The Millions Keanu Reeves Gave Away

Keanu Reeves is a Hollywood icon. Everyone knows that. However, he’s also a philanthropist. The actor has donated his worth to others throughout his career. And that is not to mention the multiple charity events and efforts he has funded.

Using his celebrity status, Reeves tried his best to increase the earnings of others. He has always been thoughtful of others at all times, despite how famous he was during different phases of Hollywood.

He Hired Others at His Own Expense

After getting his starring role in 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate, the actor found out that the film’s budget couldn’t afford hiring Al Pacino. But, Reeves really wanted to have the Hollywood legend so that he could act with him. This led him to considerably cutting his own pay in favor of Pacino’s hiring.

This happened again when Keanu was working on the 2000’s sports comedy The Replacements, he cut a large part of his pay again in favor of Gene Hackman. Needless to say, he never regretted his decision, saying that working with Hackman was a great acting experience for him.

When talking about these two incidents,  Reeves said that money was the last thing he was thinking about. He admitted that the money he’s already earned could sustain him for the next few hundreds of years.

He Is Devoted to Cancer Research

Back in the 90’s, one of the Matrix star’s sisters was diagnosed with leukemia and eventually went into remission. Keanu Reeves owns a private foundation that contributes to children’s hospitals and cancer research. However, the actor doesn’t like to attach his name to it, as he admitted in one of his interviews. As he stated, he simply lets the foundation do its work.

Moreover, during 2008’s Stand Up to Cancer telethon Reeves personally took part in the event. He willingly gave his time and took advantage of his celebrity status to encourage fans to become participants, callers, and donors to help heal cancer. It is no secret that cancer research is incredibly expensive. ABC’s anchorman Charles Gibson noted that one thing about it that could be more important, than money, is the development of public awareness responsibility.

He Purchased a House for His Mother

The ability to buy his mother a new house was one of the big changes brought by an increased Reeves’ wealth.

The actor, himself, was known to be living living in a hotel for many years. In fact, he bought himself his own real estate just about 10 years ago. His own house is built of stone, steel, wood, glass, and also has quite a lot of limestone tile in it. It’s not known, what his mom’s house is made of and how it looks. One thing for sure, a son as generous and thoughtful as Reeves would definitely make sure it’s comfortable and spacious.

He Bought Motorcycles for His Stunt Crew

One of the well-known stories about actor’s generosity has it that his Matrix film series’ stunt crew received Harley Davidson motorcycles from him. As he claimed in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview, he simply wanted to thank the crew properly, as they have all trained and worked hard to make The Matrix look as good as we know it.Needless to say, the fighting scenes and sequences in the famous film series is something spectacular. Keanu himself and his stunt crew all needed ice baths and other recovery procedures for their strains and bruises.

Keanu Does Not Actually Care about Money

Even though he became incredibly famous and rich, Reeves prefers to stay grounded and not waste money, like most of his Hollywood colleagues do. When talking to Hollywood.com, he said that money doesn’t mean a thing to him. He claimed that he just wants to enjoy his life and not stress out about building his bank account, despite having made a fortune.

In an interview with the New York Post, Reeves stated that becoming a better actor is more important to him, than getting big paychecks. According to his own words, he doesn’t connect to the money. He simply works and hopes to make good film material. Keanu also stated that he looks on his successes as offering new opportunities, which is acting again in new films.

Although this may sound and look weird to most of us, as someone as wealthy prefers a simple lifestyle. However, Mr. Reeves is a huge role model and someone, who not only spends a fraction of his fortune on charity, but is actually doing something important.