generation. After winning the title of Men’s All-Around National Wushu Champion five times, Li made his entry into the film industry with the hit movie Shaolin Temple. Owing to his successful career as an actor and martial artist, Li has been able to accumulate a whopping net worth of $250 million. For more details about Jet Li’s net worth in 2023, his biography, career, best movies, facts, etc, keep reading this article.
Jet Li Net Worth 2023
| Name | Jet Li |
| Profession | Actor, martial artist, director |
| Net worth (2023) | $250 million (est.) |
Jet Li’s Personal Biography
Jet Li was born on 26 April 1963 in Beijing, China to Zhang Fenglan and Li Qingquan. He has two elder sisters and an elder brother. His father died when Li was only two years old and the family entered into poverty after that. Little Li has some natural talent for Wushu that got noticed during a summer school course. At a very young age, he joined the Beijing Wushu Team and as a part of the team, he did an amazing martial art display at the All China Games. Later he received help from renowned coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin to become better in martial art. Not just this, Wu Bin even bought food for Li’s family in order to help maintain protein intake of Li. Li competed against adults as a young boy and went on to win the national all-around championship from 1975 to 1979. However, due to a knee injury, Li had to retire from competitive wushu at the age of 18 years.
In 1987, Li married actress Huang Qiuyan who was his Beijing Wushu Team member. Qiuyan is known for movies like Kids from Shaolin, The Tale of a Heroine, and Martial Arts of Shaolin. The couple had two daughters together but they divorced in 1990 after three years of marriage. In 1999, he married actress Nina Li Chi and they too have two daughters together.
| Full name | Li Lianjie |
| Profession | Actor, martial artist, director, film producer |
| Years active | 1982 – present |
| Age | Born on 26 April 1963 |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of birth | Beijing, China |
| Marital status | Married |
| Spouse(s) | Nina Li Chi (1999 – present)Huang Qiuyan (1987 – 1990) |
| Children | 4 |
| Nationality | Singapore (2009 – present)United States (2003 – 2009)China (1963 – 2003) |
| Parents | Zhang Fenglan (mother)Li Qingquan (father) |
Jet Li’s Professional Career
Jet Li’s fame as a wushu legend landed him roles in movies in Hong Kong and later in Hollywood. Li made his film debut with the 1982 film “Shaolin Temple”. The movie became a major hit and broke box office records in China by grossing US$85,376,199. The sequel to the movie “Kids From Shaolin” released in 1984 became the highest-grossing film of the year in China. Li made his international film debut in “Lethal Weapon 4” in 1998. This movie too became a box office hit and Li’s performance in the movie was highly praised.
Li appeared in the martial arts epic film “Hero” (2002) which not only was a commercial and critical success but became the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history at the time. The same year, Li was presented the Visionary Award by East West Players which is the oldest Asian American theater in the United States. In 2006, the martial arts film epic “Fearless” was released worldwide which turned out to be Li’s last wushu epic. Other modest hits of Li include “Kiss of the Dragon”, “The One”, “Unleashed”, “Cradle 2 the Grave”, “The Expendables”, “Mulan”, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, etc. Today, he is counted among the world’s richest actors.
Direction & Film Production
As a director, Li has worked on the movie “Born to Defence”. Li has also acted as a producer for movies such as “Tai Chi Master”, “Last Hero in China”, “Fist of Legend”, “The New Legend of Shaolin”, “Unleashed”, “Fearless”, etc. Other than thus, he has also produced and co-written the movie “Kiss of the Dragon”.
Other Work
The Chinese Wushu Association appointed Li as the “Image Ambassador of Wushu” at the 2007 World Wushu Championships in Beijing. In 2009, Li launched his own fitness program Wuji which used martial arts, yoga, and Pilates. Adidas even launched a special clothing line for the program that made apparel with the initials “JL” on them. Along with billionaire businessman Jack Ma, Li founded Taiji Zen Online Academy in 2011 which combined the martial art of Taijiquan with practices such as meditation.
Philanthropy & Charity Work
Since January 2006, Li has been a philanthropic ambassador of the Red Cross Society of China. To promote mental health, Li even contributed to the Red Cross’ psychological sunshine project US$62,500 from the box office collection of his movie Fearless. After Li’s near-death experience at the 2004’s tsunami, he formed a non-profit foundation called The One Foundation that supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross. The organization also supports mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Top 15 Movies of Jet Li
Check below the list of the best movies in which Jet Li has appeared.
- Hero (2002)
- Fearless (2006)
- Fist of Legend (1994)
- Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
- Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
- Tai Chi Master (1993)
- Swordsman II (1992)
- The Legend (1993)
- Unleashed (2005)
- The Warlords (2007)
- The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk 2 (1993)
- Shaolin Temple (1982)
- Once Upon a Time in China III (1992)
- The Expendables 2 (2012)
- Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
List of Awards won by Jet Li
Below here is the complete list of awards won by Jet Li.
- 1995 Golden Horse Film Festival Special Award
- 2007 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor for Fearless
- 2008 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor for The Warlords
- 2008 Shanghai Film Critics Awards Best Actor for The Warlords
Jet Li’s Martial Art Expertise
Jet Li who began practicing wushu at a very young age became a master of several styles of wushu and other arts as well. He has also mastered wushu’s main weapons namely Sanjiegun (Three Section Staff), Gùn (Rod), Dao (Broadsword), and Jian (Straight Sword). Li is an expert in the following styles of martial arts-
- Chángquán (Northern Longfist Style)
- Fānziquán (Tumbling Fist)
- Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm)
- Taijiquan (Supreme Ultimate Fist)
- Xing Yi Quan (Shape Intent Fist)
- Zui Quan (Drunken Fist)
- Ying Zhao Quan (Eagle Claw Fist)
- Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis Fist)
Interesting Facts about Jet Li
Check out below some interesting facts about Jet Li.
- To make his English better, Li studied the language with a tutor daily for 4 hours.
- Li likes to ride his bicycle, play badminton and table tennis, read and meditate and collect rare Tibetan beads in his free time.
- When asked by Nixon to be his personal bodyguard, Li replied that he want to defend his one billion Chinese countrymen and not any individual.
- Li is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.
- Along with his family, Li was in the Maldives when the 2004 tsunami hit the Indian Ocean.
- Despite earning American nationality, Li moved to Singapore for its education system.
- Li has his wax statue established in the Hong Kong Madame Tussauds.
- His movie Hero is the third most successful foreign language film in the US.
- His movie Fearless is the seventh most successful foreign language film of all time in the US.
- Jet Li and Jackie Chan appeared together onscreen in the movie The Forbidden Kingdom.
Jet Li on Social Media
| https://www.instagram.com/jetli/ | |
| https://www.facebook.com/JetLi/ | |
| YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyyuD9yHJkS_3zL47LHur7A |
Frequently Asked Questions
$250 million (approx.)
No one is better than Bruce Lee when it comes to martial arts. Jet Li, however, stands very close to him.
Although many suspected it was because of health conditions, Li started taking fewer roles in movies to focus on charity work.
