Remember when Cruise was jumping up and down on the couch — Oprah’s couch to be exact? Tom Cruise was a happy man — a man in love — with the girl-turned-woman of Dawson’s Creek fame, Katie Holmes. Those were the times. Imagine that feeling, loving like that, enough that it makes you act like a fool! The key words here are "act" and "fool" — because Tom Cruise is quite the act as well as actor, touting around 51 movies; he is no novice, and as far as being a fool, the man is also well known to be the fools rush-in kind of guy. But do you expect anything less from a screen actor of his caliber who wants and insists on doing his own stunts?

However, Tom Cruise's greatest feat is not found in some death-defying action scene from one of his stupendously foray of cinematic action sequences, nor is it seen in his pursuit of love and/or love interests, something a strapping and buckling Hollywood cavalier like himself is accustomed to. No, it is most evident and apparent in a different kind of exchange. What is Tom Cruise passionate about? What really gets him going, even more so than Katie Holmes did when he trampled Oprah’s couch? The answer: The things that Tom Cruise spends his money and time on – let’s take a look at those.

HERO TIME

Straight out of a comic book, the only thing that was missing was the spandex costume, some odd mask that sits on the face without any kind of reasonable way of possibility, and some bantering dialogue bubbles or intense action captions – but Mr. Top Gun himself has played the hero in real life a few times – even to the point of chasing down a woman’s attackers with his bodyguards! Seriously.

But beyond literally chasing down bad guys, Tom Cruise, in 1996 witnessed a young woman get struck by a car. What did Cruise do? He came to her rescue, escorting her to the hospital and then actually paying for her emergency room bill — $7000.

BRACES FOR TOM

Tom Cruise — thee Tom Cruise — that guy with the million-dollar smile, didn’t always have it like that. But look, before we jump into what some hardcore fans may consider blasphemous reporting about this Hollywood icon and legend, you must understand that celebrities are very much like non-celebrities — seriously, they are! Yup, they’re human and sometimes, when we get a chance to find out little tidbits like this, their star power only increases. Why? Because secretly, what attracts us to them is not just that they get to do and be things that we only dream of, but that somehow, also, they are still just like us. In this case, Tom Cruise and his not soon perfect teeth at one point fit the bill.

It’s called mono-tooth, or “unitooth” as some people might refer to it. And it’s basically where one tooth protrudes out more than the other and there’s a kind of separation between them. Believe it or not, that was indeed the kind of smile Mr. Cruise had when he began his acting career, until he spent some of that hard-earned blockbuster movie money on making a new and improved smile.

IN THE PILOT’S SEAT

Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. Yes, it is a plane and Tom Cruise just may be flying it. So, unfortunately, the superstar actor has never played the titular character of Superman (Hmmm, maybe that could work if DC Comics or Warner Bros. ever decided to reboot or go a different way, other than Henry Cavill, not saying that they should or anything, though) but in his own rights, he holds some striking similarities with the Man of Steel. No, he’s not an alien, nor does he get super strength and power from the yellow sun, but he does have the ability to fly — in a plane. Tom Cruise is Top Gun’s Maverick all the way, as he coughed up some of his cheddar to learn how to fly and actually become a licensed pilot in 1994.

CRUISING ON THE JET STREAM

In addition to being, a pilot, as we just mentioned, something he was inspired to do after filming Top Gun, Tom Cruise also decided to spend some of that “Money, Money, Muh-nee” on some jets. Reportedly, one of those jet purchases is the Gulfstream G4 or G450. Ready for the cost of one of these bad boys?

For a fresh G450, Tom forked over between $35 million to $38 million – and again, that’s for a brand new one.

Less than new, the pre-owned goes for $24 million to $27 million.

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES

When it comes to having the kind of money that Tom Cruise has, a supposed net worth of $550 million, and an acting career that has spanned over two decades with the potential earnings of around $50 million a year, developing, having, and sustaining an exotic car fetish is pretty reasonable. So, where should we start? The Bugatti Veyron that goes up to 254 mph and is considered one of the best cars ever made to date with a price tag of $1.7 million? No? How about the old-school 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, the premier muscle man car, an estimated selling price of $99,995?

