An average scientist today makes around $87,000 annually. You’d make a little more if you are an expert in the field or have been awarded. The famous Einstein earned almost double of this amount in his time. Let’s find out how much. 

Einstein’s salary was $10,000 in 1933, which equates to nearly $210,000 now. He would be the highest-paid scientist in his profession. When he died, his net worth was $1.25 million, equating to $31 million today.

Who Was Albert Einstein?

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Württemberg, Germany. He was the son of secular, middle-class Jews Hermann and Pauline. Einstein would remark that two “wonders” significantly touched his early years. The first was his interaction with a compass at age five. He was perplexed that invisible forces could deflect the needle. This would lead to a lifetime obsession with invisible forces. The second wonder came at age 12 when he discovered a book of geometry, which he devoured, calling it his “sacred little geometry book.” (Source: Britannica)

In 1896, Einstein enrolled at the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich and became a Swiss citizen upon his graduation. He falls in love with his soon-to-be wife, Maric. They had two children by 1904. By 1905, Einstein published five groundbreaking papers in his field. One of these papers was his introduction to his theory of relativity.

Einstein continued his works and began applying the laws of gravity in his theory of relativity in 1907. Three years later, his third child was born. By 1913, Einstein started working on his theory on gravity and completed his theory of relativity in 1915. Einstein won his Nobel prize for Physics in 1921.

At the age of 53, during the height of his fame, Einstein travels to the U.S. and settles in Princeton, New Jersey. His travel was necessary since his Jewish heritage was beginning to get attention from the Nazi parties.

Einstein continued his work on Physics in the years before his death on April 18, 1955. (Source: PBS)

Einstein’s Wealth

There has not been any scarcity of literature about Einstein and his works, but we know so little of how he was financially compensated for his great intellect.

Einstein’s financial standing dramatically increased when he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in 1913. Einstein was the highest-paid physicist in his field. There was even a report that Einstein would give all of his monetary winnings from the Nobel prize to his ex-wife.

It was noted that Einstein’s salary in 1933 was $10,000. This is equivalent to about $210,000. And at the time of Einstein’s death in 1955, he was estimated to be worth $1.5 million, which roughly translates to $31 million today.
In 1996, the company “Baby Einstein” was established. The goal of the company was to help children grow intellectually. Baby Einstein became a multi-million dollar company and earned a lot of money. The company has and continues to pay royalties to Einstein’s estate since the company used Einstein’s name. The royalties earned made Einstein one of the top five most wealthy dead celebrities of all time. (Source: Celeb Answers)