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"My brother and I were getting recognized a lot. It became one of those things that we realized we had just sort of taken as gospel since we were little kids, and that there was another path through life. ...I was completely content, at the time, to let the Disney shows exist within this little nostalgic bubble and I was ready to move on." When Cole and Dylan Sprouse took a hiatus from acting after the end of the Suite Life on Deck, the world was shaken -- both by their imminent departure from the public eye as well as by the fact that they were walking away from millions of dollars. 

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As evidenced by the Cole Sprouse quote above, however, money was not much of a factor in the stars’ decision to step back from the profession. Rather, each of the brothers was eager to explore life after Disney in his own way. And besides, it’s not like they weren’t already rich enough: The Sprouse Bros boast a combined net worth of a whopping $16 million. Here’s a closer look at their lives, careers, and mind-boggling fame and fortune.

Twice the Success

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Cole and Dylan Sprouse were born on August 4, 1992 in Arezzo, Italy, but moved to Long Beach, California shortly after. They got their start much earlier than most actors; in fact, they joined the working world before they’d even turned one. Their grandmother, who worked in the industry, knew that twins had an edge in casting due to child labor laws. She was right: They were quickly hired for a toilet paper commercial and then landed a role on the television series Grace Under Fire, but their first big break came in 1999 when they were cast in Big Daddy, followed by a string of other movies and television shows. 

It was with The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, however, that Cole and Dylan truly ascended to meteoric heights of stardom. They continued on with the Zach & Cody franchise with Suite Life on Deck, which followed them as they attended high school on a cruise ship. While Suite Life was huge for the Sprouse Bros from a professional perspective, it was just as monumental from a financial perspective. 

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When Suite Life came to an end, the Sprouse Bros both headed off to NYU, where Dylan focused on video game design and Cole majored in archeology. Both graduated with honors from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2015. Dylan said of their achievements on his Instagram account, “Smarter better faster stronger. Finished NYU now on to the next.” 

Which begs the question: What came next for Cole and Dylan? Cole returned to television, where he captured the hearts of an entirely new generation on the hit television series Riverdale. Dylan went in a completely different direction by opening his own bar and micro-meadery in Brooklyn, All-Wise Meadery. This doesn’t mean he’s done with the industry entirely, though. He appeared in the thriller Dismissed in 2017, and followed that up with several projects in 2018, including the movie Carte Blanche.

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This doesn't mean Dylan didn't enjoy acting. Rather, the profession is not in alignment with his financial goals. "I love acting as a passion. It’s something that is really fulfilling to me,” he said. “But the core of it, which is one of its most difficult aspects, is that it’s commission-based. Coming out of school, having remembered that in my younger life those dead periods were very tough, I decided I’m going to invest my money into a business and open up my brewery so that I don’t have any of those worries. I can kind of make money through my other passion, which is brewing, and that’s a pretty stable business, and it would free up my timeslot to take roles that I really liked and that I thought were interesting.”

Breaking Records by Making Bank

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While Dylan Sprouse’s commitment to choosing a financially solid career is admirable, it may also be overkill given just how rich he and his brother are. For starters, while working on the Suite Life, they made $20,000 per episode. Considering that there were 158 episodes of both shows combined, it adds up!  According to a calculation by Elite Daily, the Sprouses made at least $3.16 million each over the course of The Suite Life franchise.

But their income was far from limited to their acting jobs. The young entrepreneurs bring in additional income through several channels, including through their clothing line, books, magazines, and teen and preteen comic series. They’ve also had endorsement deals with Dannon Danimals and Nintendo DS. 

All in all, a the height of their fame in the mid-2000s, Dyland and Cole were the highest-paid teenage actors on the Disney channel. They also laid claim to being among the world’s wealthiest children. 

Fans of Dyland and Cole may be left wondering whether we can expect to see the brothers together again on screen. According to Dylan, the answer may be a disappointing one. “We're totally not averse to working together again. I don't think we'll be working as twins ever again, like cast in a role. But I think we both would be fine working together, whatever that means,” he said.  One thing is for certain regardless: Whatever they end up doing, they can expect to be well-compensated for it."