Needless to say, Tom has a lot of money and a lot of cars that he’s spent a lot of money on. The cool thing is that each car is just like something that Ethan Hunt, one of Tom Cruise’s movie alter egos, would be proud of. When it comes to portraying an international spy, a sleek car, either modern or past, is a necessity. The same must be said when it comes to being Tom Cruise.

A SON OF ANARCHY?

Tom Cruise could very well be the real-life counterpart to Charlie Hunnam’s Jax Teller — no, seriously, he’s a “maverick” for sure when it comes to motorcycles and the real-life stuntman is nothing short of an aficionado when it comes to bikes. For starters, if you hadn’t noticed, Cruise gets a chance in almost each of his movies to squeeze in a little ride with some kind of two-wheeled racer. One of the most famous of those rides was the seemingly death-defying seat maneuvering stunt/chase in Cruise’s “Knight and Day” where he rode a Ducati Hypermotard while co-star Cameron Diaz shuffled around in the seat as they sped through the streets of a Spanish Seville. If anyone is a cultist, when it comes to Cruise and his motorcyclist skills, then this one has to be at the top of the list.

But for Cruise, it’s about more than the movies, the speed, and the chase scenes, it’s about his love for motorcycles which one could argue is an extension of his love for experience and adventure. Bolstering an uncanny number of motorcycles, Mr. Cruise is obviously willing to spend almost any amount on this passion. On his 51^st birthday, the speed racer was seen darting off on his Italian made chopper, the Vyrus 987 C3 4V, one of the most powerful production motorcycles in the world, and an expensive one too — retailing at over $100,000.

A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN

This may seem strange to say, but Tom Cruise is just the kind of guy that would open the door for a lady because he’s just that chivalrous and from what many have seen and reported, he's that nice; the kind of guy that you would take home to your family. Don’t believe it? Well, check this out!

Mr. Cruise has never missed one of Dakota Fanning’s birthdays since she was eleven.

In 2005, Miss Fanning and Tom Cruise starred in a remake of War of the Worlds, and obviously was impressed with the child star — so much so that Mr. Cruise has invested in over a decade of gifts for Miss Fanning on her birthday.

THE WEDDING GIFTER

Continuing with the theme of gift-giver, Tom Cruise seems to have a thing for spending money on other people without looking for anything in return. As reported by Pat Kingsley, his one-time publicist whom he parted ways with over his wanting to be more vocal about Scientology during his press touring for The Last Samurai,

Tom has never missed her daughter's birthday, and when it came time for her daughter to wed, he actually bought out the entire registry!

Now, this may not seem like much — wait, no, it has to seem like overkill — but that’s just it, for Tom Cruise, this seems to be the norm and the trend: he’s overly nice and likes to spend money on other people. Oh, and he came to the wedding.

PEN AND PAD

We live in a digital age. A world where almost everyone has some kind of iPhone, smartphone, tablet, or iPad, anything that can link to some ethereal search engine and scrounge up information within seconds; it’s almost magical. In addition to the ability to gather information at a whim, to literally siphon facts, opinions, any kind of knowledge to your fingertips, there’s also the ability to scribble and write digitally. Yes, notes (remember shorthand?) can now be done digitally with the ability to send and transfer to another device in a manner of minutes with the scroll of a mouse or index finger on a mouse pad and then a click of a button. It’s just that easy. But there are still some primitive tools out there — pencils and pens and this archaic papyrus-like sheet called paper — yes, really! And believe it or not, this one time, Tom Cruise, actually used a pen to write notes on a script while filming a movie called A Few Good Men.

The act of using a pen in this modern age in itself may seem strange, but even more than that was the kind of pen that Tom Cruise used. According to then co-star Kevin Pollock, Mr. Cruise was writing with an extraordinarily large pen that was so obscene in size that both co-stars, Demi Moore and Kevin Pollock, laughed at it. But then they wrote with it and said that,

“It’s like an angel wing floating on a cloud, it was a magical pen.”

Needless to say, Tom Cruise bought two of them for his co-star Pollock, $500 each, one for Pollock’s mantle as a souvenir and the other for him to use.

LET THEM EAT CAKE

Not as cynical or narcissistic as Marie Antoinette, but Tom Cruise makes sure that both Kirsten Dunst and Jimmy Kimmel gets a cake every year for their birthday. Mr. Cruise and Miss Dunst’s history goes back to 1994 when they filmed Interview with a Vampire together, but it wasn’t until more recently, around five years ago, that she began receiving the annual birthday cakes. As she tells it, she and Mr. Cruise ran into each other, and somehow, she ended up receiving cakes from Dylan’s Bakery each year. She goes on to say that it’s become a thing with her family.

