Being a child star may seem like something out of a fairy tale.  Fame and fortune, all before reaching the age of maturity!  However, many people who work in the industry will tell you that it's a lot of hard work, pressure, and puts youngsters in difficult positions that no child should have to endure.  Sometimes agents, managers, co-stars, and even parents will cash in on the celebrity and popularity of an innocent minor.

For some children, stardom means that they never have to work again, while for others it means a lifetime of chasing the rush of having a career that peaked before puberty or recovering from trauma experienced while in the biz.  Many child stars are swindled out of their earnings, while others abandon Hollywood and fame completely in search of higher education, or pursuing a career outside of the spotlight.

Other celebs manage to hold onto quite a bit of their fortune or ignite their love of acting in childhood, enjoying a career that lasts well into adulthood.  These are all former child stars, some still famous, others hiding out in the shadows.  Just the same, we're guessing you have no idea what their net worth is today.  Let's take a look and find out!

15 The Olsen Twins: $400 Million And Counting

The Olsen twins first entered our homes as part of a TGIF line-up while portraying Full House's own Michelle Tanner as wee babies. After this, they became the princesses of their very own movie franchise and raked in cash hand over fist. There's a reason why the Olsen’s are the only missing piece of the Fuller House reboot. They have so much money they don't have to do anything they don't want to - no matter how often the rest of the cast whines about their absence. In 2006, Mary-Kate and Ashley were listed as number 11 on Forbes, "The Richest Women in Entertainment" list, with a combined worth of 100 million. Today they have a reported 400 million dollars in their bank account, and they're barely 30 years old, have mercy!

14 Cole And Dylan Sprouse: A Sweet $16 Million

Many believed that Dylan and Cole Sprouse were going to be the next Olsen twins in terms of their fame. With roles ranging from Friends to "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", as well as book deals, and movies, everything was looking like a career that would stay in childhood. That is until Riverdale launched on Netflix and everyone fell in love with both Cole Sprouse's oddly but palpable interpretation of the formerly A-sexual comic character Jughead Jones, and the public social media ribbing the two brothers routinely practice. These two, Cole in particular, may have a second wind when it comes to fame and fortune. In 2012 the pair were said to be worth a combined 16 million dollars.

13 Miley Cyrus: $200 Million Worth Of Sold-Out Shows

Hannah Montana grew up, and now she's truly embraced her inner pop star and ditched the Disney Princess persona to claim her own slightly 'bad girl' brand. Back in 2008, she tied Daniel Radcliffe for the top young earners, bringing in 25 million dollars that year alone. Born to money, thanks to the successes of her Country star daddy Billy Ray Cyrus in the 1990's. Years of musical tours combined with numerous paid appearance fees have made life a Party In the USA for Miss Cyrus. Today she is worth 200 million dollars, thanks to sold out concerts. Apparently, 76 million dollars of her fortune has come from endorsement deals alone. Hopefully, BAE Liam isn't jealous of her money, since he has a "paltry" 16 million dollars to his name.

12 Zac Efron - A Cool $18 Million

Zac Efron is a household name, and with that star power comes money. The childhood star has managed to sing and dance his way to fame thanks to popular kid-targeted vehicles like the High School Musical franchise where he won the Teen Choice Award for Breakout Star. Today Efron seems to have found his niche in playing a muscular bro in numerous comedy hits that have performed decently at the box office. Today young Zac is worth 18 million dollars. Zac stays fit and grounded, despite being a child star, through his hobbies which include golfing, skiing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. He's also spent his time and money fixing up old cars, including a 1965 Mustang and a DeLorean.

11 Emma Watson: $70 Million Is The Magic Number

From awkward, but highly intelligent Muggle to beautiful Belle, Emma Watson has had a lengthy career, even though she hasn't yet turned 30. After completing the Harry Potter series Emma enrolled at Brown University to study literature, and then went on to establish her grown-up career. Philanthropy has always been a noble pursuit of the rich star who has been connected to organic and fair trade company People Tree, and supports charities including: Great Ormond Street Hospital, Millennium Promise, Sense, ShelterBox, Small Steps Project, and UNIFEM. In 2014, Emma was appointed the Good Will Ambassador to The United Nations and served as an advocate for UN Women’s HeForShe campaign to promote gender equality. Today Emma Watson is worth 70 million dollars with a fortune that keeps on growing like magic!

10 Justin Bieber: $200 Million For This Popstar 

Whether you love him or love to hate him, there's no denying that this child star singer Justin Bieber is worth more than just a pretty penny. From boy band status to Calvin Klein model, Justin has managed to remain relevant and in the public's eye for years now - even if a lot of it is stories about his bad behaviour, make-ups and break-ups with Selena Gomez, or love for ingesting Jolly Ranchers, Pop and Cough Syrup (affectionately called Sizzurp). After over a decade in the business, today the Biebs is said to have 200 million dollars in his bank account, so odds are he doesn't care what you think of him, he's too busy laughing all the way to the bank!

9 Frankie Muniz - Retired With $40 Million

Malcolm in the Middle always seemed like an afterthought show to me. It was by no means ever anyone I know's favourite program, but it was something that if you came across you'd just watch. I can't remember what a single episode was even about. Just the same, actor Frankie Muniz seems to have saved all of his money for his time on TV - so good for him. He's worth a lot more than many people who enjoyed bigger childhood spotlights. Today he has 40 million dollars in the bank and spends his time playing in a band and driving race cars. He is still acting from time to time and you can catch him in Sharknado Three - Oh Hell No!

