Cole Hauser’s salary from movies and TV appearances, including his lead role in Yellowstone, amounts to a huge sum after 30 years of hard work.

Yellowstone‘s Rip Wheeler is making some big bucks. The stocky ranch hand-turned-family member, played by Cole Hauser, quickly rose to fame in Taylor Sheridan’s Western show.

After nearly three decades of pursuing an acting career, Hauser’s odds began getting bigger and better with this lead role. And he is currently looking to become one of the highest-paid TV actors.

While Hauser’s recent money and fame may come from Yellowstone, it should be noted that Hauser comes from a family of show business. And he is best friends with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. So, how much did Hauser earn from his last 30 years in the industry?

What is Cole Hauser’s net worth in 2025?

Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in a still from Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Cole Hauser turned to acting after getting the lead role in the school play, Dark of the Moon. His debut came alongside many up-and-coming actors in the industry in the 1992 film, School Ties. He acted and formed friendships with Brendan Fraser, Chris O’Donnell, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck. His next appearance was also in a star-studded film.

He appeared in Dazed and Confused, alongside Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, and Matthew McConaughey. It was his second collaboration with Affleck. He played a racist skinhead in the film Higher Learning. His friendships with Affleck and Damon got him a role in their career-defining film, Good Will Hunting.

Hauser has appeared alongside Vin Diesel in the cult classic Pitch Black as well as in the Fast & Furious franchise film, 2 Fast 2 Furious. He collaborated with Bruce Willis in Hart’s War, Tears of the Sun, and the Die Hard sequel A Good Day to Die Hard. He also appeared in films like Tigerland, The Break-Up, Olympus Has Fallen, and Transcendence.

In television, he appeared in the main role of Officer Randy Willitz in the Steven Spielberg-created police drama, High Incident. He also appeared in four episodes of ER. He had main roles in shows like K-Ville, Chase, Rogue, and The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.

However, his most popular lead role came only in 2018 in Yellowstone. It was 25 years after he had made his debut in the industry. From his movie and TV appearances, Cole Hauser earned a considerable net worth of $10 million, as estimated by Parade in 2025.

This estimate will also include his profits from his business that he started in late 2023. Hauser owns Free Rein Coffee Company, which caused some drama on the Yellowstone set. Taylor Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Headquarters LLC sued Hauser’s coffee company for trademark infringement.

According to the lawsuit filed on November 21, 2023, Free Rein allegedly copied Bosque Ranch’s trademark logo. Sheridan’s brand sought permanent damages from Hauser’s 2022 bought company under Texas Law and the Lanham Act for copyright infringement (via San Angelo Live). As per mrt.com, Sheridan’s legal team requested the case be dismissed a month later.

Hauser is a board member of Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which receives a portion of the profits from Free Rein.

How much was Cole Hauser making from Yellowstone?

Cole Hauser’s Rip with Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount

According to Taste of Country, all the supporting cast members to Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton were initially making $200,000 per episode. It meant that Cole Hauser and his co-stars Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, and others were all making this figure. Their salary for the first season would amount to $1.8 million.

As the series progressed, Hauser’s salary was bumped up to $700,000 per episode. He probably earned that figure for the 14 episodes of Season 5. It meant that he was making a whopping $9.8 million for the last season alone. It could be the same for Reilly, given her larger role in the final season.

Yellowstone‘s Cole Hauser comes from a cinema legacy

Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in a still from Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Cole Hauser is what some of you may call “a nepo kid.” His estimated net worth will probably include his inherited wealth, as he comes from a family known for its success in the show business. His divorced father and mother were from the film industry. His mother, Cass Warner, founded Warner Sisters, a production company. His father, Wings Hauser, was an actor and director.

His maternal grandfather was Milton Sperling, who was a film producer and screenwriter. Sperling worked at Warner Bros., where he met Harry Warner’s daughter, Betty Warner. In this manner, Hauser is related to one of the founders of WB, who happens to be his maternal great-grandfather.

His paternal grandfather is Dwight Hauser, a screenwriter who wrote the Academy Award-winning short documentary film Ama Girls for Disney. Hauser is of Jewish descent on his mother’s side, while he is of German and Irish descent on his father’s side.

He is married to Sweet Valley High fame Cynthia Daniel, who is a twin. Her sister, Brittany Daniel, continues to pursue her acting career, while Cynthia has moved on to her photography career. Hauser and Daniel met in the ’90s and got married in 2006. They have three children: Ryland, Colt, and Steely Rose.

Cole Hauser’s investment in real estate

Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in a still from Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Cole Hauser and his wife, Cynthia Daniel, used to own a horse ranch in Agoura Hills, California. The ranch had a huge mansion in its 2.64-acre grounds, along with a guest house, riding trails, and two equestrian areas (via NY Post). The property had a great view of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The main house featured a great room with a stone fireplace, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a large eat-in kitchen. The guest house featured a fireplace, a smaller kitchen, and floor-to-ceiling doors. He paid $2.34 million for the property in 2010. It was listed in 2020 for an asking rate of $4.25 million. He eventually sold it for $4.375 million in December 2022 (via Celebrity Net Worth).

In July 2021, Hauser and Daniel purchased a waterfront mansion in Stuart, Florida, for a whopping $4.2 million. It is located in the High Point area of Sewall’s Point in Stuart and looks down on the St. Lucie River. The 7000-foot home consists of 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.

The house has 135 feet of waterfrontage, with the ability for deep-water docking. The home features a wine cellar, 2 elevators, and separate guest quarters. It has an outdoor entertainment area with a private pool, outdoor kitchen, and hot tub. Florida is the home state of Daniel, who grew up in Gainesville.

How much is Cole Hauser getting paid for the Yellowstone spinoff?

Cole Hauser’s Rip with Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Network

Paramount+ is working on a lot of Yellowstone spinoffs at the moment, despite the declining reception of Taylor Sheridan‘s work. According to Bloomberg, a Yellowstone spinoff titled Dutton Ranch is set to debut on Paramount Network in the fall. It will feature Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly in the lead roles.

Hauser has now clarified that the Bloomberg report is wrong about the name. When he appeared at the Professional Bull Riding finals in Texas, he told Fox News, “Well, first of all, it’s not Dutton Ranch. That’s not the name of it.” However, he didn’t share the actual name of his show. He confirmed the show, sharing, “Kelly and I going and working our ass off trying to create something special.”

He has been tight-lipped about the show, even though it appears that he has already signed on to the potential spinoff. Earlier, Matthew Belloni’s Puck reported that Hauser, Reilly, and Luke Grimes were at odds with Paramount over their salaries for the spinoffs (Bloomberg reports that Grimes is getting a Kayce-centered show on CBS in 2026).

It was reported that they each demanded $1.25 million per episode. As the spinoff is reportedly in the works, it must mean that the studio either agreed to their demand or met the demand somewhere near that amount. Hauser is probably making around $1 million per episode for this spinoff, if these reports and assumptions turn out to be true.