“We call it the ‘Cruise Cake’ at my family’s house.”

Jimmy Kimmel, not to be outdone, confirms that he also gets a cake a year from the same place and that the cake is indeed good.

A RARE GIFT FOR A SCHOLAR

Imagine a passed pubescent Harry Potter, who’s American, coming back to meet his long-time mentor and friend, an Americanized version of Professor Dumbledore — a slight deviation from the J.K. Rowling's storyline and plot of the famous titular book series, but that’s the picture one would gather when hearing about what Tom Cruise did for an old friend of his who also happened to be his lawyer, Bert Fields. Cruise spent a handsome sum on an extremely rare edition of a Holinshed’s book of English history. This was a gift that once again showed just how thoughtful Tom Cruise is and that when it comes to giving, Mr. Cruise does not mind spending his money, and like his alter-ego in Jerry Maguire says, “Show me the money,” Tom Cruise does just that when it comes to his gifting.

SCIENTOLOGY

“Where a person’s treasure lies, that is where you’ll find his/her heart,” to paraphrase a Christian scripture, and it is very much the case for Tom Cruise when it comes to his belief and practice of his religion, Scientology. But it is far from news to know that Mr. Cruise is deeply involved with the Church of Scientology, however what is noteworthy is the suspected cost that is associated with his being a member. That number reaches into supposedly the $500,000 and more. Where does all that money go or what is it used for? Well, studies and books and courses, very private and specialized nuances of the religion that are extremely safeguarded – Tom Cruise is privy to all the inner workings of Scientology and is an extremely active member, which also garners him some special privileges as the religion itself continues to build on their teachings.

MAN's GOT STYLE

Let’s not negate the fact that Tom Cruise has been a heartthrob for well over two decades. From the moment he put on those shades in Risky Business, Mr. Cruise has been on the minds of a lot of people, in a lot of fantasies, and no doubt lingering in the dreams of most. And yeah, it’s the million-dollar smile that he flashes so effortlessly, and maybe even more recently, it’s the totally in-shape physique that aids in a lot of those death-defying stunts and action sequences, but it is also found in how Mr. Cruise dresses. How does that saying go? It’s not the clothes that make the man, but the man that makes the clothes? A made man is something that Mr. Cruise is in every way — self-made in many ways, and his style is no departure from that.

In more recent sightings, Tom Cruise has been spotted sporting a more debonair look, somewhat of sophistication, as he’s taken to suits, sleek, and slim fitting, assuredly tailored.

Stylists Nicole and Wendi Ferreira, who were introduced to Mr. Cruse through a Paramount contract, regards his style as elegant, traditional, and in the veins of classic, a look that is supposed to reflect Tom Cruise and the evolution of Tom Cruise.

For this brand of style in suits that earmark the happening actor’s evolution, Mr. Cruise could be spending around $8,000 per suit.

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

How much does eternal life cost? Okay, let’s say that’s not for sale — how much does eternal youthfulness go for then? Whatever the cost, Tom Cruise seems befit to spend some of his hard-earned career millions on it. The action star belies that nutrition and a consistent workout regimen are to thank for his physique and seemingly well-kept body. When asked what he does – like the actual things that are done to maintain and exhibit such a healthy exuberance — he says,

“Sea-kayaking, caving, fencing, weights, treadmill, jogging. I do so many activities.”

In addition to training, Tom Cruise consumes around 1,200 calories a day and it’s a lot of grilled foods with very little to no carbohydrates. This kind of living for the superstar, when it comes to having a personal trainer, is around $500 per session. Not too bad, right?

Child Support

One of the most interesting things when it comes to celebrities and money is finding out how much they really make. Now, to hear that an actor made $20 million from this movie or $35 million from that movie registers to a scale that most people take for granted, that there’s just a lot of money being made — most would say and think, “Man that’s a lot of money.” But individuals and the collective understand the surplus idea and notion of having millions in the context of most of us not having that amount, and without any possible means of conceiving how we would ever get that much. It takes on another context, a different context, when the millions are juxtaposed with an amount that is owed or must be paid.