8 Angus T. Jones - All Grown Up With $15 Million

Two and A Half Men was on for what felt like forever, having two substantial runs with leads Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher. We all saw young, half man, Angus T. Jones grow up before our eyes for nearly a decade. In 2010, he signed an agreement that earned him the highest television paycheque for a minor at 300,000 USD per episode over two 26 show seasons. Jones, who is now in his early 20's seems to be spending more time growing out his beard than he has spent his cash. So many child stars go spend crazy once they finish their run on a show and have nothing but time on their hands, but not Jones. Today he has an estimated net worth of a full man at 15 million bucks.

7 The Jonas Brothers - A Combined $50 million

Three bank accounts are surely greater than one. This band of brothers is destined to stay famous, long after their childhood fame has faded. The Jonas Brothers were another group of child stars who rode the Wonderful World of Walt Disney all the way to fame and fortunes. Determined to make a name and buck for themselves outside of their childhood and be considered as "real" musicians the brothers launched a world tour that brought in 95 million dollars, playing to audiences of upwards of 14,000 people each night. Today they have an estimated combined net worth of 50 million dollars. The brothers continue to try to make it through other projects like Nick Jonas's side project, Nick Jonas and the Administration.

6 Anna Paquin - $15 Million And It's Only The Beginning

Now a mother herself, to twins nonetheless, Anna Paquin is a former child star with lasting celebrity status. When Anna was a child she even won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her star-making role in the film The Piano. As such, she was the second youngest child to acquire the gold statue. Anna kept acting in her teen years, getting roles in huge small and big screen franchises, like X-men and True Blood. Today Anna is worth a respectable 15 million, and that's not counting the 10 million dollar net worth of her husband, vampire, Stephen Moyer. The Canadian actor recently paid tribute to her maple leaf roots by starring in the Margaret Atwood mini-series, Alias Grace.

5 Daniel Radcliffe: $140 million NBD

It can be hard to come out of an iconic role, particularly when you grew up playing it for more than a decade. Back in 2009, Daniel Radcliffe was the richest celebrity under 21 on Forbes list of top hot young money makers. Daniel has managed to move on from his Harry Potter days to star in a number of films and TV series, trying to make a name for himself outside of the house of Gryffindor. Today, Daniel has over 100 million British pounds (around 140 million USD) in the bank. It doesn't hurt that he's grown up in his looks along with his acting chops and has been able to take on some meatier roles. While it's not exactly Olsen twin money, there is only one of him and he has a couple of years to catch up.

4 Neil Patrick Harris: $35 Million In The Bank

Playing such a memorable role as a child doctor could have easily been something that would have followed Neil Patrick Harris his entire life. But this former child TV personality has proven his acting range again and again, as he makes each role his very own, from the young and brilliant doctor Doogie Houser to the serial womanizer Barney Stintson on the long-running Rom-Com show How I Met Your Mother, where he was able to negotiate a 400K per episode deal for the final season. Today the star is able to enjoy celebrity and parenthood with a net worth of over 35 million dollars. Check out NPH in the newest season of Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events, coming to Netflix this March!

3 Brooke Shields - $25 million For This Model

Most of our recent experience with Brooke Shields nowadays is as a spokesperson for Lazy Boy furniture. As a long time Hollywood veteran, it's hard to remember a time when Shields wasn't famous; she got her first big break when she stared in a commercial for Ivory Soap. Back when she was barely a teen, 14 year old Brooke became the youngest model to ever grace the cover of Vogue magazine. When she was 16, it was rumoured that she had more money in the bank than the President of the United States. As an adult Brooke has used her celebrity to facilitate conversations and awareness of postpartum depression. Today the former child star is said to have 25 million dollars in the bank.

2 Macaulay Culkin: Home Alone With $15 Million

Macaulay Culkin is one of the most recognizable child stars of our generation. His iconic role in Home Alone became a must-watch holiday favourite. He was the first child actor to earn a million dollar paycheque for a film thanks to his work on the tearjerker swoonfest that was My Girl. Then he just kept on working making bigger bucks through other, less popular vehicles. Trapped in a well-documented custody battle over the young Culkin, and his cash. Culkin took a long break from acting and is slowly beginning to bring himself back into the spotlight with some one-off television roles. Today Culkin is worth a cool 15 million, which is a lot, but not a ton considering in his heyday he earned 18 million in a single year.

1 Joseph Gordon Levitt - $35 Million And Still Rising

One of the few child stars to rock the long hair throughout his younger years, we first met Joseph Gordon Levitt when he played alien turned student in the long running series Third Rock From The Son.  After six seasons on the small screen, JGL went to Columbia University where he studied history, literature, and French Poetry.  Today he has outgrown his teen and tween roles and has been in The Dark Knight Rises, indie darling film 500 Days of Summer, Inception, and 50/50.   Today Joseph Gordon Levitt is worth 35 million dollars, and his star is still rising.  In 2013, he made his directorial debut with the film Don Jon.  It's hard to believe this child star is all grown up with two kids of his own.

Sources:  Lost Stars, ExpressMoreFox News, Buzzaura, Wealthy Gorilla