As one of the most talked-about figures, Greta Garbo has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What was Greta Garbo's Net Worth?

As a child, Garbo was not very interested in school but did enjoy make-believe games and got involved in theater from a young age, often participating in plays at the local Mosebacke Theatre. She finished school at the age of 13, which was typical for working-class girls at the time, just before the Spanish flu spread through Stockholm. Her father became ill, lost his job, and ultimately passed away when Garbo was 14. Garbo began working as a soap-lather girl in a barber shop and then in a department store where she ran errands.

In the mid-1920s, Garbo moved to New York City without being able to speak a word of English. She appeared in 1926's "Torrent" and "The Temptress," which launched her as a Hollywood star. Garbo soon became the era's go-to silent film actress, starring in three such films with John Gilbert. She became one of the biggest attractions at the box office through the 1930s. Garbo appeared in "Anna Christine" in 1930 in her first speaking part in Hollywood and earned her first Oscar nomination for the role. She earned her second nod for 1930's "Romance". In 1931, she landed a part in "Mata Hari," and in 1932, she appeared in "Grand Hotel," which won the Oscar for Best Picture. She earned her third Academy Award nod for 1939's "Ninotchka".

She was born Greta Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden in 1905. Greta Garbo took work wherever she could find it as a teenager. She washed hair in a barbershop and worked as an errand girl before landing a job modeling hats for a local department store. Soon, that led to a job as a fashion model and, eventually, TV commercials in the early 1920s. After appearing in the 1922 short movie "Peter the Tramp," her acting career was born. She studied at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre and appeared alongside Lars Hanson in "The Saga of Gosta Berling" and later scored a part in "Die freudlose Gasse".

After appearing in a dozen more films, including "Anna Karenina," "Camille," "Conquest," and "Two-Faced Woman," Garbo retired from film in 1941. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen a decade after retirement and lived in Manhattan. Garbo never married and had no children, though she did have a brief romantic interlude with co-star John Gilbert. After successfully battling breast cancer during the '80s, Garbo died on April 15, 1990, after going into renal failure and suffering from pneumonia.

At the department store, Garbo began modeling hats for the store's catalogs. This led to her landing more lucrative jobs in fashion modeling. In 1920, she was cast by the department store's director of film commercials in roles advertising women's clothing. She first appeared in a commercial in December of that year.

Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress who had a net worth of $32 million at the time of her death in 1990. That's the same as around $70 million in today's dollars. Greta Garbo was known for her portrayal of tragic characters and understated performances. She is considered one of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. She retired from acting in the 1940s and then spent the next several decades collecting art and investing in stocks. Combined, her art collection and stock portfolio were worth tens of millions of dollars at her death in 1990.

Garbo was born on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden, to parents Anna Lovisa and Karl Gustafsson. Her father worked as a laborer, while her mother worked at a jam factory. She was raised with her two older siblings – Sven and Alva – in a small flat in the city's working-class district, often regarded as the city's slum.

By 1922, she had caught the attention of director Erik Petschler, who cast her in his short comedy, "Peter the Tramp." She then began studying at the Royal Dramatic Training Academy in Stockholm from 1922 until 1924. In 1924, she was recruited to play the principal part in Mauritz Stiller's play, "The Saga of Gosta Berling," a dramatization of the famous novel by Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlof. From that point on, Stiller became Garbo's mentor, helping her train as an actress and managing various aspects of her career. She soon after booked the starring role in the German film, "Die freudlose Gasse."

In summary, the total wealth of Greta Garbo reflects strategic moves.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.