For celebrities like Tom Cruise, understanding just how much of a millionaire he is can be understood differently in the context of how much he spends in child support: $400,000 a year which comes out to about $33,333 a month.

He also must allocate funds for insurance and all the customary health benefits.

MOVING THE MANSIONS

A while back Tom Cruise listed his Beverly Hills mansion for $50 million. This same home was something lavish that the actor and then-wife, Katie Holmes, spent $30 million  on. Without going into too great of detail, the house tallied about 10,000 square feet and sat on 1.3 acres with exceptional amenities. However, the superstar actor and action baron also owns a home in Telluride, Colorado that he is selling for $59,000. Needless to say, Mr. Cruise has shelled out a lot of money for homes. Ironically, one of his plans is to move to Florida once his Beverly Hills spot sells. Isn’t that where people go to retire? For movie goers and fans everywhere, we certainly hope this isn’t the case for Tom Cruise. He's most likely moving to Florida because that's where his son lives and where the Scientology headquarters is, too.

His Inner Athlete

This is not going to be about what you think. Well, maybe it is to some degree: Tom Cruise is known for being the kind of actor that likes to mix it up, to get physical and really into the roles that he plays — even going so far as to train intensely for roles that will require him to jump, run, chase, climb, and fight. The man likes to do all of his own stunts. At first glance or thought, one could surmise, maybe assume, that Mr. Cruise likes living dangerously, that he just has a flare for action, but it truly goes deeper than that and is part of a much more familial connection. Tom Cruise likes sports and actually used to play sports.

Imagine it — Tom Cruise in the WWE. Well, it could have been possible. Back in high school, the man who now plays action heroes like Jack Reacher and Ethan Hunt used to be on the wrestling team and was pretty great at soccer. If it hadn’t been for a knee injury, the world may have gotten to know a different Tom Cruise. So, it’s no surprise then to find out that Mr. Cruise doesn’t mind spending top-notch dollars for prime seats at a manifold of sporting events as athletes tend to invest in watching other athletes. It can be considered a way of life.

TIME WITH FANS

Much of this missive has dealt with spending. And why not? It is a curious thing, an interesting aspect to look at — how the rich and famous spend their money. But there’s something even more precious than money, and that's time. Time is not redeemable. Once it’s gone, there’s no getting it back in any way, shape, or form. So, how a person spends their time is very critical and important. So, when it comes to Tom Cruise and time, it must be noted how much time he spends just being with fans.

Believe it or not, Tom Cruise has spent hours just talking to his fans outside of premieres and on tours, signing autographs and more. One of the most notable things about Tom Cruise’s public persona is just how personable he is and how available he attempts to make himself to fans and others.

In Madrid, when he presented The Mummy, Mr. Cruise spent over two hours signing autographs! Not bad, Mr. Cruise. Surely, fans appreciate that.

DATING

Continuing with the theme of time and how that is spent, let’s take a look at just how the single Tom Cruise is spending his time as a bachelor: One name – Vanessa Kirby.

It’s been reported that the actor became smitten and increasingly infatuated with the actress while binge-watching The Crown. Now, they both are starring together in the latest Mission Impossible instalment set to come out in theaters this summer. But it’s more than that possibly. The two have been linked and appear to be dating, however, Hollywood is always full of rumors, so you never know.

HIS DAUGHTER SURI

There’s nothing like spending time with your child. Time itself seems to slip away and before long, single precious moments blur into a whirlwind of sequences that force the parents to see the awful, but fantastic truth: that nothing lasts forever. Kids grow up. They begin to have their own lives and their own minds and their own emotions. Caught up in all of that and trying to juggle it all, this crazy thing called "adulting" are jobs, careers, relationships, and so much more. Now, imagine the life of a superstar actor and icon like Tom Cruise and you wonder how and when does a celebrity like him spend time with his child?

Well, it’s been reported that Tom Cruise has gone a possible four years without seeing his youngest child, Suri. Some speculate that it’s because of his religion, but others cite that this is not the case, and that long stints apart may be due to his work schedule.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Tom Cruise may be completely out of his daughter’s life, and those are obviously guarded and personal reasons. However, one can glean that the loss of time in this magnitude can be a priceless expense.

References: perezhilton.com, people.com, imdb.com, enews.com